IPRO ESRD Network 9 of the Ohio River Valley is a regional organization that contracts with the Centers of Medicare Services to support quality improvement activities and provides services to approximately 624 dialysis facilities and nearly 35,000 patients. This project proposal is a collaborative effort between Network 9 and the Case MetroHealth Center for Reducing Health Disparities to work within the 3-state region that Network 9 supports bringing together transplant centers, dialysis centers, and key stakeholders(patients, patient advocacy groups, and non-profits focused on kidney disease) in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky to improve access to kidney transplantation. The work of this group will be modeled after the Southeast Kidney Transplant Coalition as well as extend its scope to meet the specific challenges and goals identified by its membership.

The initial goal of the Transplant Coalition is to understand mechanisms and practices around challenging issues that transplant centers, ESRD dialysis facilities and patients face rather than to develop interventions. The overall goal is for centers and institutions to gain a better understanding of their own practices based upon the practices of other institutions and then, develop best practices. Once the initial groundwork is complete, then more specific interventions can be developed.