the optimal health quality of life and independence of people with kidney disease through patient care education and research . type non profit organization industry health care founded seattle washington united states 1962 founder dr. belding h. scribner dr. james w. haviland headquarters seattle washington united states area served king county and clallam county washington key people joyce f. jackson mha president and ceo bonnie collins md interim chief medical officer website nwkidney.org footnotes references more 1 northwest kidney centers kidney resource center at 700 broadway seattle washington includes a dialysis museum . northwest kidney centers is a regional not for profit community based provider of kidney dialysis public health education and research into the causes and treatments of chronic kidney disease . established in seattle in 1962 it was the world s first out of hospital dialysis provider . 1 it offers dialysis throughout the greater seattle area in 15 free standing clinics nine hospitals and its home dialysis program . nearly 80 percent of people on dialysis in king county go to northwest kidney centers for their treatment . 1 twice as many people are on home dialysis under northwest kidney centers supervision than the national average among all dialysis organizations . northwest kidney centers model of providing dialysis outside of a hospital setting has spread throughout the world . according to a united states renal data system s 2013 report there are 6 009 outpatient dialysis clinic in the united states . 2 compared to national averages northwest kidney centers patients live longer 3 have fewer complications 3 spend less time in the hospital 4 and receive more kidney transplants . 3 contents 1 history 2 mission and values 3 locations 4 leadership 5 fundraising 6 innovation 7 awards 8 references 9 external links history edit early years in 1960 kidney failure was fatal . this changed when dr. belding h. scribner of the university of washington developed the scribner shunt a blood access device which made long term dialysis possible for the first time . for more details on this topic see scribner shunt . dr. scribner turned to the king county medical society president james w. haviland for sponsorship of a community supported outpatient dialysis center . 5 dr. haviland marshaled support drawing on his association with the university of washington and his clinical sense wisdom political acumen and knowledge of the seattle community to ensure that the new center operated on a not for profit basis . 6 in 1962 haviland and scribner launched the seattle artificial kidney center which changed its name to northwest kidney center in 1970 when its services spread beyond seattle . the name changed again to northwest kidney centers in 1992 when there were multiple locations . in 1964 time magazine reported that to treat 11 patients the seattle artificial kidney center had a staff of two full time physicians and one half time physician plus five nurses and five technicians . 7 during these early years of hemodialysis funding was extremely limited requiring rationed access to the few available dialysis machines . a committee of physicians screened potential patients first by strict medical criteria . patients who passed the initial medical screening were then further reviewed by an anonymous lay committee which decided who would get treatment . in 1962 life magazine published an article on the seattle dialysis screening committee which it dubbed the life or death committee . 8 the discussion the article generated led to the development of biomedical ethics as a field of professional study . 9 in 1964 dr. belding h. scribner s presidential address to the american society for artificial internal organs discussed the problems of patient selection termination of treatment patient suicide death with dignity and selection for transplantation . growth by 1964 seattle artificial kidney center had expanded to 10 stations serving 47 patients growth that led to financial strain . in response dr. scribner and his team developed home hemodialysis training patients to treat themselves from home reducing operational costs . 10 in 1972 the u.s. congress passed legislation authorizing the end stage renal disease program of medicare . 11 section 299i of public law 92 603 on october 30 1972 extended medicare coverage to over 90 percent of americans if they had permanent kidney failure and therefore required dialysis or kidney transplantation to live . 12 this funding led to wider availability of dialysis nationally and spurred the growth of northwest kidney center . in 1978 northwest kidney center began offering peritoneal dialysis in addition to its hemodialysis services first continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis capd and later automated peritoneal dialysis apd . 10 together with the puget sound blood center and the university of washington department of orthopedics northwest kidney center jointly founded the northwest tissue center in 1988 . 10 housed at the blood center the tissue center provided human bone tendons skin and other tissues for transplantation . present work as a nonprofit supported by financial donors northwest kidney centers is able to provide supplementary services in addition to kidney dialysis . these include special care for the most fragile patients free health education for people at every stage of kidney disease patient access to dental care staff scholarships fellowships for doctors doing advanced kidney study and funding for research . northwest kidney centers full service outpatient renal specialty pharmacy one of the first in the nation 13 serves people with advancing chronic kidney disease on dialysis or living with a kidney transplant . in 2008 northwest kidney centers collaborated with uw medicine in the creation of the kidney research institute . funding from northwest kidney centers helps equip and maintain laboratories and pay for preliminary investigations that pave the way for larger research grants . northwest kidney centers donates clinical research space in its facilities where kidney research institute investigators meet with patients . 14 in 2013 northwest kidney centers opened its 15th center in the southeast king county city of enumclaw . 