Making Dialysis Safer For Patients Coalition
The Making Dialysis Safer for Patients Coalition is a partnership of organizations and individuals that have joined forces with the common goal of promoting the use of CDC’s core interventions and resources to prevent dialysis bloodstream infections. Launched in September 2016, the Coalition’s goals are to:
- Facilitate implementation and adoption of core interventions through promotion, dissemination, and use of audit tools, checklists, and other resources
- Increase awareness about the core interventions for dialysis bloodstream infection prevention through educational efforts
- Share experiences and findings through collaboration with other Coalition participants
Benefits to Joining the Coalition
There are many benefits to joining the coalition, some include:
- Access to infection prevention materials and CDC expertise
- Access to quarterly free continuing education webinars, partner calls, and the coalition NEWSLETTER
- Networking opportunities with other Coalition participants
- Recognition as a partner of CDC in this important effort

We welcome Partners and Members to join. Partners include organizations, such as professional organizations, dialysis delivery organizations, patient groups, state and local health departments, certification organizations, and other organizations from the kidney care community. Partners join the Coalition by contacting DialysisCoalition@cdc.gov to request a partnership packet.
Members include individuals, such as staff from individual clinics, nephrologists and nephrology nurses, dialysis technicians, leaders in infection prevention and/or patient safety, dialysis educators, patients, caregivers, and others. The role of Members is to help spread the word about the effectiveness of the CDC Core Interventions and motivate staff to implement them in their facilities.
If you are interested in joining the Coalition as a Member, please visit our Members page to sign up.
Learn more about the history of the Coalition in the CJASN feature article titled, “The Making Dialysis Safer for Patients Coalition: A New Partnership to Prevent Hemodialysis-Related Infections”.

To help prevent infections in dialysis patients and increase the use of proven practices that cut infection rates in half, the Making Dialysis Safer for Patients Coalition offers posters, audit tools, checklists and fact sheets for use in providers’ offices, dialysis clinics, training sessions, and work areas. Visit our Resource Center to preview these materials and learn how to order free copies [PDF – 1 page].
Everyone has a role in preventing infections and keeping patients safe. Patients, family members, and those who work at dialysis centers are encouraged to start the conversation about speaking up to prevent infections.

The Speak Up: Making Dialysis Safer for Patients video highlights the journey of two patients on dialysis who feel empowered to speak up and share concerns about their treatment in order to prevent infections.
The Tips for Staff [PDF – 1 page] accompanying handout is a visual reminder for staff about the importance of encouraging patients and caregivers to ask questions and speak up if they have concerns about their dialysis treatment.

The Conversation Starter [PDF – 2 pages] guide can help initiate discussion with patients and family members. Facilities that use the guide can display a Conversation Starter Certificate [PDF – 1 page].
Visit the Audit Tools and Checklists page to download Coalition tools with placeholders to add your organization’s logo. These begin with “Add Your Organization’s Logo” in the hyperlink.
To add your organization’s logo to Coalition resources, first obtain the logo in one of the following file formats: .ai, .pdf, .jpeg, .png, or .eps. Files that are in .ai format should be converted to .pdf format before attempting to insert it into the logo placeholder. Download the “Add Your Organization’s Logo” version of the resource, click on the logo placeholder, follow the prompts to import the logo file, and then click “OK.” You may need to consult with your organization’s communications department to obtain the appropriate logo file format if your logo is in a format other than those mentioned above.
Free Continuing Education Webinars
Coalition webinars are posted as part of the “Tune in to Safe Healthcare” webinar series:
- January 21, 2021 Webinar: Making Dialysis Safer for Patients: Optimizing Antibiotic Use in Outpatient Hemodialysis Facilities [1:01:09]. Free CE Credits (print only) [PDF – 3 pages]
- December 10, 2019 webinar: Making Dialysis Safer for Patients: Bloodstream Infections, Wall Boxes, and Lessons Learned [52:14]. Free CE credits (print only) [PDF – 4 pages].
- September 25, 2019 webinar: Making Dialysis Safer for Patients: Innovative Approaches to Hand Hygiene [55:55]. Free CE credits (print only) [PDF – 4 pages].
- March 14, 2019 webinar: Making Dialysis Safer for Patients: Optimal Vascular Access [53:17]. Free CE credits (print only) [PDF – 4 pages].
- February 2, 2018 webinar: Making Dialysis Safer for Patients: Tools to Prevent Infections in Hemodialysis. Free CE credits (print only) [PDF – 4 pages].
- May 2, 2017 webinar: Infections in Dialysis Centers: Understanding what Matters to Patients. Free CE credits [PDF – 4 pages]. View the Infections in Dialysis Centers webinar slides [PDF – 53 pages].
- January 31, 2017 webinar: Reducing Infection in the Outpatient Dialysis Facility – Results of the Standardizing Care to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric End Stage Renal Disease (SCOPE) Collaborative. Free CE credits [PDF – 4 pages]. View the SCOPE webinar slides [PDF -73 pages].
coalitionNEWSLETTER
Download the coalitionNEWSLETTER to stay up-to-date on the Coalition.
- coalitionNEWSLETTER, Issue 4, October 2017 (Print version) [PDF – 1.07 MB]
- coalitionNEWSLETTER, Issue 3, April 2017 [PDF – 5 pages]
- coalitionNEWSLETTER, Issue 2, February 2017 [PDF – 4 pages]
- coalitionNEWSLETTER, Issue 1, November 2016 [PDF – 3 pages]
Coalition Podcast
Listen to Coalition podcasts to hear personal perspectives on infection prevention.
Coalition Sharable Graphic
Spread the message to put #DialysisPatientsFirst by following @CDC_NCEZID and by starting the conversation about infection prevention on social media. To share the Start the Conversation graphic, copy this link: http://go.usa.gov/xkMfY into Facebook and Pinterest. To share on twitter, save the graphic and attach to your tweet – be sure to include the link and the hashtag: #DialysisPatientsFirst. The graphic links to the Conversation Starter to Prevent Infections in Dialysis Patients.
Copy the code for this image, which links to the Making Dialysis Safer For Patients Coalition, on your website:
Size: 250×110
