Kidney Support Groups

Find Support, Connection & Community

Whether you’re navigating chronic kidney disease, dialysis, transplantation, or supporting a loved one, NKFF Support Groups provide a safe and welcoming space to connect with others who understand the journey.

Choose the group that best fits your needs and stay connected through meeting reminders, registration updates, and upcoming events.

Adult Kidney Support Group

NKFF Kidney Support Group Meeting

A safe, supportive space for patients, caregivers, and families navigating chronic kidney disease, dialysis, or transplant.

This month’s discussion will include how your computer can become a valuable source of information once you learn how to better identify and filter misinformation online.

Whether you’re newly diagnosed, in treatment, post-transplant, or walking alongside a loved one, you belong here.

Come hear stories, ask questions, share what’s working, and discover you’re not alone.

Open To

• CKD Patients

• Dialysis Patients

• Transplant Patients

• Family Members

• Caregivers

Meeting Information

• Held monthly

• Always free

• Open to all stages of CKD

Time: 7:00 PM
When: Second Thursday of every month
Location: Zoom

Register or Learn More

Register online to join or contact for more information.

KEEP Healthy

Free Kidney Health Screenings

The Florida Kidney Screening Program provides free screenings for kidney disease, high blood pressure and diabetes for those most at-risk of developing kidney disease.

The NKF of Florida has screened thousands of people with this program, making it a forerunner of early detection, diagnosis, and treatment referral for kidney disease.

Path to Wellness

Free Community Health Screenings

Free community health screening provided by NKFF in collaboration with other local health organizations. These screenings will take place throughout major cities in the state of Florida: Orlando, Miami, Tampa, and Jacksonville on a sponsored basis, and are open to the public. Path to Wellness screenings provide free blood and urine testing, which is evaluated onsite using point-of-care testing devices to assess for the risk of diabetes, heart and kidney diseases.

Those screened are also presented with chronic disease management education, an overall health assessment (weight, blood pressure, etc.) and a one-on-one consultation with a physician.

Enrollment opportunities are offered for a follow-up 6-week series of Healthy Living workshops that teach chronic disease self-management skills.

Direct Aid

Financial Assistance for Kidney Patients

The National Kidney Foundation of Florida (NKFF) Direct Aid program is designed to assist patients who require financial assistance to obtain needed food, medication, treatment related transportation and emergency assistance with housing and utility bills.

Types of Grants

Food Grants

The Food Grant Program assists eligible dialysis patients with the costs of food not covered by other sources.

Medication Grant Program

The Medication Grant Program enables qualified kidney patients to receive urgently needed medications, nutritional supplements, and durable medical supplies.

Transportation Grant Program

The Transportation Grant Program assists eligible dialysis patients with the costs of transportation not covered by other sources.

Grants are limited to:

• Travel to and from treatment

• Travel to a doctor’s appointment once a month

• Travel for the purpose of a transplant work-up

One-Time Emergency Grant Program

The One-Time Emergency Grant program provides financial assistance to qualified kidney patients who need assistance with mortgage/rent payments or utility bills.

Patient Eligibility

• Patient must be on dialysis or a transplant recipient.

• All other funding sources should be exhausted — the NKF should be considered “last resort” funding.

• Applications should list other attempts and denials for other types of assistance.

• A patient’s liquid assets may not exceed $1,000.

• The NKF of Florida does not fund doctor/hospital fees, dialysis treatment costs, transplantation surgery, or insurance premiums.

• All applications must be submitted by a dialysis or transplant social worker.

How to Apply

Please see your social worker.

Contact Information

Phone: (800) 927.9659
Phone: (407) 894.7325

Resources

• NKFF Direct Aid Guidelines

• Printable Application (For reference only)

Social Worker Portal

If you’re a social worker, register or sign in here:

Hawthorne Patient Assistance Fund

The National Kidney Foundation of Florida’s Hawthorne Patient Assistance Fund will provide short-term financial assistance to qualified kidney transplant recipients to meet the cost of their kidney transplant related medications (immunosuppressant and prophylaxis drugs), while they seek out other longer-term solutions.

A Qualified Patient Applicant Must:

• Be a kidney transplant recipient

• Be uninsured or under-insured

• Be a Florida resident

• Complete a Patient Assistance Fund application

Assistance Available

Approved patient applicants are eligible to receive assistance of up to $1,000 per month, with a lifetime maximum of $2,000, paid directly to our partner, direct mail pharmacy, Priority Health Rx.

