Tampa, Fla., January 8, 2009 – The American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) is pleased to announce the first AAKP HealthLine conference call of the New Year. Titled, Understanding My Stage of Kidney Disease, the educational conference call features a presentation by Stephen Z. Fadem, MD, FACP, FASN, Vice President of the AAKP Board of Directors and nephrologist from Houston, Texas. Dr. Fadem will give an explanation of glomerular filtration rate (GFR), how it’s calculated and why it’s important to know this number. He will also discuss each stage of kidney disease, the common causes of kidney disease and what a nephrologist might recommend to a patient to help preserve kidney function.

This call takes place Thursday, January 29, 2009, from 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. E.T. Time is provided at the end of the program for participant questions.

AAKP HealthLine is a FREE, one-hour conference call designed to educate kidney patients on a variety of topics affecting them and their families. Conference calls feature kidney health care experts from across the country and provide patients with the convenience of gaining knowledge from the comfort of their home or office.

“We are excited about kicking off the New Year with such a successful program,” stated AAKP President Roberta Wager, RN, MSN. “We’ve received a lot of excellent feedback from patients and health care professionals on the great value the AAKP HealthLine programs has brought to their lives.”

Conference calls are organized by AAKP. Participation is FREE and no phone charges apply. To learn more about AAKP HealthLine or to register for the upcoming call, contact AAKP at (800) 749-AAKP or visit www.aakp.org. Patients can also listen to archived calls on the AAKP Web site. 

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AAKP is the voluntary, patient organization, which for 40 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.