Our founder, Risa Simon, is on a mission to empower the nation’s kidney patient population by inspiring them to proactively fight for a better quality of life. The life Risa now lives!
What ignites Risa’s passion? A personal calling to fix our kidney community’s broken patient engagement system. Risa knows firsthand how patient education models lack proactive engagement and encouragement. From delayed treatment discussions to over saturated dialysis education to fistula-first campaigns—patients are being robbed of their only chance to secure a preemptive kidney transplant.
Risa founded TransplantFirst Academy to positively disrupt patient engagement for the lion share of kidney disease patients who could benefit from a preemptive transplant.
Risa knows the life-changing power behind proactive patient engagement. She used her own fear as a powerful motivator and pushed herself to explore beyond the sacred walls of a medical exam room. This is where Risa uncovered a whole new world of possibility. A world where one could bypass dialysis. A world full of hope and second chances. A world she never knew existed.
While Risa greatly benefited from these discoveries, she remained deeply troubled that a proactive path was rarely encouraged by kidney patient providers. This reality compelled her to pump up the volume and expand preemptive opportunities through Transplant-First initiatives.
Fortunately, these discoveries snapped her out of her doctor’s hypnotic “you’ve got time” trance in time to start fighting for her best life possible—the life she now lives. Today you’ll find Risa marching full-steam-ahead, leading The Proactive Path and the TransplantFirst Academy to help those who could benefit from a transplant join this forward movement.
Watch TFA’s Purpose Driven Overview:
TFA’s Mission & Purpose
TransplantFirst Academy’s mission is to encourage those who could benefit from a transplant to seek a better quality of life by securing a preemptive kidney transplant before they require dialysis. Our purpose is to boost patient voice and expand access to preemptive options
Transplant shouldn’t be introduced while patients are on the ledge of needing dialysis. Nor should it be a herculean effort. Preemptive transplants must be proactively introduced as the primary goal and best option. Not as a workaround or afterthought. Early patient engagement is key!
Our hope is to empower kidney patient outcomes by dissolving the stifling haze hovering over proactive “no fly zones.” We stand strong on the patient’s right to know their best option, voice their choice and live their best life.
Who We Serve
TransplantFirst Academy’s target audience includes kidney patients and kidney patient advocates, healthcare industries that support preemptive transplants and kidney transplant outcomes, renal groups, social workers, nurse coordinators, transplant centers, enlightened dialysis organizations and end stage renal disease (ESRD) networks, as well as divisions of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that provide or oversee kidney patient education.
Patient-Centric Goals
Our engagement platforms are rooted in patient-centricity first and foremost—and without exception. Our Goal is Simple. We encourage kidney patients to become their own best advocate and live their best life possible. We provide information and inspiration beyond the confines of an exam room. We do not provide medical advice, though we do provide a platform full of proactive “feel-good” patient engagement.
