TAMPA, Fla. June 19, 2006 – The American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) is proud to announce a new team that includes a partnership with the Washington, DC-based government relations firm Jefferson Government Relations (JGR). JGR will work with AAKP to provide counsel on a wide range of federal regulatory and legislative issues affecting kidney patients and the renal community.

“Working with Jefferson Government Relations will ensure that the voice of all kidney patients will be heard by Congressional leaders,” said AAKP Board Chair Brenda Dyson. “JGR brings a wide array of expertise to a number of public policy areas. JGR employs a multi-disciplinary healthcare industry team which has strong relationships with Quality Improvement Organizations, healthcare-related businesses, physicians groups and others healthcare leaders.”

“I am looking forward to working with the Jefferson Government Relation’s team.” said AAKP Executive Director/CEO Kris Robinson, “For over 35 years now, AAKP has served the renal community and ensured that the highest quality information is available to those with reduced kidney function, those on dialysis and transplant patients. While there is still a need for more education, research and treatment options for the more than 20 million kidney patients in America, there is also a great opportunity for us to ensure that kidney patients have a place at the table in the legislative process.”

As JGR joins with the AAKP team, Mark Meier, MSW, a former AAKP Board Member, will now serve as the AAKP Director of Development and Quality Initiatives. Mark, a renal social worker, lead a 2002 end-stage renal disease (ESRD) collaborative study of the incidence of involuntary discharge of dialysis patients. It was the first CMS-approved data collection of its kind. Mark has also served as Chair of the Decreasing Dialysis Patient-Provider Conflict Initiative (DPC), which provided conflict resolution resources for dialysis patients nationwide.

Most recently, Mark served as the Consumer Services Coordinator of ESRD Network 11, based in St. Paul, MN, and encompasses North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. Mark received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota and a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.

“AAKP is extremely concerned about quality of life indicators for patients,” said Robinson. “Depression, patient satisfaction and independence are real challenges for patients and quite often impede their clinical outcomes. I am pleased that Mark Meier will be joining us in addressing these critical issues for patients, so that better healthcare outcomes can be provided for all our fellow patients.”

Also supporting AAKP public policy initiatives will be Communications Manager Benjamin J. Kirby. Benjamin joined AAKP in March 2006, and brings more than fourteen years of experience in government, politics and healthcare advocacy. Prior to working at AAKP, he worked as the Communications Director for the Parkinson’s Action Network (PAN), an education and advocacy group dedicated to finding better treatments and a cure for Parkinson’s disease. He has also served in the U.S. Department of Justice, the White House Millennium Council, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Office of Presidential Personnel. Benjamin has an undergraduate degree in Political Communication from George Mason University.

AAKP is the voluntary, patient organization, which for more than 35 years, has been dedicated to improving the lives of fellow kidney patients and their families by helping them deal with the physical, emotional and social impact of kidney disease. The programs offered by AAKP inform and inspire patients and their families to better understand their condition, adjust more readily to their circumstances and assume more normal, productive lives in their communities.