Emergency Preparedness

Emergencies, whether natural disasters, terrorist attacks, pandemics or others arrive quickly and often without warning. History teaches us that a lack of awareness and preparedness are common threads among all major disasters. Knowing your vulnerabilities and what actions you need to take can greatly reduce the effects of the disaster.

For people living with kidney disease and the facilities that provide life-sustaining treatment to these patients, planning for emergencies and disasters can be the difference between life and death.

What Network 8 Can Do to Assist You

This website contains resources for individuals and facilities planning for an emergency or disaster. During a disaster we provide the following services:

  • Assist patients and facilities in identifying dialysis facilities that can provide ESRD services
  • Coordinate with providers and emergency workers to ensure patient access to dialysis.
  • Track and make available the open and closed status of dialysis facilities in affected areas.
  • Assist family members and treating facilities in determining the dialysis location of displaced patients in order to exchange critical medical information.

To determine the “open” or “closed” status of a dialysis facility in an impacted area and the services being provided, or to get to a map showing the nearest open facility in the event of an emergency or disaster, go to http://dialysisunits.com.

If the Network 8 office is closed for an extended period due to an emergency event, another ESRD Network will be designated to assist you.

Information and Resources

This page includes information and resources for dialysis patients and staff on increasing preparedness for emergencies. Also, in the event of an emergency, dialysis patients can visit this page to help find service or assistance and to check the open/closed status of dialysis facilities and find the nearest facility. This page also contains links to Emergency Management Agencies as well as a list of ESRD toll-free phone numbers.

KCER Advisories

Patients and providers can visit this page to find advisories from the Kidney Community Emergency Response Coalition (KCER).

Pandemic Flu Resources

Patients and providers can visit this page to find answers to common questions about individual, organizational, and community roles in preparing for and responding to complex issues posed by a future pandemic.