Community Leadership

Kidney Walk is back! On September 23 rd , thousands of KFOC supporters around BC will Walk · Run · Volunteer · Donate to support The Kidney Foundation. Perfect for the whole family (including your pets) and all levels of ability. Take a Giant Step · Sign up as an individual or form a team. Go to www.kidneywalk.ca to register. Every step is a giant leap forward in the fight against kidney disease! ■

We want to hear from you!

Have a story idea, update from your Chapter or community, a tip or success story you want to share or some feedback for Kidney News?

We publish Kidney News twice a year: Summer and Winter Issues. To be included in the next issue, please forward any ideas or comments to deboraht@kidney.bc.ca by September 14, 2018. Thanks!

Kidneys on the Move– A Force to be Reckoned With

Eighteen years ago, Kidneys on the Move was but a gleam in the eye of kidney transplant recipient, the late Doug Hobbs, and his wife Maureen. Today it is a major force in the fundraising world of The Kidney Foundation.

Having just received his gift of life from his brother, Keith, on Valentine’s Day 2000, Doug and Maureen organized a fundraiser, called Kidneys on the Move, and invited family and friends to join them in celebrating Doug’s life-saving transplant. In 2001 Doug and Maureen joined The Kidney Foundation of Canada and promoted Kidneys on the Move as an annual fund raiser to support patients with kidney disease requiring organ donation and assist them with accommodation and travel expenses related to transplantation in Vancouver. Doug passed away on Remembrance Day 2012 and is remembered by many as a hero. Inspired by her husband’s legacy, Maureen continues as a member with The Kidney Foundation and organizer of Kidneys

on the Move, which to this date, has raised over $100,000 to support patients with kidney disease.

Doug's Legacy Lives On

The Hobbs campaign to promote the importance of kidney health and organ donation has grown beyond Doug and Maureen Hobbs’ initial Kidneys on the Move fundraising initiative.

Maureen recalled how Doug used to say, “It really sucks that the number of patients suffering with kidney disease are increasing and many will die before receiving a transplant. What can we do?” This was the impetus for Maureen to initiate an organ donor public awareness campaign and adopt the acronym SUC: Sign Up Canada with Kidneys on the Move which has since become an integral part of the Leadership Maureen and Doug Hobbs (left and right) Program at the University of Victoria School of receiving a recognition award in 2012 Nursing and could expand across BC and Canada.

Maureen, an RN and sessional instructor with the University of Victoria School of Nursing, was preparing for a course when she had the idea to partner with nursing students and guide them to become ambassadors for raising awareness about kidney health and organ donation. She collaborated with The Kidney Foundation and Schools of Nursing about the concept of volunteering as a field guide and subsequently invited 4 nursing students to conduct their community placement with her. Maureen envisioned how it was possible to mobilize nursing students and young adults in colleges and universities across BC to make their wishes known by registering to become an organ donor. The participating nursing students reported they felt good about advocating for patients with kidney disease, promoting organ donor registration and about participating in such activities as hosting classroom presentations, participating in informational booths at the university and talking directly to their target audiences, who are primarily their peers and other university students.

Ultimately Sign Up Canada with Kidneys on the Move is an attainable goal among nursing schools across Canada. Nursing students are in a perfect position to become knowledgeable ambassadors of kidney health, transplantation and making wishes known for organ registration.

Nursing students across BC are invited to become leaders with Sign Up Canada with Kidneys on the Move. A kidney resource package is available for nursing students wishing to get involved. For additional information, please contact Maureen Hobbs, RN, BSN, MN, Continuing Instructor, Nursing, University of Victoria, Home Office 250-478-6658 maureenh@uvic.ca or maureenhobbs@shaw.ca ■

Are you"kidneying"me?

The Kidney Foundation has a TV show about kidney health that’s fun and informative?

PLUGGED IN covers all topics important to kidney patients, caregivers, health care professionals, volunteers, supporters and the public-at-large. Get PLUGGED IN!

Subscribe to our YouTube channel. PLUGGED IN also airs on SHAW TV!

It’s easy… Here’s how… • SHAW TV Channel 4 across BC • Google YouTube.com (check your local listings for days • Search Kidney BCY TV and times) • Click on any episode— • SHAW Multicultural Channel there are over 50 to choose from! (Vancouver and Calgary) • Sit back and enjoy! • SHAW Direct Canada-wide (3 times daily - check your local • Don’t forget to click on the red subscribe listings for days and times) button to receive a reminder when each new episode is airing! Now airing across BC on Or you can visit us at kidney.bc.ca and click on the PLUGGED IN rotating banner.

Coming up this summer:

Check out highlights from the Canadian Transplant Games! Don’t miss the Kidney Cuisine Cook Off: Nephrologists vs Dieticians PLUGGED IN captures the grand opening of BC’s first PKD clinic and interviews Dr. Bevilacqua about why this clinic is important to patients