Denise Eilers, BSN, RN, was a care partner to her late husband for 25 years and a former Director of Nursing and Nursing Home Administrator. The last 16 years she has been the Coordinator of Health Occupations and a nursing instructor at United Township Area Career Center in East Moline, IL.

​

Presently, Denise is an adjunct instructor at a local junior college. She has also been a past President and Vice President of HDU for several years, and head of the Advocacy, Policy and Education committee.

​

EXPERIENCE

​

2007 - present

Blackhawk College, Moline, IL

   *Adjunct faculty, Nursing Assistant program/Biology

​

1999 - 2015

United Township High School — Area Career Center, East Moline, IL

   *Coordinator, Health Occupations

   *Theory Instructor, C.N.A. course/Medical Terminology

   *Faculty Sponsor, UTHS Red Cross Club

 

1993 - 1999

United Township High School — Area Career Center, East Moline, IL

   *Clinical Instructor, Nursing Fundamentals/C.N.A. course

 

1980 - 2004

Home Hemodialysis care partner (approximately 20 hours/week)

   *use of Travenol, Baxter and Fresenius machines

   *work with AV fistula, graft, and central catheter

 

1979 - 1982

East Moline Terrace (120 bed Intermediate Long Term Care facility)

   *Administrator

 

1970 - 1979

East Moline Terrace (originally Lexington House, 120 bed LTC facility)

   *Director of Nursing Services

 

1969 - 1970

East Moline State Hospital

   *Staff nurse, Medical Surgical unit

 

1967 - 1968

Memorial Medical Center, Springfield, IL

   *Student nurse/nursing assistant, Medical Surgical unit

EDUCATION AND SPECIALIZED TRAINING

 

1965 - 1969

Marycrest College, Davenport, IA

   *B.S.N., major in nursing with concentration in biological sciences

 

1980

Home Hemodialysis training, University of Iowa

 

1999

IDPH (“Train the Trainer”) CNA Educator Certification

 

2006

Genesis Medical Center, Hospice Training

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PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE/CERTIFICATION

​

• Illinois Registered Nurse (License # 41131699)

• Iowa Registered Nurse (License #051538)

• Illinois Nursing Home Administrator (License #44002197—inactive status)

• Certified Nurse Aide Educator, IDPH

• IL Vocational Teaching Certificate (Certificate #1629391)

​

MEMBERSHIPS

​

• ANNA (American Nephrology Nurses' Association)

• National Kidney Foundation, Council of Nephrology Nurses

• National Kidney Foundation, Iowa/Nebraska Board of Directors

• National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization

• RSN (Renal Support Network)

• Coalition for Supportive Care of Kidney Patients (formerly Kidney End of Life Coalition)

• Mid Atlantic Renal Coalition, Richmond, VA, steering committee

• Home Dialyzors United (HDU), Past President, current Board of Directors member

• American Society of Nephrology, Kidney Health Initiative, Patient and Family Partnership Council

 

COMMITTEES AND AWARDS

​

1992  Iowa Governor’s Volunteer Award

1996 - 1997  Mississippi Valley Alzheimer’s Association, Auxiliary Co-chairman

1989 - 1991  Governor’s Advisory Committee on End Stage Renal Disease  (Iowa)

2006  Who's Who Among America's Teachers

2006 - 2015  Renal Support Network (RSN) volunteer & weKAN advocacy committee

2007 - present  MARC  (Network 5), Kidney End of Life Coalition committee (DC, VA, MD)

2008 - 2012  Community Foundation, Great River Bend, Partners in Nursing Committee

PEAK (Performance Excellence and Accountability in Kidney Care)

2009 - 2011  Technical/Curriculum Development Committee, Kidney Care Partners

2010 - 2012  Friends of the Congressional Kidney Caucus

2011 - present  Home Dialyzors United, Board of Directors

2012  National Summit on Home Dialysis Policy, Washington, DC (delegate)

2012 - present  Alliance for Home Home Dialysis, work groups, Washington, DC

2012 - 2018  National Kidney Foundation, Kidney Living, editorial advisory board

2013 - 2015  ESRD Network 12, Learning and Action Network (LAN)

