MBKC Legacy Committee

Caring for Our Legacy

The Mount Baker Kidney Center Legacy Committee is focused on improving the quality of life for individuals with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).

This means ensuring those with CKD understand the process for their disease and the treatment options available to them, including transplantation and home or in-center dialysis. It also means creating better transitions to dialysis and eliminating barriers to transplant. And it means supporting clinical science, research and innovation to improve care outcomes and quality of life.

Mount Baker Kidney Center was a nonprofit outpatient dialysis center which served Whatcom County for nearly 40 years. Because the funds creating Mount Baker Foundation came from MBKC, we seek to honor the hopes and contributions of MBKC founders, physicians, staff, patients, families, and the community that made Mount Baker Foundation possible. The MBKC-Legacy Committee is focused on the quality of life for individuals with Chronic Kidney Disease.   

Focused on Improving Quality of Life for People with CKD

Assistance, Dental Assistance, and Scholarship Funds

The Legacy Committee provides oversight to the offering of financial assistance to individuals with CKD. This assistance is available in the form of short-term funding for housing, transportation and utilities. Dental assistance for emergency care or dentures is also provided. Scholarships are available to individuals with CKD who must transform their lives due to their health condition or treatment such as dialysis, and to healthcare providers who want to increase their education levels and serve the CKD population. 

Kidney Research Institute and the Center for Dialysis and Innovation

The Legacy Committee maintains an on-going relationship with the University of Washington’s KRI and CDI, seeking ways to facilitate innovation to improve the lives of people on dialysis. The first official dialysis center was opened at the University of Washington in 1962. The KRI and CDI work with leaders across the globe to improve the treatment of individuals requiring this care.

Patient Advisory Group

The Legacy Committee supports a Patient Advisory Group, composed of individuals on dialysis both in-center and at home (two modalities), as well as individuals who have had transplantation and caregivers of those on dialysis. These individuals have been an amazing resource to understanding and assessing the needs of individuals with CKD. Questionnaires designed by the group have resulted in specific initiatives to improve the transition to dialysis and the journey to transplantation.