| Name | Susannah |
|---|---|
| Last Name | Shaver |
| Home Address | 5355 fairview rd Hixson, TN 37343 United States |
| Organization Name | The Kidney Foundation of the Greater Chattanooga Area |
| Describe Your Role In The Organization | I serve as the Kidney Foundations Community Relations Director. Being the CRD means putting the passion I have for others into the Chattanooga community through the good stewardship of the KF. To do so, participating in health fairs to promote the importance of healthy kidneys is a key factor of ours. Early detection of kidney disease is the only way to catch kidney disease. Kidney disease is a silent disease, and for most, when you find out you have this disease, it's too late. So, to be in the community talking about diabetes and high blood pressure (the two leading causes of kidney disease) is so important. As CRD I also spearhead all social media, monthly email blasts and marketing. The Kidney Foundation also has a mascot, Kampbell the Kidney, that I take to schools for school visits and talk about diet, healthy bodies and positive body images to students. Kampbell appears on social media, any TV appearances to promote any upcoming events, and helps sponsors, or patients feel like they have encountered a warm hug from a friend you haven't seen in a long time! Being CRD means much more than engaging the community with the KF, it also mean leading the community. We offer a program that as CRD I spearhead- PEED. Yes pee as in urine. PEED (Providing Education and Early Detection) is a valuable program of ours to screen the community, for free. With PEED, a patient can encounter a mini doctors visit including height, weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, and also a urine collection. We collect a small urine sample, and can detect for abnormalities in the kidneys. Doing so can lead to early detection of kidney disease. Once the information is collected the patient has the opportunity to sit down with a Nephrologist and discuss the results. Having this one-on-one conversation is golden, for a patient to feel heard, to feel seen and taken care of is a feeling everyone deserves. These consultations can lead to referrals for patients, advice on water intake, blood pressure medicine, and other healthy lifestyle changes that need to take place. We conduct free kidney screenings at large businesses, health fairs and churches. |
| Organization Address | 931 McCallie Ave Chattanooga, TN 37403 United States |
| Website | https://www.kidneyfoundation.com |
| Best Phone Number To Reach You | 4232654397 |
| Alternate Phone Number | |
| Email Address | susannah@kidneyfoundation.com |
| Alternate Email Address | warrenshaver2018@yahoo.com |
| Please Describe Your Project In Detail | Misson PEED Mobile. A dream of our at the KF has always been "one day we will have a mobile unit to test the community!", that time is now. If we would have had a mobile testing unit during cover, our efforts for a healthier Chattanooga did not have to end. But sadly they did. With no health fairs, no large civil engagements, and most of all large businesses finding out their new normal of working from home, we had no choice but to put the pause on PEED. We have been in contact with the company Mission Mobile Medical, https://www.missionmobilemed.com/, to have a mobile unit built, according to our specific needs. But as one can imagine, this cost is one we have been hesitant and not in a place to pull the trigger on just yet. We are hoping Chattanooga's American Rescue Plan is the answer to our prayer we have been hopeful for, for a better and healthier Chattanooga community. |
| Please explain how your project meets the requirements of the American Rescue Plan | As one can imagine, when COVID swept us by storm, our PEED program came to a halt. Having a mobile unit to take into the community safely with confidence would still allow us to see the community and encouraging getting a kidney screening with us to detect for abnormalities. Detection for patients is everything; we have to take a stand with our community and our health. Seeing new patients take on the new lifestyle of dialysis is heartbreaking; as dialysis is a new to not only the patient but the family. Dialysis is a multiple treatment, multiple days a week lifestyle, for hours. Most patients on dialysis lose their jobs, have a new way of, well, everything. A new environment, a new diet, a new "community" as you sit beside new faces in your dialysis chair for 3-4 hours a week, 3x a week. Having this mobile to detect early signs of kidney disease to more people without the relying on health fairs and closed large businesses would be beneficial from the American Rescue Plan as we could conduct our own schedule, and setting for seeing more people of the community. Health fairs are still not a "thing", a safe place for the public to visit. Large businesses are slowly opening back up but are now allowing the outside community in. To have a mobile unit to park in their lot, any lot , and any place in Chattanooga, we can encourage a safe environment for one to come get screened, have an honest conversation of their health and take a stand for a better Chattanooga. |
| Where would your project take place? | Wherever we can engage the community- church parking lots, any parking lot, our office parking lot, health fairs and large business engagements (once opened up and safe for a large community gathering) |
| How much will your project cost in total? | 240000 |
| Do you have any matching funding sources from other local governments, private entities, non-profits, or philanthropic entities for your project? | No |
| Please describe the source and list amounts of any other funding. | |
| What portion of the project are you asking the city to fund? | |
| If funded, when would your project start? | January 3, 2022 |
| How long would your project take to complete? | The build of the mobile medical unit takes 90-120 from signing and deposit |
| What milestones would you use to measure your project’s progress? | Oh wow, what milestone wouldn't we hit? More screenings than ever. In a "good year" we see at least 4 large screenings, screening over 300 patients, in the past two years of COVID, we haven't been able to see any. Being able to have a mobile unit and go somewhere once a month, would be a milestone within itself. Being mobile would be a milestone, as we are typically in a back bathroom, closet or office (we have seen it all to hold a screening!) would be huge to control our setting, our environment. |
| How would you ensure accountability and transparency throughout the project lifecycle? | As a non-profit that is audited every year, we can ensure that all funding for this mobile unit will be used for this project. We document everything, and believe in always being good steward's donations, efforts and community partnerships. During this building process we can do "check-in"s with your staff/donors to help one feel like they are able to see the building process with us. On our social media (Facebook and Instagram accounts) we would be happy to share quarterly check-ins on what the mobile unit is up to now and how our involvement with Chattanooga is going. |
| If successful, how would your project benefit the community? | We believe in a healthier Chattanooga, as a whole. To reach more communities, more neighborhoods, more zip codes than ever imagined, we would benefit the community as screening them to ensure a free, and healthier well being, Hispanics and African Americans are at greater risk for kidney disease, to reach more hispanic and African American neighborhoods- think of all the people that would benefit from a free, safe screening to ensure they have the conversation with a healthcare provider of event where to begin. To detect kidney disease early means we can start the conversation of a healthier lifestyle, diet, mental state, |
| How will you attract community buy-in for your project? | Getting screened with the KF is easy, and safe. We ensure a safe environment for everyone; we know many get the dreaded "white-coat syndrome" and we promise at any point of our intake of information (height, weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, and urine sample collection) the patient is in full communication of what to expect, what's to come, and how long this process takes. Being a free service we provide; saves one dollars, and your health, in the long run. |
| Is there anything else you would like us to know about your project? |