Pima Medical Institute Student Volunteers Make an Impact at DaVita Kidney Rock™

Pima students and graduates helped The Kidney TRUST provide free CKD screening at the annual
DaVita Kidney Rock™.

Last August, The Kidney TRUST provided free CKD screening at the annual DaVita Kidney Rock™ at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado.  The TRUST screened hundreds of participants, but couldn’t have done it without the support of 28 medical assistant students from the Pima Medical Institute. 

The Pima students helped with registration, education and CKD calculations.  In addition, six Pima medical technician graduates contracted with The TRUST to carry out the blood draws and testing during the screening process.

Founded in 1972, Pima Medical Institute currently operates 13 campuses in seven states, including Colorado.  PMI’s mission is to improve the quality of people’s lives by providing the best value in medical career education.

“The Kidney Rock event was a great opportunity for our students to partner with The Kidney TRUST staff to get real world experience providing public health screening and education,” according to Carrie Bunting, Career Services Adviser at PMI in Denver.  “We were so pleased to be part of the event and look forward to working with the TRUST on future events. We encourage our students to give back to the community and this was a perfect chance for them to do so.”

The TRUST is partnering with Pima Medical Institute volunteers in five states — Colorado, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico & Texas.

“The Pima volunteers were fantastic,” said Carol Munson, CKD Screening Program Coordinator for The TRUST.  “They brought incredible energy, interest and skill to our team and helped make the event a success on every level.”  The TRUST is now partnering with Pima in four states — Colorado, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas — with Pima volunteers scheduled to participate in a number of upcoming events.

DaVita Kidney Rock™ raised awareness of kidney disease and funds to help bring dialysis to developing nations around the globe.   The 5K course traveled through the streets of downtown Denver and finished at Coors Field. Following the race, participants enjoyed food and drinks, live music from local bands and the DaVita Blues All-Stars, a kids’ zone, a kidney health expo with kidney screenings available at no cost by The Kidney TRUST, a costume contest and special appearances by the Rockies mascot, Dinger. Proceeds from the event benefited Bridge of Life – DaVita Medical Missions™.

The TRUST’s rapid-screening program identifies individuals who have signs of kidney impairment.  These individuals were empowered to change their lives, modify their behavior and receive timely treatment.  Along with learning their screening results onsite, screening participants benefit from a personal education session to explain their results and any individual risk factors, receive materials that offer additional education about CKD and its prevention, and are encouraged to seek medical follow-up as appropriate.