Partnering to improve rehabilitation opportunities for persons with end-stage renal disease in Texas

In 1986, congress added language to the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Network mandates to encourage the participation of patients, providers, and facilities in vocational rehabilitation programs. The goal of this mandate was to attain the original program estimates of patients rehabilitated that were formulated a decade earlier. Each of the 18 ESRD Networks has developed unique strategies to meet the congressional mandates. In 1997, the ESRD Network of Texas, Inc. (The Network) initiated a project to increase the number of persons with ESRD working or in school. The initiative has resulted in a partnership with the Texas Rehabilitation Commission (TRC) to provide ESRD education to rehabilitation counselors. As a direct result of this partnership the TRC has directed that counselors be assigned to Texas dialysis facilities to help identify candidates for vocational rehabilitation. It is hoped that the efforts of the TRC, dialysis community, and the ESRD Network will result in more persons with ESRD attaining an active and productive life.