A 29-foot recreational vehicle is bringing free health screenings to rural communities as part of the National Kidney Foundation of South Carolina's Kidney Early Evaluation Program.

Orangeburg was one of nine cities through which the kidney mobile traveled during an introductory test run through the state which began March 6.

KEEP is a free kidney health screening program designed to educate high-risk individuals and provide free testing and education to prevent or delay kidney disease.

An estimated one in four people in Orangeburg County have chronic kidney disease.

"That is much higher than the state average of one in eight, says Mary Higginbotham, NKFSC communications and legislative affairs coordinator. "The purpose of the (March 6) tour is to make people become aware of it so that they will call us to find out when they can attend or set up screenings in their home town."

"We've done health screening programs for about seven years, and this kidney mobile will help us to screen more people because we'll be able to go more places," she said.

A kidney transplant recipient, the Rev. Edwina J. Williams of Orangeburg said the mobile unit is really an asset to impoverished communities with poor communication and low income. Williams is a member of the state's Chronic Kidney Disease Task Force, one of the nation's first task forces charged with tackling chronic kidney disease and its implications.

Screenings can be set up for groups of at least 25 people or more, according to Ashley Butler, a NKFSC community health coordinator who from the unit conducts urinalyses to test how well the kidneys are filtering the blood; lipid panel tests for cholesterol; and calcium tests to measure bone density. Blood sugar and blood pressure tests will also be conducted.

The urinalysis can help Butler determine a person's glomerular filtration rate, or GFR, which has been touted as the best method of measuring the level of kidney function and the stage of kidney disease. To arrive at the GFR, health professionals use a calculation combining the level of creatinine in the blood with a patient's age, body size, gender and race.

Test results are available in six to eight weeks, though some are immediately available. A physician, nurse practitioner or other health care professional is present at most, if not all, screenings and can help individuals review results.

"They have the option to have their results sent to their doctor. For people without a doctor, we provide referrals for someone to get further testing," Butler said.

"We understand that many people don't have a doctor or insurance," says NKFSC marketing coordinator Blakely Hallman. "It's so important to be tested for these risk factors for kidney disease, including high blood pressure, diabetes or a family history of any of those. They're so prevalent in South Carolina."

The Kidney Mobile is one of three kidney mobiles in the nation, Hallman said, and is afforded by donations. One main way to donate is by giving an unneeded car to the Kidney Cars program; cars are towed for free and the donation is tax deductible. The foundation's Kidney Walk, the first of which was held in Orangeburg last year, netted $45,000 for program support.

NKFSC expects to screen more than 2,000 people in our state for kidney disease with the mobile unit; 1,500 were screened last year.

To learn more about the kidney mobile, or to schedule group screenings, call the NKFSC at 803-799-3870 or visit the Web site kidneysc.org. To donate unwanted vehicles to the Kidney Cars program, visit the same Web site or call 1-800-488-CARS (2277).

T&D Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5534. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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