(Washington, DC - October 27, 2025) - Due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) has announced that its upcoming Congressional briefing, “Early Detection of Kidney Disease in Rural America: NKF’s CKD Intercept Program,” supported by Boehringer Ingelheim, will now be held as a virtual event on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, from 10am to 10:45 AM ET.
Originally scheduled to take place on Capitol Hill, the event will now be hosted online to ensure uninterrupted engagement with Congressional staff, federal agency leaders, and rural health stakeholders. The virtual format will preserve opportunities for dialogue around early detection, health equity, and bipartisan policy solutions to expand kidney disease prevention in underserved areas.
“Rural Communities are deeply affected by kidney disease,” said Jesse Roach, MD, SVP of Government Relations at the National Kidney Foundation. “Early detection is especially vital and it’s important that we show federal policymakers what is working. These patients can’t wait for lifesaving interventions and the NKF is taking steps to make sure they receive them.”
The event will highlight real-world implementation data from NKF’s flagship CKDintercept program, a national strategy to improve CKD testing, diagnosis, and management in the primary care setting. The briefing will highlight transformative results from a partnership with Sanford Health, the nation’s largest rural health system. Topics will include:
- Gaps in CKD detection and care in rural America
- The success of CKDintercept in driving large-scale health system transformation in 29 states
- Federal policy recommendations to drive improvement in kidney disease detection and management in rural America, including Medicare and Medicaid improvements and value-based approaches to scaling the impact of CKDintercept
Speakers include:
- Kevin Longino, CEO, National Kidney Foundation
- Elizabeth Montgomery, National Vice President of Clinical Practice Innovation and Population Health, National Kidney Foundation
To RSVP and receive the virtual event link, visit:
Overview ⋮ Scaling CKD Early Detection in Rural America ⋮ Blackthorn Events
For more information, contact Lauren Drew at lauren.drew@kidney.org.
About Boehringer Ingelheim
Boehringer Ingelheim is a biopharmaceutical company active in both human and animal health. As one of the industry’s top investors in research and development, the company focuses on developing innovative therapies that can improve and extend lives in areas of high unmet medical need. Independent since its foundation in 1885, Boehringer takes a long-term perspective, embedding sustainability along the entire value chain. Our approximately 54,500 employees serve over 130 markets to build a healthier and more sustainable tomorrow. Learn more at https://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/us.
About the National Kidney Foundation
The National Kidney Foundation is revolutionizing the fight to save lives by eliminating preventable kidney disease, accelerating innovation for the dignity of the patient experience, and dismantling structural inequities in kidney care, dialysis and transplantation. For more information about NKF, visit www.kidney.org
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