15 in 2014 nephrology news & issues magazine named northwest kidney centers as the 10th largest dialysis provider in the united states . 16 museum on november 10 2012 during its 50th anniversary year northwest kidney centers opened a museum and gallery dedicated to the history of the organization and of dialysis treatment . located in seattle the museum showcases photos artifacts dialysis machines and equipment . 17 mission and values edit northwest kidney centers mission is to promote the optimal health quality of life and independence of people with kidney disease through patient care education and research . 1 patient care northwest kidney centers provides more than 240 000 treatments a year for more than 1 500 people with kidney disease 15 representing nearly 78 percent of all dialysis care in washington s king and clallam counties . 13 the organization treats patients in its 15 outpatient dialysis centers and in nine area hospitals . more than 250 patients choose home dialysis with training and supervision from northwest kidney centers . its special care service provides additional nursing and assistance to very frail patients . 1 education northwest kidney centers provides free classes on issues related to kidney disease including nutrition types of dialysis treatment and kidney transplants . in 2014 more than 1 500 people affected by chronic kidney disease attended a class . 15 the organization also participates in events and health fairs throughout the year and its nutrition experts not only counsel patients on the role of nutrition in preventing and treating kidney disease they also contribute articles to professional journals and columns to community newspapers . 1 research through its kidney research institute northwest kidney centers conducts research into the early detection prevention and treatment of kidney disease and its complications . the kidney research institute has received more than 70 million in research funding primarily from the national institutes of health and published more than 600 scientific papers . more than 60 studies are actively underway . 1 locations edit northwest kidney centers operates 15 outpatient dialysis centers across king and clallam counties . centers in seattle washington broadway elliott bay scribner at northgate seattle at 15th and cherry west seattle elsewhere in the region auburn washington enumclaw washington kent washington kirkland washington lake forest park washington bellevue washington port angeles washington renton washington seatac washington snoqualmie washington leadership edit northwest kidney centers president and ceo is joyce f. jackson mha . she was appointed in 1998 after 15 years as an administrator at virginia mason medical center . dr. bonnie collins serves as interim chief medical officer . 18 fundraising edit northwest kidney centers gets support for its mission through individual gifts corporate sponsorships and donor attendance at fundraising events . the funds raised support charity care for dialysis and transplant patients who can t afford medications educational outreach northwest kidney centers dialysis museum support for the kidney research institute and fellowships to train kidney doctors at the university of washington . events two annual fundraising events help further northwest kidney centers mission . since 2012 the annual discovery gala has raised money for its kidney research endeavor . in 2014 334 people attended the gala and raised 464 000 . 15 started in 2002 the annual breakfast of hope in may typically attracts more than 800 attendees . the fundraising emphasis changes each year ; in 2015 the focus was kidney transplant support services and charity care . proceeds from past breakfasts have been directed to patient nutrition services northwest kidney centers pharmacy and other services . 15 innovation edit as the world s first dialysis organization northwest kidney centers created protocols and procedures that were innovative in themselves . from its establishment in 1962 the organization has been a model in the kidney care field . home hemodialysis in 1964 dr. belding scribner and his team developed a machine to provide home hemodialysis for the first time . the machine first used by seattle artificial kidney center patients became a model for today s dialysis machines . epo studies in the 1980s northwest kidney centers was the first site chosen for human studies on a synthetic form of erythropoietin epo genetically engineered and later marketed as epogen by amgen inc. dr. joseph w. eschbach led the trials at northwest kidney centers . his results published in the new england journal of medicine in 1987 showed that artificial epo reversed anemia in kidney patients . 19 epo hormone treatments have improved the well being and quality of life of more than a million people with kidney disease . 20 wearable artificial kidney in 2014 researchers at the kidney research institute received fda approval for the first human study in the u.s. of the wearable artificial kidney . smaller and more portable than home dialysis machines the device is worn like a tool belt and it administers dialysis via a catheter . 21 northwest kidney centers dialysis patients are among the research trial participants . awards edit in 2009 president and ceo joyce f. jackson received washington state board of health s 2009 warren featherstone reid award for excellence in healthcare for her leadership and dedication to northwest kidney centers . 22 in 2010 northwest kidney centers received the washington state hospital association community health leadership award which honors healthcare organizations that best serve their community s broad health needs . 13 the award recognized northwest kidney centers chronic kidney disease education program offered free to the community . in 2013 northwest kidney centers was recognized in pr daily s nonprofit pr awards for 2012 s best traditional marketing campaign . the award cited 50th anniversary initiatives in public health public policy and public education . 23 in 2014 seattle magazine named ceo joyce jackson an outstanding health care executive as part of its annual leaders in healthcare awards . 24 in 2015 qualis health named northwest kidney centers as the recipient of its 2015 award of excellence in healthcare quality outpatient services . 25