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Health checks to be offered at ‘Da Kidney Da Kine Day’

By Staff | Oct 1, 2015

Maui Lions Clubs, Lahainaluna High School’s Health Occupations Students of America (pictured at a past event), West Maui Soroptimists, KAOI Radio, and Liberty and Rainbow Dialysis help the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii stage “Da Kidney Da Kine Day.”

LAHAINA – The National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii will host its second annual “Da Kidney Da Kine Day” on Saturday, Oct. 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Lahaina Cannery Mall.

The foundation will offer free screenings to the public for those over 18 years of age. The event is important to create public awareness about the silent and rapidly escalating chronic kidney disease epidemic in Hawaii. One in seven Hawaii residents is afflicted with CKD, which is higher than the Mainland numbers of one in nine.

The event’s intent is to encourage residents to get a free early kidney disease screening in an effort to help them avoid kidney failure. This free screening will detect signs of early kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, urine analysis and high blood sugar. Each participant going through the screening will receive personalized results and have a one-on-one consultation with a medical professional or doctor.

Genentech is the presenting sponsor for “Da Kidney Da Kine Day,” but the event would not be possible without the support of the medical community. Volunteers donate time to help our community with this crucially important screening effort.

KAOI Deejay Cindy Paulos will emcee the event, which will feature entertainment by Lahaina’s Kulewa, Jack Gist and Friends, and Auntie Doll’s Ka Pa Hula O Maui. The free, family-friendly event will have a keiki corner, too. Come visit with other non-profits hosting tables for great information on health and wellness.

Chronic kidney disease is called a “silent killer” because most people that have it don’t know it until it’s too late and their kidneys are already failing.

Hawaii leads the country in chronic kidney disease with a rate 30 percent higher than the national average. On Maui and throughout Hawaii, CKD is widely undetected and under-diagnosed.

The leading causes of kidney disease are high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and a family history of kidney disease. The groups most at-risk in Hawaii include Native Hawaiians, Filipinos, Hispanic and Japanese.

The great news is that with early detection, education, medication and lifestyle changes, CKD is treatable. Early intervention patients have a chance to control CKD in the early stages, and to avoid or delay the progression of kidney disease to end-stage kidney failure and the need for dialysis treatments or a kidney transplant to survive.

For more information, contact Jill Holley, director of the Maui Office of the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii, at (808) 986-1900, or visit www.kidneyhi.org.