About the Founder

In Brief
Lori Hartwell has made a difference in the lives of people with chronic kidney disease. She is the model of living a fulfilling life despite chronic illness. A kidney patient since age two, she has experienced dialysis for 12 years and is now awaiting her fourth kidney transplant, Lori founded the patient-led Renal Support Network in 1993 to instill “health, happiness, and hope” into the lives of fellow patients. As RSN president, Lori travels throughout the country educating and inspiring patients and healthcare professionals with her stories, insight, and humor. She is the author of Chronically Happy - Joyful Living in Spite of Chronic Illness, an inspirational guidebook for handling lifestyle and other non-medical issues that come up in the course of chronic disease.  Lori has been a guest on radio talk shows nationwide, and her annual Renal Teen Prom has enjoyed local broadcast and nationwide television coverage. She has received numerous awards in recognition of her leadership and is a sought-after inspirational and motivational speaker. In 2009 she produced a play called Who Lives? by Christopher Meeks- a moving drama about hope, despair, life, death and choice; based on the early history of kidney dialysis- which opened in Los Angeles and was nominated for five Ovation Awards by the L.A. Stage Alliance.  Lori created and co-hosts KidneyTalk!, a interview program available as a web-streaming podcast as well as a number of other programs that help people who have kidney disease.  She continually encourages patients to tell their stories, and her contributions toward improving the well-being of people with chronic illness are widely recognized.  Click here for list of programs.  

Lori's Story
When doctors put two-year-old Lori Hartwell on dialysis after her kidneys mysteriously stopped working, they didn’t expect her to live. That was the first --but not the last-- time she beat seemingly insurmountable odds to survive, and she continues to improve the statistics today.

As a young patient, Ms. Hartwell encountered the pioneering stages of renal replacement therapy. She was the youngest person in the state of California ever to be placed on peritoneal dialysis (a cleansing of the peritoneum in the abdominal cavity).  Following 12 years on dialysis (including hemodialysis, which cleans the blood) and three kidney transplants―the last of which took place in 1990 and continues to serve her well― she has emerged as a powerful example of how people with chronic illness can lead complete and productive lives.

The insightful, often humorous and touching story of how Ms. Hartwell chose to live life rather than succumb to its obstacles is laid out in her book, Chronically Happy - Joyful Living in Spite of Chronic Illness, which describes her approach to fulfillment by taking simple, logical steps in order to realize one’s dreams. Chronically Happy is the first book written by a person with kidney disease about the illness ever to reach national distribution.

Career
Ms. Hartwell began her career in the renal field as a technical sales specialist for HemaMetrics, developers of a hematocrit-controlled hemodialysis technology. She then accepted the position of Western Regional Sales Manager for Medcomp, distributors of vascular access catheters, where she oversaw company activities in seven states. These positions enabled her to visit more than 500 freestanding and hospital-based dialysis units in 30 states. As such, she was able to develop a broad-based, multi-faceted view of the U.S. renal patient population, and to witness the importance of a mutual understanding between patients and healthcare providers in the quest for quality care.

This broad-based, first-hand knowledge of patients and kidney disease led naturally to publishing where Ms. Hartwell became editor of the medical journal Contemporary Dialysis & Nephrology and of the lay journal For Patients Only. She was the content publisher of the popular Web site iKidney.com, which served the entire renal community. Combining this experience with her knowledge of renal disease from both the patient and industry perspectives, Ms. Hartwell established Hartwell Communications in 2000, for which she consulted on and created patient-related educational materials. She wrote and produced “Communication Prescription for the Renal Care Professional,” a 60-minute video that shares practical advice, creative communication concepts, and stories of hope from people who live with kidney disease as well as from veteran renal care professionals. This video, which won a 2001 Aegis Award for its production quality, illustrates the positive impact that renal care professionals can have on people’s lives.

Ms. Hartwell continues to travel the country giving motivational and educational presentations to renal healthcare professionals and patients, both at national nephrology conferences and at the regional/local level.

Ms. Hartwell realized one of her most ambitious dreams to date when, in 1993, she founded the Renal Support Network (RSN) to instill “health, happiness, and hope” into the lives of those affected by chronic kidney disease (CKD). The influence of this patient-led organization, which started out as a Southern California grassroots effort, now extends across America. RSN’s mission is to identify and meet the non-medical needs of people affected by CKD, whether they are in the early stages of the disease, on dialysis, or with a kidney transplant. RSN provides service, support, and advocacy to patients and their families and builds coalitions within the renal community.

One of the most adventuresome programs of RSN is KidneyTalk! a talk-show style podcast with new episodes every other week, which Ms. Hartwell created in order to present information to the kidney community more palatably in a light, bright and breezy format.  To help her realize this goal, she enlisted actor/director/producer Stephen Furst, a kidney transplant recipient well-known for comic roles such as Flounder in “Animal House,” and, in a more serious vein, Dr. Axelrod in the Emmy-award winning television show, “St. Elsewhere.” 

Patient Advocacy
As person who has lived successfully with chronic kidney disease, Ms. Hartwell has a passion to give patients with chronic illness a reason to live and hope for the future. Her motto, “An illness is too demanding when you don’t have hope,” is heard throughout the U.S. nephrology community and has informed the development of the many programs within the Renal Support Network.  She has advocated on the national level, speaking with congressional and state leaders about legislative issues affecting the kidney community and giving testimony before the Joint Advisory committee of the Food and Drug Administration.  By example, she encourages other patients to take a positive step by taking active roles in the many patient-directed programs of RSN.

Ms. Hartwell’s passion lies with giving people with chronic illness a reason to find hope for the future. Her battle cry, “An illness is too demanding when you don’t have hope,” is presently reverberating throughout the renal community.

View Lori's full bio here: PDF
or Learn more by visiting www.LoriHartwell.com.