Valinda holds more than 40 years of health care experience, including such roles as assistant hospital administrator, chief nursing officer, director of a school of nursing, administrator of a dialyisis facility and group administrator for home dialysis programs. She has served in large teaching hospitals, as well as community and critical access health care facilities, and taught in LPN, diploma, BSN and MSN schools of nursing. Prior to joining The Alliance, Valinda worked as a quality coordinator for a kidney-only transplant program, and as a 10-year kidney recipienet herself, has been an active volunteer with Gift of Life Michigan for many years. She is currently a member of both the UNOS Board of Directors and the Kidney-Pancreas Transplant Committee. Valinda enjoys spending time with family and friends, international traveling and learning about the culture, food and customs of different countries.
Advancing Living Donation & Transplantation by Improving Patient Education and Maximizing Resources
Facilitating living donation, especially within minority populations, continues to present challenges not only as it relates to getting patients transplanted but also with respect to identifying donors. Common barriers to effective care can be attributed to inconsistencies identified at the system-level from an operational perspective as well as patient-driven concerns such as financial limitations and the emotional and/or physical burden placed on recipients and their potential donor. During this discussion, we will welcome leaders from the community to share insight into some of the common barriers identified and offer resources to aid transplant centers in providing the patient support needed to overcome some of these barriers.