UNITY HEALTH CARE TO UNVEIL TESTING PROGRAM

Sean Elliott, former NBA All-Star and kidney transplant survivor, will appear as national spokesperson

 New rapid, in-office test to facilitate early diagnosis

WASHINGTON, DC, July 24, 2002 – Former NBA All-Star Sean Elliott has teamed up with the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) and Bayer Diagnostics in the fight against chronic kidney disease (CKD), a condition that would eventually destroy his kidney function, interrupt his career, and send him to the hospital for a kidney transplant.  Elliott will be at the Congress Heights Unity Health Center today meeting with healthcare providers and patients to stress the importance of early detection for at-risk groups.

“I didn’t have a clue,” says Elliott.  “I was blindsided when doctors told me I had some kind of kidney disease.”  Elliott was at the peak of his career, coming off of an NBA championship season with the San Antonio Spurs, when he learned he would need a kidney transplant in August 1999.  Elliott made history by returning to the court in March the following year, but retired from basketball at the end of that season.

 In an effort to spare the more than 40 million people with or at risk for kidney disease from what he went through, Elliott serves as national spokesperson for CHECK-UP, a new public health initiative designed to help fight kidney disease.  The program combines physician education and consumer awareness with a new, rapid urine diagnostic test – the Multistix PRO^® Reagent Strip.  The test can help physicians detect the early signs of kidney disease right in their offices.

“I wish that this new test had been available to me,” adds Elliott.  “Had I known about kidney disease earlier, my NBA career might never have been interrupted.”

 Treatment of CKD costs an estimated $17¹-18²billion each year in the United States, an especially harsh burden because the problem disproportionately affects populations that are medically under-served.  According to a recent study in the American Journal of Kidney Disease, reducing progression of chronic kidney disease by even 10% could save nearly $19 billion over the next ten years. 

CKD has recently come to the forefront.  Earlier this year, the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) introduced new Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (K/DOQI) Clinical Practice Guidelines for kidney disease, putting particular emphasis on the role of the primary care physician in early detection.  Bayer Diagnostics is an implementation partner for K/DOQI, and the CHECK-UP program is an expression of their commitment to the NKF’s goal. 

CHECK-UP, the Campaign for Health, Education and Care of Kidneys in Under-diagnosed Populations, will be unveiled on Wednesday, July 24 at D.C.’s Congress Heights Unity Health Center.  CHECK-UP is a collaboration of NACHC and Bayer Diagnostics the developers of the new Multistix PRO 60-second test, which helps in the early detection of kidney disease.  It replaces current, more cumbersome tests such as procedures that require collection of all urine for an entire 24-hour period, laboratory analysis of the samples, and a return visit by the patient to get the results.  The program was created to provide educational materials to help at-risk patients learn about the disease, make available to community health centers the latest K/DOQI guidelines on detection and treatment of the disease, and provide the Multistix PRO strips at no charge for patients with no public or private insurance and who meet certain federal poverty guidelines.

“CHECK-UP is an excellent example of a partnership between public clinics and private corporations to help make healthcare available to everyone who needs it.  Our commitment is to provide the best quality service available to our patients, and through this partnership we remain true to our mission.” said Vincent A. Keane, CEO of Unity Health Care.  “Early identification of individuals with kidney disease allows for quick and early treatment, as well as lifestyle changes that can stop further progression of the disease.  We believe these twin initiatives of education and innovation will change the face of kidney disease through effective, early detection.” 

 Bayer Diagnostics, which is underwriting the CHECK-UP program, will supply at no cost, the Unity Health Centers with Multistix PRO Reagent Strips to support the awareness and testing program.  The strips are urine dipsticks which measure the ratio of compounds in the urine (protein and creatinine, an enzyme produced in the muscles).  The new test allows an accurate reading of a patient’s urine sample regardless of the urine concentration which can vary depending on how much fluid the individual has had to drink prior to testing.  Through CHECK-UP, Bayer Diagnostics will also supply Unity Health Centers with additional educational materials to help support this awareness effort.

 Kidney Disease

CKD claims 50,000 lives each year in this country.  More than 20 million Americans have CKD, and most don’t even know it.  Another 20 million are at risk for developing CKD.  Those most at risk include people suffering from diabetes or high blood pressure; those with a close family member who has kidney disease; individuals from certain ethnic groups including African American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian American, and Pacific Islander; and people over 60 years of age.  To learn more about kidney disease, please log onto the National Kidney Foundation website at www.kidney.org/general/news.

National Association of Community Health Centers

NACHC is the national trade association representing America’s community health centers, with the mission of providing high quality, comprehensive care that is accessible and culturally appropriate for all medically underserved populations.  Operating in urban and rural areas spanning 50 states and select territories, community health centers provide services and programs to more than 11 million individuals through 3,200 delivery sites in the neediest and most isolated communities.  To learn more, please log on to www.nachc.com.

Unity Health Care

Unity Health Care, Washington D.C.’s largest nonprofit health and social service organization serves individuals and families in all eight Wards of the District of Columbia through its network of 11 Community Health Centers, 3 Specialized Health Centers, 11 sites serving homeless people, and two mobile units. Nearly 40,000 people—working poor, uninsured, immigrants, homeless, and the formerly incarcerated—benefited from its services in 2001.  Most of its patients live below the federal poverty level.  For more information, please visit www.unityhealthcare.org.

Bayer Diagnostics

Bayer Diagnostics is an implementation partner of the National Kidney Foundation’s recently launched K/DOQI Guidelines and is the sole provider of urinalysis at the Foundation’s Kidney Early Evaluation Programs (KEEP).

 With more than 7,300 employees worldwide and 2000 sales greater than $1.8 billion, Bayer Diagnostics (www.bayerdiag.com), based in Tarrytown, New York, USA, is one of the largest diagnostic businesses in the world.  The organization supports customers in 100 countries through an extensive portfolio of central, self-testing, nucleic acid and near patient care diagnostics systems and services for use in the assessment and management of health, including the areas of cardiovascular and kidney disease, oncology, virology, women's health and diabetes.  Bayer Diagnostics is a part of the worldwide Bayer Group, a $29 billion international health care and chemicals group based in Leverkusen, Germany.  Bayer Diagnostics' global headquarters in the United States operates as part of Bayer Corporation of Pittsburgh, a research-based company with major businesses in health care, life sciences and chemicals.  

For further information please contact Jose Aponte (202) 518-6435 or Steve Gendel (212) 229-8400