Renal
Resource Peers and Transplant Assisting Transplants
Renal Resource Peers (RRP)
is a one-on-one peer support program provided by the Kidney Foundation
of Northwest Ohio. Volunteers of KF will provide support and
an open ear to kidney patients and/or family members of kidney patients.
Why would I want to speak to a Renal Resource
Peer?
During a traumatic time in one's life, the emotion of empathy can
be very powerful. It is not sympathy or feeling sorry for
another person. Empathy is the feeling of "I can imagine
what it would be like to walk in your shoes." Many of
our volunteers have been where the patient/family member is right
now. It can be wonderfully helpful and supportive to speak
to someone who knows what the patient is going through. We
are not implying that every person's experience with kidney disease
is the same. Everyone's experiences and emotions are quite
unique.
In some situations, a patient/family member
may prefer to speak to someone other than a family member or a health
professional. If that is the case, then we have people who
want to listen and provide support to a person who needs it.
How are matches made?
Volunteers are matched with patients/family members based on questionnaires
completed by both people. The Patient Services Director
or Education Coordinator at the Kidney Foundation will make the
best match possible using the given information. Thus, the
term 'peer.' It is usually up to the patient/family member
to make contact with the KF volunteer. The two can set a mutually
convenient day, time, and place to meet. If it is more convenient,
a session may take place by telephone.
Will our conversation be confidential?
Yes, all information shared by the patient/family member will be
kept confidential by the volunteer. There are two exceptions: if
the patient/family member expresses an intent to harm him/herself,
or another person. If the volunteer learns of this, he or
she is to contact the Kidney Foundation immediately.
Is the KF volunteer a trained counselor?
No. Our volunteers are people who have gone through dialysis
or are currently going through dialysis. Or, they may be a
parent, spouse, or other loved-one of a kidney patient. They
are all people who know what the emotions and concerns are of a
person affected by kidney disease. They are participating
because they care and want to help in a way that they were helped
once.
Our volunteers are not professionally trained;
however, most have received some training in peer listening skills.
They know it is more important to listen rather than to share their
own experiences. Volunteers have also been informed about numerous
community resources in order to help a patient/family member with
a need in a particular area.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
In addition to completing a questionnaire, the patient/family member
will also be asked to complete an evaluation after his or her session
with a KF peer listening volunteer. It is helpful for us to know
whether the patient/family member felt that the session was helpful.
We would also like to know if there is anything that we can do to
improve the program in any needed areas. We feel that the best feedback
comes from a person who has participated in the program. Thank you
for your cooperation.
Transplants Assisting
Transplants (TAT)
is a one-on-one peer support program provided by the Kidney Foundation
of Northwest Ohio. Volunteers of KF will provide support and
an open ear to kidney transplant recipients and/or family members
of kidney transplant recipients.
Why would I want to speak to a TAT volunteer?
During a traumatic time in one's life, the emotion of empathy
can be very powerful. It is not sympathy or feeling sorry for
another person. Empathy is the feeling of "I can imagine
what it would be like to walk in your shoes." Many of our
volunteers have been where the recipient/family member is right now.
It can be wonderfully helpful and supportive to speak to someone who
knows what the patient is going through. We are not implying
that every person's experience with kidney disease and transplantation
is the same. Everyone's experiences and emotions are quite unique.
In some situations, a recipient/family member may prefer to speak
to someone other than a family member or a health professional.
If that is the case, then we have people who want to listen and provide
support to a person who needs it.
How are matches made?
Volunteers are matched with recipients/family members based on questionnaires
completed by both people. The Patient Services Director
or Education Coordinator at the Kidney Foundation will make the best
match possible using the given information. Thus, the term 'peer.'
It is usually up to the recipient/family member to make contact with
the KF volunteer. The two can set a mutually convenient day,
time, and place to meet. If it is more convenient, a session
may take place by telephone.
Will our conversation be confidential?
Yes, all information shared by the recipient/family member will be
kept confidential by the volunteer. There are two exceptions:
if the recipient/family member expresses an intent to harm him/herself
or another person. If the volunteer learns of this, he or she
is to contact the Kidney Foundation immediately.
Is the KF volunteer a trained counselor?
No. Our volunteers are kidney transplant recipients. Or, they
may be a parent, spouse, or other loved-one of a kidney transplant
recipient. They are all people who know what the emotions and
concerns are of a person affected by kidney disease and transplantation.
They are participating because they care and want to help in a way
that they were helped once.
Our volunteers are not professionally trained; however, most have
received some training in peer listening skills. They know it
is more important to listen rather than to share their own experiences.
Volunteers have also been informed about numerous community resources
in order to help a recipient/family member with a need in a particular
area. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
In addition to completing a questionnaire, the recipient/family
member will also be asked to complete an evaluation after his or
her session with a KF peer listening volunteer. It is helpful
for us to know whether the recipient/family member felt that the
session was helpful. We would also like to know if there is
anything that we can do to improve the program in any needed areas.
We feel that the best feedback comes from a person who has participated
in the program.
How do I become a part of RRP/TAT?
Click here for
a volunteer application
Click here for a patient
questionnaire
In addition to completing a questionnaire, the recipient/family
member will also be asked to complete an evaluation after his or
her session with a KF peer listening volunteer. It is helpful for
us to know whether the recipient/family member felt that the session
was helpful. We would also like to know if there is anything that
we can do to improve the program in any needed areas. We feel that
the best feedback comes from a person who has participated in the
program.
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