Kidney health screenings set in Rehoboth Feb. 9

The National Kidney Foundation Serving Maryland and Delaware will hold a free KEEP Healthy Check Up at Beebe Healthcare’s Annual Health Fair, taking place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Atlantic Sands Hotel on the Boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach. KEEP Healthy is the foundation's community-based initiative to educate about the kidneys, risk factors for kidney disease, and steps to take to keep kidneys healthy and reduce risk.

Appointments are not required, and any adult can participate. Lasting about 20 minutes, the checkup includes a risk survey, body mass index, height and weight management, blood pressure check, blood draw to check kidney function, free educational materials and the opportunity to speak with a healthcare professional and a dietician.

Kidney disease is the ninth leading cause of death in the United States, killing more people every year than breast or prostate cancer. 

Although 30 million people are estimated to have CKD, 96 percent of those with early kidney disease (stages 1 and 2) don’t even know they have CKD. In fact, 25 percent of the 810 people screened locally by NKF in FY 2018 and 410 people screened in the first six months of FY 2019 demonstrated significant results.

“Overall, CKD affects 15 percent of the U.S. adult population,” said Pattie Dash, executive director of the National Kidney Foundation Serving Maryland and Delaware. “It is imperative we try to reduce these numbers locally through community outreach events like this health and wellness fair.”

For more information, go to www.kidney.org.