2013 - present  Kidney Health Initiative (ASN and FDA)

2015 - present  Kidney Health Initiative, Patient and Family Partnership Council

2015 - 2019  Health Editor, McClellan Heights Living, Davenport, IA

2016 - 2018  ESRD Network 10, Home Dialysis project

2017 - present  National Kidney Foundation Iowa, Board of Directors

2017 - present  ANNA Health Policy Specialty Practice Network

2017 - present  ANNA Health Policy Adviser, Chapter 319, Heart of Illinois

​

PUBLICATIONS

​

September 2005 - (with Bruce Bartlow, MD) “A Life, An Illness, A Death Well Lived”  Nephrology News and Issues, Scottsdale, AZ, Pages 60-62

 

February 2006

“Letter to the editor,” Family Focus, National Kidney Foundation, NY, NY

 

Fall 2006

“Perceptions: Images in a House of Mirrors”  Live and Give, Renal Support Network, Glendale, CA (reprinted Kidney Times)

 

Winter 2006

“Hope Sprinkled With Humor”  Kidney Times, Renal Support Network, Glendale, CA

 

May 2007

“If You Could Read My Mind, Love”  Kidney Times, Renal Support Network, Glendale, CA

 

July 2007

Contributor, "Healing Through Times of Trouble"  by Bruce Bartlow, MD, and Joni Walton, RN, Publish America, Baltimore, MD

 

August 2007

“It's a Miracle: weKAN Works the Halls of Congress"  Nephrology News and Issues, Scottsdale, AZ, Page 54

 

August 2007

“Health, Happiness and Hope Trains Patients to be Self-Motivated”  Nephrology News and Issues, Scottsdale, AZ, Page 41

 

Fall 2007

“Little Things Mean a Lot: Preventing Infection”  Live and Give, Renal Support Network, Glendale, CA

 

November 2007

“Just an Annoyance: Confronting the Dialysis Baggage”  Kidney Times, Renal Support Network,

Glendale, CA

 

March 2008

“World Kidney Day: A Personal Perspective”  Nephrology News and Issues, www.nephronline.com

 

Fall 2008

“Medication Safety: Get in RIGHT"  Live and Give, Renal Support Network, Glendale, CA

February 2009

“The Shadow of Your Smile”  Kidney End of Life Coalition, Mid Atlantic Renal Coalition, Midlothian, VA

 

March 2009

“Kidney Dialysis at Home”  Letter to the editor, Nursing 2009, Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, Ambler, PA, Page 8

 

April 2009

“Staying Home with Hemodialysis: a 25 Year Personal Retrospective”  Dialysis and Transplantation, Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken, NJ, Page 148

 

May 2009

“Easy Bruising”  Live and Give, Renal Support Network, Glendale, CA (reprinted Kidney Times)

 

December 2009

“Bundling and What is Important for Patients”  Nephrology News and Issues, Scottsdale, AZ, Page 11

 

January 2010

“Kidney Disease: Easing Pain at End of Life  Letter to the editor, Nursing 2010, Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, Ambler, PA, Page 1

 

Spring 2010

“Beyond Advance Directives”  Kidney Times, Renal Support Network, Glendale, CA

 

May 2010

“Nix the Word Caregiver” Dialysis and Transplantation, Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken, NJ

 

May 2011

“CNNT Clinical Case Review: The Rest of the Story”  NKF RenaLink

 

August 2011

“How to Climb Capitol Hill and Be An Advocate"  Nephrology News and Issues, Scottsdale, AZ

 

October 2011

“Employment: Barriers and Solutions”  Kidney Times and Live and Give, Renal Support Network, Glendale, CA

 

February 2012

Book Foreword "Help, I Need Dialysis  John Agar, MD and Dori Schattel, Medical Education Institute, Madison, WI

 

Spring 2012

“Feeling Good, Looking Good”  Live and Give, Renal Support Network, Glendale, CA

 

Summer 2012

“What a Wonderful World: Coping with Chronic Kidney Failure”  Texas ESRD Network, newsletter

 

February 2013

“What's in a Word: Caregiver or Care Partner  Nephrology Nursing Journal, ANNA, Sewell, NJ

