The National Kidney Foundation and Sanford Health Awarded Prestigious UNIVANTS of Healthcare Excellence Award

The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and Sanford Health, a nonprofit health system headquartered in Sioux Falls, SD, were jointly honored with the 2025 UNIVANTS of Healthcare Excellence Team of Achievement Award. UNIVANTS is a prestigious global recognition for cross-functional care teams that measurably improve health outcomes by transforming healthcare delivery and specifically recognizes teams that collaborate across healthcare disciplines to transform healthcare delivery, ultimately improving patient lives. 

The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and Sanford Health partnered to evaluate and improve overarching quality of care among diabetic patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the Sanford Health population. At Sanford Health, an initial analysis revealed low levels of urine albumin-creatinine ratio testing, gaps in CKD diagnosis in primary care, and limited interventions that slow CKD progression and reduce associated cardiovascular risk.

Recommendations from the NKF’s CKD Change Package were used to develop a system-wide intervention to improve CKD testing and diagnosis, while increasing the use of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) among people with diabetes receiving care at Sanford Health. 

This intervention included: 

1. Laboratory implementation of the Kidney Profile
2. Update of relevant electronic health record (EHR) SmartSets
3. Adding CKD testing to the EHR health maintenance menu
4. Easy access to education, tools, and resources for clinicians and patients embedded in the EHR. Implementation of the comprehensive intervention was initiated through a series of continuing medical education webinars.

Learn more about NKF’s CKD Change Package.

Through NKF and Sanford’s collaboration, 70,000 more people at high risk for CKD received appropriate screening compared to the year prior. 

There was also a 32% increase in guideline-concordant testing (eGFR + uACR) for patients with diabetes. 

Additionally, over 2,600 people previously living with undiagnosed CKD, now know that they have it. 

There was also a 5x increase in the use of SGLT2i medications among CKD patients with diabetes, surpassing the Healthy People 2030 uACR target of 66.4%.

The methodology used in this collaboration is scalable and can result in rapid improvements in CKD-related process measures that have been demonstrated to positively impact CKD patient outcomes with limited additional provider burden. Discover how this collaboration is pushing the boundaries of innovation. 

To learn more about how to replicate these outcomes in your institution, contact population.health@kidney.org.