Fresenius Medical Care Social Worker Receives Robert W. Whitlock Lifetime Achievement Award
April 24 2014 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
National Kidney Foundation’s Council of
Nephrology Social Workers Recognizes Stephanie Johnstone’s
Outstanding Achievements in Dialysis Patient Care
Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), the nation’s
leading network of dialysis facilities, announced today that
Stephanie Johnstone, FMCNA West Division lead social worker, has
received the annual Robert W. Whitlock Lifetime Achievement Award
from the National Kidney Foundation’s (NKF’s) Council of Nephrology
Social Workers.
Johnstone, who is based in San Diego, received the award on
April 23 at the NKF’s 2014 Spring Clinical Meetings in Las Vegas.
The award recognizes the profound impact that Johnstone has had on
the field of nephrology social work through programs, publications
and teachings, and mentoring colleagues.
During her more than three decades at FMCNA, she has developed
numerous innovative programs designed to improve care for kidney
patients. She has also inspired and mentored her colleagues to
advance the field of nephrology social work toward disease
management.
“Throughout her career, Stephanie has displayed that rare
combination of exceptional skill in engaging with both patients and
colleagues, and a visionary thinking style,” said Carolyn Latham,
FMCNA’s corporate vice president of clinical services. “With our
Social Work Intensive program, she empowered nephrology social
workers to use their clinical skills and training to improve
patients’ quality of life, while also helping her peers achieve
their professional potential and increase their career
satisfaction.”
This is the second major award for Johnstone in two years. In
2013, Modern Healthcare magazine honored her and FMCNA with its
“Spirit of Excellence” award for launching a company-wide
initiative to reduce the number of patients who miss or shorten
their dialysis treatments. The program significantly improved
adherence to prescribed dialysis treatments by having social
workers intervene with struggling patients to address their
depression and other quality-of-life issues.
“I am both honored and humbled to receive the Robert W. Whitlock
Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Johnstone. “Obviously, it takes a
dedicated team to continuously and steadily improve the quality of
life of those with kidney disease, and I owe much of my success to
the commitment and hard work of so many of my colleagues.”
In addition to her work at FMCNA, Johnstone has been a research
consultant on nephrology studies evaluating strategies for treating
depression and improving quality of life for dialysis patients. She
also designed an NKF intervention campaign to enhance dialysis
adherence, which was released nationally as “Living Longer, Living
Better.”
Johnstone has been active with the NKF’s Council of Nephrology
Social Workers (CNSW) by serving on the editorial board of the
Journal of Nephrology Social Work, and as chair of the San Diego
CNSW chapter. She is the co-developer of the CNSW’s Outcomes
Training Program, and has twice been honored nationally by the
council for outstanding achievements. She also has published
studies in numerous professional journals and presented nationally
on topics such as depression, conflict management and improving
adherence to treatment and quality of life.
About Fresenius Medical Care North America
Through its leading network of more than 2,150 dialysis
facilities in North America and vascular access centers,
laboratory, pharmacy and affiliated hospitals and nephrology
practices, Fresenius Medical Care provides renal services to
hundreds of thousands of people throughout the United States,
Mexico and Canada. It is also the continent’s top producer of
dialysis equipment, dialyzers and related disposable products and a
major supplier of renal pharmaceuticals.
For more information about the company, visit www.fmcna.com; for
information about patient services, visit
http://www.ultracare-dialysis.com.
About the National Kidney Foundation
The National Kidney Foundation is the leading organization in
the U.S. dedicated to the awareness, prevention and treatment of
kidney disease for hundreds of thousands of healthcare
professionals, millions of patients and their families, and tens of
millions of Americans at risk. For more information, visit
www.kidney.org.
Media contact:Full & ByThea Bakkar, 415-347-2764 /
voicebakkart@fullandby.coorCompany contact:Fresenius Medical
CareRosemary Heinold, 781-699-4171 /
voicerosemary.heinold@fmc-na.com
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