Kidney disease is the ninth-leading cause of death in the United States, according to the American Kidney Fund.

“When a person gets started on dialysis, it's sort of a frightening experience, a marginalizing experience,” said Dr. C. Ross Betts, a nephrologist at the Butler County Dialysis Center. “I think it's important that people know that people like this are in their community.”

An estimated 31 million people in the United States, or 10 percent of the adult population, have chronic kidney disease, according to the American Kidney Fund.

People can watch a game of baseball at Dialysis/Kidney Awareness Night July 11 at Michelle Krill Field at Historic Pullman Park, to raise awareness about the health issue.

The Butler County Dialysis Center, 111 Woody Drive, asked patients to attend the ballgame, said Betts, who has practiced medicine in Western Pennsylvania and Butler County since 1990. The health awareness night is the center's first event to garner awareness and educate the community.

A nephrologist cares for patients with kidney disease, including high blood pressure issues, body chemistry related to kidney disease and kidney stone management.

The center is one of three dialysis units in Butler County, Betts said. At any given time, his unit sees 70 to 80 dialysis patients who come from all over the county. Betts, who practices along with Dr. Smitha Thomas and Dr. Roy Shamir at the center, sees about 25 patients a week there, he said. A majority of the patients have either diabetes or hypertension which is causing kidney failure.

The kidneys filter and excrete fluids and toxins to keep the body chemistry normal, he said. Through injury, diabetes, hypertension or other kind of chronic illness, they can be damaged and do not as effectively remove those toxins. Kidneys are also important to maintain bone health and keep an adequate level of hemoglobin to prevent anemia.

When a patient's condition gets to the point where it cannot be managed with medications or diet, and there is severe buildup of toxins and fluids, the patient undergoes dialysis, which is a way to clear toxins and take out extra fluids. Patients can also be directed to transplants as another solution.

Some people do not realize they have kidney disease, Betts said. Initially, high blood pressure and diabetes should be monitored closely by a primary care doctor, who is checking kidney function and performing urine studies regularly.

Although warning signs are not present in its early stages, symptoms, such as weakness, fluid retention, leg swelling, and difficulty controlling hypertension, can develop later, he said.

Incidents are rising across the country because people are living longer and diabetes has gotten more prevalent, he said.

People can take steps at every level to prevent further problems, such as going on medicine for diabetes and high blood pressure, Betts said.

His practice is responsible for educating people and raising awareness about kidney disease, he said, adding people with kidney disease can have productive lives.

“There's hope for it,” he said. “There's many talented people in our community taking care of those patients.”

Even when a kidney transplant is required, Betts said, medical care is available through the Butler Health System.

“It's important for people in the community to know it exists and important for those people who would get kidney failure to know there's a lot going on in our community to care for these people,” he said.

WHAT: Dialysis/Kidney Awareness Night at Michelle Krill FieldWHEN: 7 p.m. July 11WHERE: Michelle Krill Field at Historic Pullman Park, 100 Pullman Park PlaceCOST: $5 general seating; $7 box seating

The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs, each about the size of a fist. They are located just below the rib cage, one on each side of your spine.Healthy kidneys filter about a half cup of blood every minute, removing wastes and extra water to make urine.The urine flows from the kidneys to the bladder through two thin tubes of muscle called ureters, one on each side of your bladder.Your bladder stores urine. Your kidneys, ureters, and bladder are part of your urinary tract.SOURCE: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

DiabetesDiabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure.Diabetes causes 44 percent of all new cases of kidney failure.High Blood PressureHigh blood pressure is the second leading cause of kidney failure.High blood pressure causes 28.4 percent of all new cases of kidney failure.SOURCE: American Kidney Fund