The National Kidney Foundation Honors Renal Nurse with Prestigious Carol Mattix Award
(May 9, 2024, New York, NY) - Washington University Nephrology Nurse Practitioner Lisa Koester, ANP, CS, CNN-NP, MSN, will be honored by the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) with the Council of Nephrology Nurses and Technicians award in the name of Carol Mattix. The award will be presented to her at the annual NKF 2024 Spring Clinical Meetings (SCM) in Long Beach, CA, in May.
Each year, the NKF considers the work of hundreds of specialists in the field of Nephrology and selects among them those who most exemplify the relentless efforts of NKF to enhance the lives of patients through action, education, and accelerating change. Carol Mattix was a home dialysis training nurse of the last century who worked tirelessly to improve the care of patients living with kidney failure.
“I’m so honored to be recognized by NKF for my passion to take care of kidney patients and from an organization that supports patients, families, peers, all renal disciplines and is such a great resource,” said Lisa Koester. “I have been taking care of kidney patients for 28 years now. I want to assist each patient in their chronic kidney disease (CKD) journey and empower them to realize they have a choice in what plan is right for them.“
Koester completed graduate school in 2000 at the University of Missouri receiving an MS in Nursing with an Adult Nurse Practitioner (ANP) certification.
In the mid-1990s, she began her career as a Renal Nurse Practitioner caring for incenter hemodialysis (ICHD) patients. For the last 24 years, she has worked as a Nephrology Nurse Practitioner in the nephrology division at the Washington University School of Medicine. Soon after taking that role, she was asked to start a home hemodialysis (HHD) program in 2001 with Dr. Brent Miller. She has had a passion for advancing home dialysis - peritoneal dialysis (PD) and HHD - for two decades. Her role continues to expand as she now provides CKD education and management throughout all stages of CKD.
“Lisa Koester exemplifies the true spirit of service and is very deserving of the Prestigious Carol Mattix Award,” said NKF President Dr. Sylvia Rosas. “Her tireless efforts to communicate all the options available to every kidney patient and to walk with them through this difficult journey is a testament to what it means to be a caring, considerate, renal nurse who understands how overwhelming a kidney disease diagnosis leading to dialysis can be for patients and their care partners.”
“I’ve served the kidney community for decades because I have passion for providing the best care to patients,” said Lisa Koester. “I am a true advocate for patients and their care partners. So many patients are in such despair when they are diagnosed and even more denial and fear when their CKD progresses to needing dialysis. I want to make sure they realize all their options and that they can dialyze to live, not live to dialyze. To me, it is all about what fits for the patient, not for the provider.”
The annual NKF 2024 Spring Clinical Meetings (SCM) will be held in Long Beach, CA, from May 14 – 18.
NKF Spring Clinical Meetings
For the past 32 years, nephrology healthcare professionals from across the country have come to NKF’s Spring Clinical Meetings to learn about the newest developments related to all aspects of nephrology practice; network with colleagues; and present their research findings. The NKF Spring Clinical Meetings is designed for meaningful change in the multidisciplinary healthcare teams’ skills, performance, and patient health outcomes. It is the only conference of its kind that focuses on translating science into practice for the entire healthcare team.
About Kidney Disease
In the United States, more than 37 million adults are estimated to have kidney disease, also known as chronic kidney disease (CKD) - and approximately 90 percent don't know they have it. About 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. are at risk for kidney disease. Risk factors for kidney disease include: diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and family history. People of Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian American, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease. Black or African American people are about four times as likely as White people to have kidney failure. Hispanics experience kidney failure at about double the rate of White people.
NKF Professional Membership
Healthcare professionals can join NKF to receive access to tools and resources for both patients and professionals, discounts on professional education, and access to a network of thousands of individuals who treat patients with kidney disease.
About the National Kidney Foundation
The National Kidney Foundation is revolutionizing the fight to save lives by eliminating preventable kidney disease, accelerating innovation for the dignity of the patient experience, and dismantling structural inequities in kidney care, dialysis, and transplantation. For more information about kidney disease, please visit www.kidney.org/
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