Satellite Healthcare Marks National Kidney Month With a Unique Challenge to Staff, Community: Can You Eat Less than a Teaspoon of Salt Daily?
SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Satellite
Healthcare, a leading national not-for-profit and the 6th
largest provider of patient-centered dialysis and kidney disease
services, marked World Kidney Day today by issuing a unique challenge to
its staff members and the community at large: Put yourself in the shoes
of someone with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) by making a single
adjustment to your daily life. Eat less salt.
One in three American adults has hypertension, or high blood pressure,
and it is one of the most significant risk factors for developing CKD
and, ultimately, experiencing kidney failure requiring dialysis
treatment to stay alive. When someone is diagnosed with CKD, one of the
very first things they are typically instructed to do is drastically
lower their sodium intake in order to lower their blood pressure. Eating
less salt also reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke.
“Our patients often tell us how difficult it is for them to slash the
amount of salt in their diets, and we realized we could better
understand them, and better serve them, if we tried to do the same thing
ourselves,” said Rory Pace, Director of Nutrition Services at Satellite
Healthcare.
Participants in Satellite Healthcare’s Salt Challenge agree to do their
best to consume no more than 2,000 mg of sodium daily. That is the
equivalent of one teaspoon of salt, and the maximum amount recommended
for people with CKD. The average American consumes nearly twice that
much. Over the course of the five-day Salt Challenge, participants are
asked to keep journals to record what they eat and what the experience
is like. They’re invited to post updates to Satellite Healthcare’s Facebook
page as well as through other social media channels using the hashtag
#humanizedialysis.
“In today’s fast-food, packaged-products culture, limiting salt intake
can seem like an insurmountable challenge, but making an effort can reap
numerous benefits to kidney disease patients, as well as seemingly
healthy individuals,” said Pace. “Eating fresh rather than processed
fish, poultry, pork and lean meats; cooking food from scratch; checking
labels; and seasoning food with herbs, spices and citrus can go a long
way in not only lowering risk for CKD and other diseases, but in helping
a person feel much better all around.”
Dave Carter, Chief Operating Officer at Satellite Healthcare, undertook
the challenge – and he admitted it turned out to be tougher than he’d
anticipated. “I went into it with the mindset that I could readily
change my ways but I didn’t fully comprehend the daily effort and focus
that cutting back would require,” he remarked. “The important takeaway
for me was that I realized there are indeed many low-salt choices that
taste good and that left me feeling healthier. I also recognized how
hard it is to do alone – the support from my family made it much easier.
I have a much better understanding now of why our nutritionists make
such an effort to work not only with the patients but also with their
loved ones in helping to implement this kind of important dietary
change.”
Satellite Healthcare team members from across the company took the
challenge ahead of its official launch today, and recorded their
surprising and informative experiences in a video available online at www.satellitehealth.com/saltchallenge.
The ultimate goal is to humanize dialysis by bringing awareness to the
challenges people with CKD face each day. Satellite invites the public
to take the Salt Challenge and to use the hashtag #humanizedialysis when
sharing photos, videos and updates about their experience through social
media. Throughout National Kidney Month, the website www.kidneysdothat.org
will also host low-sodium recipes and tips as a resource for Salt
Challenge participants.
About Satellite Healthcare:
Satellite
Healthcare, Inc., has been among the nation’s leading not-for-profit
providers of kidney dialysis and related services since 1974. Through
its affiliated services, Satellite WellBound, Satellite Dialysis, and
Satellite Research, Satellite Healthcare provides unparalleled early
patient wellness education, personalized clinical services, and a
complete range of dialysis therapy choices. In addition, Satellite
Healthcare has a well-recognized, enduring commitment to philanthropy
and community service, from funding millions of dollars in research
grants to sponsoring kidney programs nationwide. Satellite is committed
to advancing the standard of chronic kidney disease care so patients can
enjoy a better life.
Contacts
for Satellite Healthcare
Nick Gaffney, 415-732-7801
ngaffney@zumado.com
