TAMPA, FL – On Friday, March 18, 2016, the American Association of Kidney Patients will honor the 2016 Medal of Excellence Award Winners. AAKP is the largest independent kidney patient advocacy organization in the United States and the Medal of Excellence is the most prestigious award given by a kidney patient organization. The Award dinner is being held at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa in Chandler, AZ in conjunction with the Renal Physicians Association Annual Meeting.

“RPA is pleased to continue to partner with AAKP to host the Medal of Excellence Award Dinner at our annual meeting. We congratulate all of the awardees for their commitment to high quality kidney patient care and are especially proud of RPA Past-President Dr. Ed Jones who is one of this year’s honorees,” stated RPA President Dr. Rebecca Schmidt.

“The Renal Physicians Association has been a committed ally to AAKP and our Medal of Excellence Program for many years. Allies like RPA are fundamental to the success of AAKP’s educational programs and national strategy for advancing quality patient care,” stated AAKP Vice President and Public Policy Chair Richard Knight. “We are pleased to stand together with RPA, patients and professionals united, to honor the men and women who excel in protecting the unique relationship between patients and their medical care teams at the RPA Annual Meeting.”

The AAKP Medal of Excellence was founded in 1996. The award recipients are healthcare professionals who have contributed to the advancement and evolution of direct patient care, encouraged the expansion of patient engagement and advocacy within the renal community and enhanced the quality of life for kidney patients and their families. In order to recognize the critical role played by medical care teams working with kidney patients, AAKP expanded the Medal of Excellence program over the past two years to include experts such as nurses, social workers, dietitians and dialysis technicians.

The 2016 award winners include:

Physician Category

         Richard Gibney, MD of Waco, TX

         Edward Jones, MD, MBA of Philadelphia, PA

Nursing Category

         Katrina Russell, RN, CCN of Seattle, WA

         Karen Walton-Brown, RN, BSN, CNN of Dallas, TX

Social Work Category

         Wendy Funk Schrag, LMSW, ACSW of Newton, KS

Dietitian Category

         Linda McCann, RN, CSR, LD of Eagle, ID

         Rita Dimmitt-Solomon, RD, CSR, LDN of Nashville, TN

Tickets to attend the dinner may be purchased for $125/each on the AAKP website or by calling 813-400-2395.  Fellow colleagues, members of the renal community and RPA meeting attendees are encouraged to join in honoring the distinguished physician recipients and helping and helping AAKP continue its mission to improve the quality of life for kidney patients through education, advocacy, and the fostering of patient communities.

For additional information on this year’s award recipients, recognition events scheduled to honor the awardees, or to sponsor the 2016 Medal of Excellence program, please visit www.aakp.org/community/programs-events or contact Diana Clynes, Director of Programs and Services, at dclynes@aakp.org.

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AAKP is a voluntary non-profit organization founded by kidney patients, which for more than 45 years, has been dedicated to improving the quality of life of kidney patients through education, advocacy and the fostering of patient communities. 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.