The Circle of CORE is a kidney patient support and advocacy organization. We are comprised of current and former kidney patients ourselves, whether with chronic kidney disease, transplant, dialysis, or living donation, who are devoted to serve the kidney health community. As an extension of the UCLA CORE Kidney Program, we work in partnership to fight and eradicate kidney disease, and see to it that all patients get the care they need. We share the same values and vision of the UCLA CORE Kidney Program.

Ultimately, we aim to establish a community kidney center at UCLA to serve all from pre-diagnosis to health.

Bottom line: We are a platform to empower patients to become their own best advocates and to provide support to patients and their families.

The mission of the CORE Kidney Program is to improve healthcare delivery by implementing our CORE values of Clinical excellence, Outreach, Research, and Education. Our focus is on integrative medicine, with emphasis on prevention and education, so patients can become their own best advocates.

Our goal is to provide comprehensive care to our patient population through clinical programs that focus on specific disease states. We have already started programs for Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD), Home Dialysis, Living Donor, Fabry’s Disease, Hypertension, Diabetic Kidney Disease, as well as clinics for UTI and Hypertension and they are very successful. The aim of these programs is for a multidisciplinary team to work together and to breakdown the silos in present day healthcare system through integrative care. We plan to start many more in the upcoming year.

We have been involved in creating and hosting the 2015, 2017, and 2018 Kidney Fairs, quarterly UCLA Kidney Education Enhancement Programs (UKEEPs), and October 2015 UCLA Kidney Events. The CORE Kidney Program collaborates with OneLegacy/Donate Life, the Annual PKD Walks in Los Angeles, and is also heavily involved in events that serve Hispanic and disadvantaged communities. At these events, community nephrologists and healthcare providers volunteer to provide education on kidney health for the general public, patients, their families and friends. These outreach events raise awareness about kidney disease in the general public in an effort to increase patient involvement and disease prevention. Our office has participated in many other events and plans to continue hosting events in the upcoming year.

We are advancing our current understanding of various disease states through research in both the basic, clinical and translational sciences. We have multiple ongoing trials that address dialysis, diabetes, anemia, Fabry’s Disease, PKD, and hypertension.

Free monthly events such as UCLA Kidney Education Enhancement Program (UKEEP) are hosted for patients and their family and friends to learn about kidney disease holistically. The goal of these education and outreach programs is to make patients and their loved ones a part of the decision making team.

As the founder and director of Bruin Beans Health Club (BBHC), my aim is to foster future leaders in healthcare. BBHC is an undergraduate led club that works with a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals while offering mentorship opportunities, volunteering, and workshops to undergraduates. The mission of BBHC is to bridge the gap of misinformation surrounding kidney health through effective communication with the general public and patients with kidney disease.

“With the support of you and The Circle of CORE community-based leaders, the ultimate goal is to best serve kidney patients and their families by establishing an open door Community Kidney Center under my leadership and the CORE Kidney Team, where we can provide comprehensive care and support, starting from pre-diagnosis to transplant. The Kidney Center will embody all of the values that the CORE Kidney Program stands for and the mission of UCLA Health:  Healing humankind one patient at a time.” — Dr. Anjay Rastogi