The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention paints a dire picture: More than 35 million Americans—one in seven adults—have chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Even more alarming? Most don’t even know it: as many as 90 percent aren’t aware of its presence in their bodies. Indiana isn’t exempt from this pervasive condition, as one in three Hoosiers is at risk of developing it.
These facts are particularly alarming for Abigail Hardy, a fourth-year IU School of Medicine student.
“When things go wrong with your kidneys, it can go wrong very quickly,” she said.
Hardy is doing her part to help. She is a member of Students for the Prevention of Kidney Disease (SPKD), a Service Learning Coalition project under the direction of Niki Messmore, director of medical service learning.
SPKD partners with the National Kidney Foundation of Indiana (NKFI) to do kidney screenings for the underserved communities of Indianapolis (those without health insurance or who have difficulty accessing a doctor, for example). The group hopes to do more events around the state as well.
SPKD attracts IU medical students interested in nephrology and allows them to understand CKD better—what contributes to it and what effect it can have on patients.
“It’s really wonderful to be able to go to these screenings and actually see the implementation of what you’re learning,” Hardy said.
The SPKD-NFKI partnership also allows the students to attend mini-health fairs around the state and get to know the communities. “The time [the students] invest in building these partnerships and attending these events—which are often on the weekends—speaks highly to their values and the types of physicians they will be,” Messmore said.
If you want to get involved, check out the NFKI page for volunteer opportunities and upcoming events like the 2025 Indiana Kidney Walk.
