John E. Lewy Foundation
for Children’s Health

The ASPN is delighted at the growth of its partnership with the John E. Lewy Foundation for Children’s Health. Generously initiated by the Lewy family as a living remembrance of Dr. Lewy’s dedication to pediatric nephrology, pediatric advocacy and education, and the advancement of science, the Foundation enhances and expands the ASPN missions of teaching, learning, discovery, and responsibility.

Dr. Lewy was a founding member of the ASPN and served as its President in 1980-81. He was the recipient of the ASPN Founder’s Award in 2000. In addition to excellence as a clinical nephrologist and researcher, Dr. Lewy trained hundreds of pediatricians during his tenure as Chair of Pediatrics at the Tulane University School of Medicine from 1978 – 2004. His advocacy for children spanned the spectrum from local to global health affairs, and he had recently completed his term as Chair of the Committee for Federal Government Affairs of the AAP at the time of his death.

2011 has been an active year for the Foundation. Official recognition of the Foundation as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization was received from the IRS. Therefore your past and future contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. The Foundation initiated what we hope to be an ongoing presence at the PAS meetings in Denver by sponsorship of a topic symposium entitled “Transition and Chronic Disease: The Long Hard Road from Childhood to Adulthood”. A very large crowd of pediatricians from the spectrum of general practices and subspecialties participated in the discussions surrounding the continually difficult issues of achieving quality medical care for adolescents and young adults with chronic disease. This is just the type of issue that the Foundation is dedicated to attacking by supporting the science of transition, facilitating advocacy and leadership efforts, and encouraging broader clinician involvement.

The inaugural Advocacy Scholar’s Program, which began in the fall of 2010, is proceeding splendidly. This program, designed to develop leaders with specific expertise in governmental processes affecting children’s health care and advocacy for pediatric nephrology, is a two-year “mini-sabbatical” that supports attendance at national conferences for advocacy education and skills training as well as hands-on closely-mentored experiences with senior leaders of the ASPN and its Washington representative. The first scholars, Drs. Tamar Springel and David Hains have attended the American Academy of Pediatrics Legislative Conference and are both now working diligently with Katie Schubert and ASPN Leadership on “mini-Hill Day” experiences and visits to the NIH. Both scholars have become active in the ASPN Public Policy Committee and will serve as junior mentors to the second cadre of scholars to be chosen this fall. We are already reaping the benefits that this new expertise will bring to the pediatric community.

In the coming year, the Board of Directors of the Foundation will continue to plan new efforts, and we welcome any suggestions that you might have as to how we might continue this important work. Using the strength of tax-exempt contributions from ASPN members, private donors, industry, and other partners, the Foundation will continue to grow activities in support of advocacy and science.

There are doubtless many other possibilities for the Foundation to explore that would both further the mission of the ASPN and also honor Dr. Lewy’s boundless initiative, persistence, and mentorship.

Let us work together to draw on the legacy of one of pediatric nephrology’s true leaders to create a stronger future for the children in our care.

RECOGNITION OF INDIVIDUAL DONORS