Patients with advanced chronic kidney disease often have an overwhelming symptom burden, experience high healthcare utilization, and commonly have a highly medicalized end-of-life experience that is not concordant with their wishes. Palliative care, a medical specialty that provides symptom management and assistance with complex medical decision-making for patients with serious illness, has the possibility to improve the healthcare experience of both the patient with advanced chronic kidney disease and their family members.

The aim of NYU Langone’s Kidney CARES (Comprehensive Advanced Renal Disease and End Stage Kidney Disease Support) Program is to deliver comprehensive, patient-centered care to those with serious kidney disease and to conduct innovative research that tests the effectiveness of an integrated nephrology and palliative care clinical model.

The United Kingdom and Australia have published data about the value of integrated palliative care for vulnerable patients with chronic kidney disease, particularly early in the disease trajectory and in the ambulatory setting, which is presumably less chaotic than the hospital. Currently, there is limited data from the United States that examines the impact of palliative care integration in advanced chronic kidney disease management. As one of the first programs of its kind in the nation, Kidney CARES seeks to fill that knowledge gap.

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The Kidney CARES Program is led by Jennifer S. Scherer, MD, who is board-certified in both palliative care and nephrology. To learn more about the program, contact Dr. Scherer at jennifer.scherer@nyulangone.org.