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The American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2006 Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Awards: the AAKP Spirit of Service Award and the AAKP Visionary Award. The awards recognize individuals who have made a significant contribution to the kidney community. Nominations were received from across the country from both renal professionals and renal patients and were presented during the 33rd Annual AAKP Convention held in Orlando, FL. Winner of the AAKP Spirit of Service Award: Mary Heisick, MSW. This award was established to honor a kidney patient who raises awareness of CKD in his or her community. Mary Heisick is a transplant recipient who has served on the AAKP Board of Directors for the last ten years and is the Past President of the AAKP Harbor-South Bay-Orange Chapter. She is a licensed renal social worker and has worked on a number of projects with ESRD Network 17, including education outreach programs about advance directives. Heisick also received the 2006 AAKP President's Award for her invaluable service to AAKP and its goals. Winner of the AAKP Visionary Award: Stephen Fadem, MD. AAKP honored Stephen Fadem, MD, with this award for his outstanding contributions to CKD education. During the last 30 years, he's made patient education and quality care a top priority. Dr. Fadem is a member of the AAKP Board of Directors, the AAKP Medical Advisory Board and the newly appointed Medical Editor for the AAKP Web site. He is also a member of the National Kidney Foundation cyber-Nephrology and an active member in the Forum of ESRD Networks. AAKP also honored Dr. Fadem with the Samuel J. Orenstein Award. This award was established to pay tribute to AAKP's first president and one of its earliest and most influential advocates. AAKP would like to thank Ortho Biotech Products, L.P., for its generous sponsorship of the CKD awards presentation. AAKP also recognized several other renal professionals and patients during its Annual Convention: Winner of the Peter Lundin, MD, Memorial Award: Amy L. Friedman, MD. This award honors a healthcare professional who works tirelessly to encourage and educate kidney patients about their disease. Dr. Amy L. Friedman is an associate professor at Yale University School of Medicine's Department of Surgery in New Haven, Connecticut. She is an organ transplantation and immunology specialist. Dr. Friedman also serves on the AAKP National Board of Directors and as an AAKP Medical Advisory Board Member. Her mother, Mildred Friedman, was a transplant recipient. Winner of the Maureen Lundin aakpRENALIFE Award: Thomas Peters, MD. This award was created to recognize a patient or healthcare professional who consistently contributes to AAKP's magazine, aakpRENALIFE. This award, named after one of the magazine's first editors, places special emphasis on those talents. Dr. Peters is the Professor of Surgery and Chief of Transplant at the University of Florida and Shands Hospital in Jacksonville, FL. Dr. Peters has served on committees for United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the American Society of Transplantation and the ESRD Network of Florida. He's also a member of the AAKP Medical Advisory Board and was recently appointed by the AAKP Medical Advisory Board to serve as the Medical Editor for aakpRENALIFE. Winners of the Dominick Gentile Memorial Award: ESRD Network 8; The ESRD Network of Texas; and ESRD Network 13. This award was establish to honor an ESRD Network that has a history of providing patients with beneficial programs, important informational resources and an avenue to report grievances. This year, AAKP recognized the efforts of three extraordinary networks that provided these services under the most difficult of conditions. These outstanding Networks were chosen not only for their continued work in improving patient quality of care, but also for their extraordinary service during and after Hurricane Katrina. These three remarkable Networks worked nonstop for months ensuring all patients in the devastated hurricane region were well-cared for and dialyzed. “These award winners know the power of knowledge and the power of an informed patient,” says AAKP President Donald Dowe. “More than that, they have showed a generous desire to improve the lives of all kidney patients.” AAKP is the voluntary, patient organization, which for more than 35 years, has been dedicated to improving the lives of fellow kidney patients and their families by helping them deal with the physical, emotional and social impact of kidney disease. The programs offered by AAKP inform and inspire patients and their families to better understand their condition, adjust more readily to their circumstances, and assume more normal, productive lives in their communities.
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