 Posted by Sudbury Northern Life
The Sudbury Regional Hospital (HRSRH) is congratulating Registered Social Worker (RSW) Gary Petingola on receiving the Council of Nephrology Social Workers (CNSW) Award. The CNSW functions as a professional membership council within the framework of the National Kidney Foundation in the United States. Petingola was presented the award at a luncheon held during the foundation's annual Clinical Nephrology Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee.
Petingola, a CNSW International member, works with dialysis and kidney transplant patients in the hospital's Nephrology Program. The award recognizes social workers who have made outstanding contributions to nephrology social work.
"For many patients with renal disease who require dialysis it becomes a lifelong and life changing commitment. It represents an often permanent change in lifestyle that can be difficult to cope with. Social Workers are key members of a multi-disciplinary team that also includes Nephrologists, Dietitians, Dialysis Technologists, Pharmacists and Nurses," says nephrology unit clinical manager Judy Chaperon. "In Gary, our hospital and community are fortunate to have a person recognized as one of the most outstanding nephrology social workers in North America."
In addition to his role at the HRSRH, Petingola is an active member of the U.S. Kidney Community Emergency Response Coalition Pandemic Preparedness Team. Together with Chaperon he was a key contributor in writing Chapter 17 of the Ontario Pandemic Plan, "Planning for Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)," released in August 2008. He is also a participant in the provincial CKD Summit, aimed to examine and plan for the promotion of CKD prevention and management for the next five years in Ontario. In 2008, Gary also was awarded the Jane Dicks Award for 2007, acknowledging Nephrology Social Work excellence with the Canadian Association of Nephrology Social Workers.