Covered Expenses

The Hawthorne Patient Assistance Fund is exclusively for costs of transplant related medications (immunosuppressant and prophylaxis drugs).

Not Covered

The fund will not provide assistance for other charges, transplant related or otherwise, including, but not limited to:

• Physician charges

• Hospital charges

• Laboratory services

• Surgical costs

• Living expenses

• Travel expenses

• Insurance premiums

Contact Information

For more information please call:

800.927.9659
407.894.7325

Resources:

Health Fairs

Community Outreach & Awareness

NKF of Florida staff and volunteers attend numerous health fairs related to kidney disease and organ donation/transplantation.

Press releases are distributed to news media to raise awareness of kidney/urinary tract diseases and organ donation.

Major employers in the area are also sent information to pass on to their employees.

National Kidney Month

Why National Kidney Month Is Important

It Reminds Us to Be Good to Our Bodies

Make sure you take care of your body and your vital internal organs so they can continue taking care of you.

It’s a Chance to Express Gratitude for Our Health

If you have fully functional kidneys, be grateful. Take a minute to feel gratitude for all the internal organs that do the invisible, daily work of keeping us alive.

It Shows That Science Is Awesome

Just a few decades ago, kidney disease could mean a death sentence. Today, although it’s still a serious and frightening illness, we can often fight off kidney failure with dialysis and organ transplants.

World Kidney Day

About the Day

World Kidney Day is a global awareness campaign aimed at raising awareness of the importance of our kidneys.

World Kidney Day comes back every year. All across the globe many hundred events take place from public screenings in Argentina to Zumba marathons in Malaysia.

We do it all to create awareness.

• Awareness about preventive behaviors
• Awareness about risk factors
• Awareness about how to live with kidney disease

We do this because we want kidney health for all.

History of World Kidney Day

• 2019 – Kidney Health for Everyone Everywhere
• 2018 – Kidneys & Women’s Health
• 2017 – Kidney Disease & Obesity
• 2016 – Kidney Disease & Children
• 2015 – Kidney Health for All
• 2014 – Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and aging
• 2013 – Kidneys for Life – Stop Kidney Attack!
• 2012 – Donate – Kidneys for Life – Receive
• 2011 – Protect your kidneys: Save your heart
• 2010 – Protect your kidneys: Control diabetes
• 2009 – Protect your kidneys: Keep your pressure down
• 2008 – Your amazing kidneys!
• 2007 – CKD: Common, harmful and treatable
• 2006 – Are your kidneys OK

Learn More

Renal Professional Forum

Annual Renal Professional Forum

As the leading organization dedicated to the awareness, prevention and treatment of kidney disease, the National Kidney Foundation of Florida annually partners with:

• Florida Chapters of the Council of Nephrology Social Workers

• Florida Council on Renal Nutrition

• American Nephrology Nurses Association

This program is designed specifically for:

• Renal Social Workers

• Dietitians

• Nurses

• Technicians

Outreach and Education

Your Kidneys and You

YOUR BRAIN THINKS AND RUNS THE SHOW…

YOUR HEART BEATS AND KEEPS YOU ON THE GO…

YOUR EYES SEE AND KEEP YOU ON TRACK…

WHAT DO YOUR KIDNEYS DO?

“Your Kidneys and You” is a health education program designed to raise awareness among the general public about:

• How the kidneys function

• The risk factors for kidney disease

• How to protect the kidneys

This educational webinar on kidney disease helps you to learn what your kidneys do and why they are so important.

Early detection and evaluation is the key to preventing kidney disease.

Now more than ever, learning about your kidneys is vital to your health.

Schedule a Presentation

For more information on scheduling, contact:

Barbara Chatman
Regional Development Director

Phone: 954-947-4033
Email: bchatman@kidneyfla.org

Team Florida

Donate Life Transplant Games

The Donate Life Transplant Games is a multi-sport festival event produced by the Transplant Life Foundation for individuals who have undergone life-saving transplant surgeries.

Competition events are open to:

• Living donors

• Organ transplant recipients

• Bone marrow transplant recipients

• Corneal transplant recipients

• Tissue transplant recipients

More than an athletic event, the Donate Life Transplant Games highlight the critical importance of organ, eye, and tissue donation, while celebrating the lives of organ donors and recipients.

Team Managers

Denise Simpson

teamfloridatransplantgames@gmail.com

Links

• Team Florida Facebook Page

• Transplant Games of America

Donate

Donate to Team Florida.