MESSAGES FROM THE CHAIRS

CNNT Chair Message

Happy New Year and welcome to spring. 

As I look back on my year as CNNT Chair, I feel that the Executive Committee has had a successful year. This year at SCM23 we will be recognizing our awardees for their outstanding accomplishments. Awards this year go to: 

• Carol Mattix Award – Jeannetta Womack 
• Outstanding Nurse – Isabelle Lynch 
• Outstanding Technician – Robert Chedester 

In addition to this group, CNNT was pleased to award 3 Educational Stipends to CNNT Members.  I look forward to meeting all of these recipients at the SCM23 in Austin. Texas. 

This year has been very busy for the Executive Committee as we have partnered with the NKF Patient Education Committee to review all patient education material that is available on the NKF website. We began with looking at pertinent hemodialysis content and will continue, as requested, to review additional documents. This will continue until all the documents have gone through review. 

In January, a small group of CNNT Executive Council members met with members from the Nephrology Nursing Certification Commission to discuss development of certification review courses for nurses and technicians. While this project is still in the initial stages, we are excited as this endeavor fits within one of CNNT’s main goals, which is to develop and promote educational opportunities for both nurses and technicians. 

I want to welcome Jill Burns, a new member to the CNNT Executive Committee, as well as welcoming back Joanna Neumann and Cheryl Cress, as a Directors-at-Large. One of our projects for 2023 is to look at how we can bring in new members to CNNT.    

The Professional Education Resource Center (PERC) continues to add more CE programs each month.  This remains one of the most valuable benefits that is available to CNNT members.   

It has been a pleasure working with the Council this year and look forward to entering my year on the council as, Past Chair. 

CRN Chair Message

Matilde E. Ladnier MBA, RD, LD
CRN Chair

Since this is my last entry in Renalink as NKF-CRN Chair, I want to take this opportunity to thank my CRN Executive Committee (EC) members who, as a team, helped us accomplish many of the items we planned to this past year. I am confident that our new Chair, Nikki Nygren-Stevenson, will continue to lead this group, which includes new EC members that we welcome: Jill Hoyt and Veronique Pettitt.

Our Education Committee, and all the volunteers that continue to meet monthly, have been instrumental in the improvement of the educational part of Kidney.org. Thank you to each of them for helping update the Emergency Diet information and for reviewing all the “Superfood” entries that many of us and other volunteers, just like you, have contributed to. There are many other educational resources and pages on the website that are currently being reviewed and updated. We also want to thank NKF’s Deborah Brommage for her leadership and contributions in these meetings and welcome Gail Torres; happy retirement Deborah.

Nikki has been my right hand throughout this time by actively participating to achieve our goals, and also by taking accurate minutes after every CRN EC meeting (in person and Zoom) – not an easy task. She has also volunteered in the selection of awards and research grant recipients, among other committees.

Region 1 representative Marisol Kramer and alternate Ann Pittaoulis have done a great job doing what was needed to be done to have all their Region Chapters re-affiliate on time. They have also contributed to the Superfood list and found volunteers to contribute. They have also volunteered to write articles in Renalink and the Journal of Renal Nutrition.

Region 2 representative Toni DeVane and alternate Ruba Jibreen oversaw the Awards Committee, which is not an easy task when you have many equally deserving candidates to select from. Toni also actively participates in reviewing the Superfoods.

Region 3 representative Jennifer Bazzanella and alternate Michelle Adams have started the development of a CRN-NKF Facebook page and contributed with entries to the Superfood list.

Regions 4 representative Carol Lim and alternate Shannon Bares, who oversee the Membership Committee, have done an outstanding job working alongside Jordan, our NKF liaison, by streamlining the process of re-affiliating. Carol has also done extensive work to improve/update the CKD RDs database and has also contributed by making a list of “important things to know” to help welcome newly elected CRN-EC members, in addition to contributing to Superfoods. This Region also had all their Chapters re-affiliated. 

