“We felt it was very important to bring the COVID-19 vaccine to the dialysis units for our patients,” says WashU nephrologist Anitha Vijayan about the recent undertaking to administer the vaccine to patients on dialysis. Although patients with end-stage kidney disease are a highly vulnerable population for complications from COVID-19 infection, many have limited resources […]
Will Ross, MD, MPH, Associate Dean for Diversity and Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology at Washington University School of Medicine, recently discussed various aspects of the COVID-19 vaccine in a BJC HealthCare YouTube presentation. Ross addresses concerns about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine and encourages everyone to “get behind” the […]
Business as Usual While healthcare workers on the front line have gotten much-deserved attention as they care forpatients during the COVID-19 crisis, there are also many WashU Nephrology members who are working hard behind the scenes to keep the division up and running. Barbara Schmaltz, BSN, RN, nurse manager of the Renal Outpatient Office, and […]
From telemedicine to video conferencing to interviews, remote conference tools have been so useful and favorably received since the COVID-19 shutdown that they may just end up being part of our “new normal” long after the crisis has passed. Virtual conference tools have helped members of WashU Nephrology keep connected to not only our patients, […]
2020 will certainly be a year our fellows will remember. The WashU Nephrology fellowship training program provides a strong clinical training and research experience for our fellows during their time with us. The fellows see patients in Barnes-Jewish Hospital (including the ICUs), attend to patients undergoing dialysis at Chromalloy Kidney Center, monitor the home modalities […]
While in-center dialysis units have made major changes in their daily protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic, the care of patients undergoing home dialysis modalities has also undergone a significant adjustment. “The COVID-19 pandemic instantly taught us the utility of telehealth in patient care,” says Anubha Mutneja, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Nephrology and […]
New Routines “I can hear the staff on the floor laughing and joking today … so it is a good day!” says Tom Gowen, RN, nurse manager of Washington University’s North County Dialysis Center, when asked how the dialysis unit was adapting to the COVID-19 crisis. While it cannot be overstated how much has changed […]
As a gesture of appreciation for how everyone has pulled together during the COVID-19 pandemic, WashU Nephrology is distributing #nephSTRONG t-shirts to its 180 faculty, staff and trainees. The t-shirts are compliments of an anonymous donor and were designed by children of two WashU Nephrology faculty members. Dr. Anitha Vijayan’s daughter, Maya Menon, and Dr. […]
Being Prepared Even before the first COVID-19 positive patient was identified in the St. Louis area, the Division of Nephrology was preparing for the coming crisis knowing that it would be a matter of when it would happen, not if it would happen. The Division had a unified goal: continue to deliver superb clinical care […]
Colleague to Colleague to Friend Jason Mills, MD, PhD, Washington University Division of Gastroenterology, has generously donated 600 high quality surgical masks to his good friend Sanjay Jain, MD, PhD, here in the Division of Nephrology. Dr. Mills was passing on the gift of the much-needed PPE that he himself had received from an overseas […]