Lisa Koester-Wiedemann, ANP, CNN-NP, honored with Barbara Prowant Lifetime Achievement Award in Nephrology Nursing.
Congratulations to renal nurse practitioner Lisa Koester-Wiedemann, ANP, CNN-NP, Division of Nephrology, Washington University, who will be presented the Barbara Prowant Lifetime Achievement Award in Nephrology Nursing during the 40th Annual Dialysis Conference in Kansas City, MO, February 8 – 11, 2020.
The award is given in honor of Barbara Prowant (1953-2009), who was one of the most highly respected and renowned nephrology nurses in the world due to her influential contributions to the field of nephrology, especially to peritoneal dialysis. Prowant was one of the founders of the Annual Dialysis Conference and served on the Planning Committee of the conference since its inception in 1981. It is the world’s largest multidisciplinary conference on dialysis.
“Being honored for such a prestigious award in honor of Barbara Prowant is tremendously humbling and truly wonderful,” says Lisa. “Barbara Prowant captures the essence of a nursing pioneer who dedicated her nephrology career not only to caring for patients but advocating for patients and home dialysis. Her dedication, passion and ‘gusto’ is why peritoneal dialysis is so successful today.”
Lisa earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing at Barnes College of Nursing in St. Louis and went on to receive a Master of Science in nursing and complete a nurse practitioner internship at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, MO.
Lisa Koester-Weidemann speaking at National Kidney Foundation conference on Home Modalities
As renal nurse practitioner, Lisa is responsible for clinical coverage of in-center hemodialysis, home dialysis (hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis) and the chronic kidney disease patient population. She educates patients about current dialysis modality options and is an adjunct instructor of medicine for nurse practitioner students.
Lisa is proud of our division’s record in promoting home dialysis. “Over 19 years, we’ve trained 178 home hemodialysis patients!” she says. Her first home dialysis patient is pictured below with then home nurse Sylvia Donato-Moore. “Sylvia was instrumental in my career, along with [previous faculty member] Dr. Brent Miller and his persistence for advocating home dialysis for the renal division.”
Picture of 1st home dialysis patient (sitting, center) from April 2005. Lisa (in green) says that home dialysis nurse Sylvias Donato-Moore (directly behind the patient) and previous faculty member Dr. Brent Miller (far right) were instrumental in her career.
In 2012, Lisa traveled to Washington DC as a delegate for the First National Summit on Home Dialysis to present to congressmen the importance of home dialysis. She remains a member of the Alliance for Home Dialysis, which was launched to continue the work of the summit. She was also asked by the National Kidney Foundation to join a steering committee with national dialysis stakeholders to find ways to increase the penetration of home dialysis. Lisa was head of the group were tasked with coming up with a tool to help the care partners of patients who were undergoing home dialysis. Results of her group and the other groups in the committee will be published this year in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.
Lisa was a finalist for the 2014 St. Louis Magazine’s Excellence in Nursing Awards, an annual award that recognizes the region’s outstanding nursing professionals. She has been involved in multiple clinical studies and has an extensive list of presentations and publications. Her latest publication is “Overcoming Barriers for Uptake and Continued Use of Home Dialysis: An NKF-KDOQI Conference Report,” published online February 10, 2020, in the American Journal of Kidney Disease.
Lisa Koester-Wiedemann was a finalist in the 2014 St. Louis Magazine’s Excellence in Nursing Awards
When not seeing patients, Lisa enjoys spending time with her family (husband Tom, son Alex and daughter Katie), skiing, traveling, going to the lake, and watching her children play hockey and volleyball.
Lisa’s children, Alex and Katie
Regarding the Barbara Prowant award, Lisa says, “Achieving this award wouldn’t have been possible without the inspiration I have received from my colleagues, amazing nurses and, of course, patients for whom I have the deepest respect. They have and continue to challenge my insight to perform better. To take care of patients is my core, and I am so honored to receive this award.”
Below are some of the heartfelt congratulations sent to Lisa from her WashU nephrology colleagues:
- “This is a very prestigious award and I am sure that everyone shares my excitement that Lisa is being honored in this way. Barbara Prowant made seminal contributions to the field of nephrology and especially to the development and dissemination of protocols promoting peritoneal dialysis. This is another reason it is so fitting for Lisa to receive this award.” Benjamin Humphreys, MD, PhD, chief, Division of Nephrology
- “Congratulations on such a well-deserved award! Working with you for such a long time has been an honor. Thank you for your devotion to our patient’s health & safety.” Rick Hasamear, Manager Dialysis Equip Maintenance
- “Congratulations Lisa!! Such a great honor and so well deserved.” Anuja Java, MD
- “On behalf of the home department, I would like to take this opportunity to echo Dr. Humphreys’ sentiments and personally congratulate Lisa on being honored with such a meaningful and prestigious award. Lisa’s ongoing contributions and commitment to helping us establish our industry’s benchmark for academic home dialysis care is unmatched. We cannot thank you enough for your efforts and couldn’t be more proud to see you acknowledged with such well-deserved recognition.” Shawna McMichael, BSN, RN, Nurse Manager, Home Modalities
- “Congratulations! That’s amazing and well deserved!!” Andy Chuu, MD
- “Congratulations Lisa outstanding!” Dennis Littleton, ANP
- “Lisa: Well deserved. You are such an asset to our division, couldn’t be happier that you received this reward.” Frank O’Brien, MD
- “Lisa, I of course knew it all along. You are superb in what you do. Well deserved!! Congratulations.” Andreas Herrlich, MD, PhD
- “I have known Lisa Koester for approximately 20 years. Lisa is the consummate professional and always goes above and beyond for her patients. She is compassionate and hardworking, and always looks out for the patient’s best interest. She was instrumental in starting our home dialysis program 20 years ago. Her advocacy for home HD and PD, and helping patients with the transition to home modalities, is one reason why WashU Division of Nephrology is one of the leaders in home dialysis. No one deserves this prestigious national recognition more than Lisa Koester and we are so proud and fortunate to have her as a colleague at WashU.” Anitha Vijayan, MD
- “Congratulations Lisa! What a fantastic honor!” Teresa Tamburello, RN, BSN
- “Congratulations Lisa!!! That is a truly wonderful accomplishment!” Helen Wijeweera, ANP
- “Congratulations Lisa! What a wonderful achievement!” Anubha Mutneja, MD
Teana Allen, Medical Secretary, III