Patient Pens Letter of Appreciation for NP Lisa Koester-Wiedemann

“Lisa is a true angel and always goes above and beyond to help her patients.”

That is how “Sam,” a dialysis patient, describes nurse practitioner Lisa Koester-Wiedemann, ANP, CNN-NP, in a letter to Dr. Benjamin Humphreys, Chief of the Division of Nephrology, to express her appreciation for the special attention Lisa has shown her.  Sam has been under the care of Lisa and Dr. Marcos Rothstein for the past 15+ years.

“Lisa is a nurse practitioner, but will take on any role such as that of a social worker,” says Sam. “She listens to her patients and is willing to help in any way she can.”

Sam was compelled to write a letter recognizing Lisa’s thoughtfulness because of a recent trying event.  “I had a last-minute trip booked to see my cousins who had come to the U.S. from abroad.”  Sam put in a request at her dialysis center before her trip to receive a dialysis treatment on the evening she returned home (on a Tuesday).  However, she was informed that her dialysis center did not have a Tuesday evening schedule.  “I reached out to Lisa for help, and she immediately contacted a manager at a different dialysis clinic.  Lisa worked with the manager and was able to get me scheduled on an evening shift upon my return.”

However, a snafu with paperwork that needed to be sent from Sam’s usual dialysis unit to the temporary unit nearly derailed Sam’s trip. “I had given up hope. I was ready to cancel my trip when I got a text from Lisa,” she says.  “Lisa faxed all my medical records to the other unit and I was set for Tuesday evening!  I had tears of joy and thanked her for making this happen.”

Learning of Sam’s experience, Dr. Humphreys said that while he was thrilled, he was not surprised by Lisa’s efforts.  “Lisa is so dedicated to patients like Sam, but it is indeed amazing to hear the effort she made and the impact it had on Sam’s experience.”  And to Sam, he says, “I am so happy that through her efforts you were able to see your cousins!!!  Especially after the pandemic when we have not seen our families for so long.”

Lisa always does her best to go above and beyond for her patients.  “Dialysis is hard and unfortunately the system makes it even harder for patients to have lives outside of dialysis,” she says.   “If I am able to provide some normalcy to patients lives, I will certainly do so.  We have to be creative and seek resources out there for our patients.  I try to put myself or a family member in the patient’s situation and then ask myself what would I do to solve the problem.  It is not always easy, but if I can help patients at any level I will try!”

I cannot thank Lisa enough. She has done so much for me and other patients like me.  I believe she deserves more than just a thank you note from a patient – she deserves a special recognition. I could have not gone through 15+ years of dialysis without Lisa!

Dialysis patient “Sam”

Indeed, thank you, Lisa, for being such a valued member of WashU Nephrology.  Your dedication to our patients is truly recognized and appreciated.

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Follow @lisakoester11,  @HumphreysLab, @NephroMaven (Rothstein), and keep updated with the Division of Nephrology @WUNephrology on Twitter.