Kidney Mobile Offering Free Screenings at Silver Cross

ilver Cross Renal Centers in partnership with the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois and Northeast Nephrology Consultants will offer free kidney disease screenings Tuesday, March 15, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Specialty Care Pavilion Lobby on the Silver Cross Hospital campus, 1300 Copperfield Ave., Joliet.   

Seventy percent of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) cases are caused by high blood pressure and diabetes, particularly when left untreated. The National Kidney Foundation’s goal in using the KidneyMobile® is to detect these diseases early on and prevent people from suffering from CKD.     

Chronic Kidney Disease is the permanent loss of kidney function, which decreases the body’s ability to keep you healthy. As the function of the kidneys decreases, it can cause harmful effects throughout the rest of your body such as serious heart, bone and brain problems.  

“The KidneyMobile® is a valuable service in our community,” said Dr.Preeti Nagarkatte, Medical Director of Nephrology and the dialysis program at Silver Cross Hospital. “It’s important that people are diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure early on so they can get treatment to prevent kidney failure.”  

The kidney screening includes blood glucose and HbA1c testing, a urine test and blood tests for kidney disease. The goal is to identify individuals with these health problems so that they can seek treatment and prevent disease progression. No fasting is required.   After the screening takes place, participants are invited on board the KidneyMobile® for a tour of its exhibits and a discussion on the basic functions of the kidney, how diabetes and high blood pressure lead to CKD and appropriate uses of exercise and diet.   

Participants must register in advance for the screenings at www.silvercross.org or by calling 1-888-660-HEAL (4325). For more information on the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois’s KidneyMobile, visit www.kidneymobile.org.