Empowered Kidney Care - Empowered Kidney Care

Resources to empower and help preserve kidney function for patients with CKD.

It’s Time to Revolutionize Kidney Care

Every day, millions of patients across America receive kidney dialysis, the numbers aren’t adding up. The traditional approach to kidney disease costs us thousands of lives and billions of dollars every year. Something has got to change.

High Mortality & Hospitalization

Dialysis patients in the U.S. have a 16% mortality rate and face an average of 1.7 hospitalizations per year.

High Cost

Dialysis and related complications cost private and government payers billions of dollars every year.

Poor Experience

Dialysis centers are often very negative environments with a high number of “non-compliant” patients. Staff suffer from high turnover and burnout.

We're Moving "Upstream"

The good news? Most patients can avoid dialysis when kidney disease is identified and managed early. Empowered Kidney Care was founded to empower patients with the tools and knowledge they need to preserve kidney function... and to help form a new kind of healthcare team centered around the empowered patient.

Kidney care patients deserve control, hope, and dignity.

In Memory of Dr. Richard Gibney

This site continues to host free resources in memory of Dr. Richard Gibney, the late founder of Empowered Kidney Care.

Dr. Gibney worked in traditional kidney care for over four decades. In 2006, a partnership with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) inspired him to innovate and challenge the status quo. Years later, his eyes were further opened by a visit from two healthcare professionals from an acclaimed dialysis program in Jonkoping, Sweden.

Over a four-year period, Dr. Gibney led the successful transformation of 11 dialysis units in central Texas to an empowered in-center self-care dialysis model, serving over 500 patients. Staff and patients were extremely satisfied, and mortality and hospitalizations were cut in half.

In 2020, Dr. Gibney launched Empowered Kidney Care, helping patients and providers shift their focus "upstream" to successfully preserve kidney function for patients with CKD.

featured in

The “Empowered” Health Philosophy

Empowered care practices are changing the medical experience across the nation, rediscovering patients as people and equipping them to take control of their own health — starting with kidney care.

Control

Inform, educate, and involve patients, empowering them to take control of their own health.

Collaboration

Help staff members become mentors and coaches, working together with patients in a partnership towards better health.

Culture

Create cultures of mutual trust, earned by listening, sharing stories, and building relationships.

Community

Create communities where everyone is working together towards the same goals and looking out for each other. Empowered staff and patients are happy, appreciative, and productive.

Embrace Empowerment

Our resources were designed to help kidney patients get the information they need to take control of their health ... and equip healthcare providers to adopt an empowered kidney care culture!

view resources