Our group is a professional association of physicians engaged in the practice of Nephrology, a subspecialty of Internal Medicine dealing with diseases of the kidney. We are all certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in both Internal Medicine and in Nephrology. Most of us were previously full-time faculty of Baylor College of Medicine, and now serve on the clinical faculty of the College.

The patient population which we serve consists of patients with all degrees of kidney dysfunction ranging from mild and simple disorders, such as urinary tract infection, all the way to advanced kidney disease requiring dialysis and/or kidney transplantation ( referred to as end-stage renal disease or ESRD). While the causes of kidney disease are varied, the major causes for kidney failure in the United States today are diabetes followed by high blood pressure. Unfortunately, these disorders afflict predominantly African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans, the three populations that are the least privileged and are the lowest on the socioeconomic scale. We have been actively involved through the years in research on kidney diseases, dialysis, transplantation, and hypertension. Our involvement continues to the present time.

Kidney disease is far more prevalent than most people realize. Recently, it was estimated that 22 million Americans have significant impairment of kidney function without being aware of their affliction. Annually, approximately 110 patients per million population develop ESRD, and this number is growing by about 7% per year. It is apparent, therefore, that the population of patients with kidney disease is an ever-growing one, and that advanced planning is necessary to cope with a disorder of this scope.