 

Spring 2013, reprinted June 2013

“Employment and Dialysis: Yes You Can”  Kidney Living, NKF reprinted, Texas ESRD network newsletter

 

June 2014

“Advance Care Planning: Exploding the Myths”  Live and Give, Renal Support Network, Glendale, CA

 

March 2016

“Asking the Right Questions about Home Dialysis” Nephrology News and Issues, Scottsdale, AZ

 

February 2017

“Finding Your Way (Home) at Kidney Week”  Nephrology News and Issues, Scottsdale, AZ

 

August 2018

“Person-Centered Approach to Deciding on Long-Term Dialysis”  Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology

 

September/October 2019

“Perceptions and Practices of Nephrology Nurses Working in Home Dialysis: An International Survey,  Nephrology Nursing Journal, Volume 46, Number 5

 

PRESENTATIONS

​

1981

“Home Dialysis”  panel member, National Kidney Foundation Convention, Des Moines, IA

 

1994

“Dialysis Issues”  hearings on dialysis, Iowa City, IA

 

February 2006

“Symposium on Pain Management and End of Life Care”  (Contributor) Annual Dialysis Conference, San Francisco, CA

 

April 2007

“Grieving and Bereavement  (Contributor), Symposium on End of Life Care, Annual Dialysis Conference, Denver, CO

 

November 2007

“CKD and the C.N.A.”  Annual C.N.A. Educator Conference, Springfield, IL

 

November 2007

“ABCs of CKD”  Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL

 

February 2008

“The 5 Ws of CKD”  Elderly Consortium, Davenport, IA

March 2008

Organizer, Panel moderator, RSN Patient Lifestyle Meeting, Iowa City, IA

 

March 2008

“Care Giving: Signs of the Times|"  RSN Patient Lifestyle Meeting, Iowa City, IA

 

December 2008

“What Home Hemodialysis is Really Like”  Baxter Health Care, Waukegan, IL

 

June 2009

“The 5 Ws of CKD”  Optimist Clubs, Davenport, IA

 

July 2009

Organizer, moderator, RSN Patient Lifestyle Meeting, Davenport, IA

 

July 2009

“The Real Life of a Care Partner”  RSN Patient Lifestyle Meeting, Davenport, IA

 

September 2009

“A Family Perspective on End of Life Care”  National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization Conference, Pre Conference, Symposium on End of Life Issues, Denver, CO

 

December 2009

“The 5 Ws of CKD”  Tri Lutheran Organization, Davenport, IA

January 2010

“Chronic Kidney Disease at End of Life”  Genesis VNA and Hospice, Davenport, IA

 

March 2010

MEDCAC (Medical Evidence Development Coverage Advisory Committee) testimony, CMS, Baltimore, MD

 

May 2010

“CKD Patient Education: Up Close and Personal”  Abbott Pharmaceutical, Waukegan, IL

J

uly 2010

“ESAs: A Patient and Family Perspective”  Affymax, Palo Alto, CA

 

July 2010

“Beyond Traditional Advance Directives: Reality and Humor"  RSN Patient Lifestyle Meeting, Davenport, IA

 

August 2010

“Everything Patients and Families Want You to Know, But Are Afraid to Say”  Heartland Kidney Network 12 Webinar, Kansas City, MO

 

October 2010

“Beyond Traditional Advance Directives: Reality and Humor"  NxStage Users Conference, Las Vegas, NV

 

November 2010

“What Home Hemodialysis is Really Like”  National Kidney Foundation Conference, Madison WI

 

November 2010

“Everything Patients and Families Want You to Know, But Are Afraid to Say”  National Kidney Foundation Conference, Madison, WI

 

January 2011

“A Family Perspective on End of Life Care”  Heartland Kidney Network Conference, Kansas City, Mo

January 2011

MEDCAC (Medical Evidence Development Coverage Advisory Committee) testimony, CMS, Baltimore, MD

 

January 2011

“Help! A Patient's First Dialysis”  Heartland Kidney Network meeting, Kansas City, MO

 

February 2011

“Supporting Patients & Families at End of Life: Bridging the Divide”  Annual Dialysis Conference, Phoenix, AZ