Region 5 representative Sara Prato and alternate Julius Navarro also participated from the very beginning with great ideas. Sara has done a tremendous job creating a more accurate and updated list of speakers called “The Speakers Bureau”, which is now available for local or national CRN meetings. Sara has also volunteered to lead the CE committee as well as the Research Grant committee with very competitive entries for 2023. Julius has represented us at the FNCE 2022 meeting.

Let’s not forget our Spring Clinical Meetings Chair, Brittany Sparks, and co-chair Melissa Young, who have led their enthusiastic group of professionals to contribute to the success of NKF’s annual meeting by helping secure great presenters and topics for the SCM23 in Austin, Texas.

Also, thank you to our RenaLink editor, Elizabeth Sussman-Dabach, who made sure there were timely and interesting articles to publish. She also volunteered to helped us pick a deserving Research Award recipient.

Over a year ago, NKF approached our group looking for dietitian volunteers to add nutrition content in one of their educational series. Karen Greathouse, Jill Hoyt (CRN Chair-elect 2023), and I volunteered and participated in the currently available Nutritional Management in Kidney Disease: Opportunities and Challenges. Please share this information with the MDs you know – the Primary Care CME/CE Series is entitled CKD in the Primary Care Setting: Implementing Strategies into Practice, accessible via NKF’s Professional Education Resource Center (PERC).

The Council on Renal Nutrition (CRN) and Renal Practice Group (RPG) have collaborated for many years. We have past and current members who are part of both professional groups. Through the years we have partnered and created many professional and educational tools and guides that have helped and are currently helping registered dietitians and other professionals who work with CKD patients in the US and worldwide, the latest being the Clinical Guide to Nutrition Care in Kidney Disease (3^rd Edition). I want to thank Rory Pace, RPG Chair, for her leadership and collaboration along with her team this past year. We are currently planning, for the very first time in NKF’s Spring Clinical Meetings (SCM) history, a CRN-RPG Booth which will be present at SCM23 in Austin, TX, April 11-15, 2023. Our main goals are for MDs to increase awareness of CKD RD expertise and for MNT referral. We also want RDs to increase their knowledge of what is available for them to educate their current populations including pediatric, HD, PD, HHD, transplant, earlier stages of CKD, etc. Please make sure you visit the booth and tell your colleagues to attend as well.

I want to make sure that NKF’s Jessica Joseph, Jordan Cannon, and Katie Cooper know how much CRN-EC appreciates their support and contributions to help us in meeting our goals. They have played a big role for our groups (both CRN and RPG) to have our first joint booth in SCM.

It has been my honor being part of this group of Registered Dietitians and NKF staff, and I am looking forward to what is to come. All I ask from you is to stay involved and keep our specialty the well-respected one it is (or at least, should be!).

CNSW Chair Message

Melissa Fry, MSW, NSW-C
CNSW Chair

Happy 50th anniversary, CNSW! In 2023, we are marking 50 years of CNSW. There will be a celebration and video at the CNSW reception at SCM23. I hope to see you there.

This year's Spring Clinical Meetings are just around the corner. I want to give a thank you to Elizabeth Jones, Lisa Hall, and the Program Committee members for putting together a fantastic nephrology social work program. SCM will be a hybrid model this year with in person conference in Austin, TX and online opportunity to watch the sessions via video. I am looking forward to being able to network and see people in person again this year. If you haven't had a chance to attend a SCM, I highly recommend you register. As a member, you receive a discount on the cost of registration.

At this year's Spring Clinical Meetings, we will be have a few changes to the CNSW Executive Committee. I would like to take this time to thank our outgoing CNSW Executive Committee member, Jennifer Bruns, for her work and dedication to the CNSW Executive Committee. Amy was the Immediate Past Chair. I would like to welcome incoming CNSW Executive Committee member, Kevin Ceckowski . Kevin will be the new Chair Elect. I look forward to seeing what the Committee achieves this year.

This is also my last issue as CNSW Chair. I have really enjoyed the time that I was able to be Chair for CNSW. I know that CNSW will be in excellent hands as I hand the role over to Dori Muench at SCM23.