 

February 2011

“Care Partner Support: Lessons From a Coffee Group  Annual Dialysis Conference, Phoenix, AZ

 

March 2011

“ABCs of CKD”  Senior Care 411, Davenport, IA

 

March 2011

“Everything Patients and Families Want You to Know, But Are Afraid to Say”  Wisconsin Dialysis, Fitchburg, WI

 

April 2011

“Everything Patients and Families Want You to Know, But Are Afraid to Say”  Dialysis Center of Lincoln, Lincoln, NE

 

April 2011

“Supporting Patients & Families at End of Life: Bridging the Divide”  Pella Regional Health Care, Pella, IA

 

April 2011

“Care Partner Support: Lessons From a Coffee Group  Mercy Medical Center, Des Moines, IA

 

August 2011

“Supporting Patients & Families at End of Life: Bridging the Divide”  Mercy Medical Center Dialysis, Mason City, IA

 

October 2011

“Renal Rehabilitation: Lessons from Cardiology”  NxStage Users, New Orleans, LA

 

October 2011

“Legislation: All Politics is Local”  Iowa Council of Nephrology Nurses and Technicians, Davenport, IA

 

November 2011

“Supporting Patients & Families at End of Life: Bridging the Divide”  ESRD Network 7 Conference, Tampa, FL

 

August 2012

“Living the Good Life: A Care Partner Perspective,  AAKP conference, Atlanta, GA

 

March 2013

“Tools and Strategies to Initiate End of Life Discussions”  Annual Dialysis Conference, Seattle, WA

 

October 2013

“Living the Good Life with Kidney Disease"  Texas ESRD Network Meeting, Dallas, TX

 

January 2014

“Hot Topics for Patients and Care Partners”  Heartland Kidney Conference, Kansas City, KS

 

June 2014

“Hot Topics for Patients and Care Partners”  Patient support group, Cleveland, OH

 

September 2014

“Home Dialysis Options: Which One is Best for Me?”  AAKP, Las Vegas, NV

 

October 2014

“Advance Care Planning: Bridging the Divide”  Indiana University/Home Dialyzors United conference, Indianapolis, IN

 

February 2015

“A Curriculum for Educating LTC Staff: Caring for Dialysis Patients”  Annual Dialysis Conference, New Orleans, LA

 

September 2015

“Advance Care Planning: Bridging the Divide”  American Association of Kidney Patients, Nashville, TN

 

April 2016

“Living the Good Life: The Care Partner Perspective”  ESRD Network 10 Webinar, Indianapolis, IN

 

December 2016

“Hot Topics in Home Dialysis”  Fresenius Medical Care, Quarterly Nurse meeting, Chicago, IL

 

March 2017

“Advance Care Planning: Let's All Talk”  Annual Dialysis Conference, Long Beach, CA

 

March 2017

“Dialysis in Long Term Care”  panel, Annual Dialysis Conference, Long Beach, CA

 

November 2017

“Barriers to Home Dialysis: The Patient and Family Perspective”  panel, NKF Barriers to Home Dialysis Controversies Conference, Baltimore, MD

 

March 2018

“The Back End of Home Dialysis”  Annual Dialysis Conference, Orlando, FL

 

April 2018

“Nurses at the Forefront of Advocacy"  ANNA Symposium, Las Vegas, NV

 

RESEARCH

 

May 1969

“Effects of a Psychiatric Unit Open Door Policy on Patient Behavior and Length of Hospitalization”  Marycrest College, Davenport, IA

 

February 2012

Abstract, “The 'Rights' of Advance Care Planning Discussions: An Easy Tool for Initiating Conversations”  with Rene Bova-Collis, MSW, LCSW, Coalition for Supportive Care of Kidney Patients, Richmond, VA, Annual Dialysis Conference slide forum presentation, San Antonio, TX

 

March 2013

Abstract, “Renal Rehabilitation: A 'Normal Life' Numerical Rating Scale”  Annual Dialysis Conference, Seattle, WA

 

August 2019

“Perceptions and Practices of Nephrology Nurses Working in Home Dialysis: An International Survey”  ANNA