MEI is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) established in 1993.
Dedicated to helping people with chronic diseases learn to manage and improve their health.
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The MEI was founded in 1993 by Edith Oberley, Paulette Sacksteder, and William Hofeldt. At that point, Edith had been her husband Terry’s home hemodialysis partner for 20 years. Dori Schatell has been a part of the MEI team since it was founded and took the role of Executive Director in 2001.
Dori Schatell, MEI’s Executive Director, received the Annual Dialysis Conference Special Recognition Award in 2015. MEI have received multiple awards for our educational websites and tools. Check out the awards received for each program.
MEI Board of Directors
The MEI Team
Retired – President and CEO, Independent Dialysis Foundation, Baltimore, MD, clinical nephrologist, Associate Professor of Medicine, and Head of the Nephrology Division at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Co-investigator from 1994-99 on the CHOICE Study, a 5-year ESRD Patient Outcomes Research Team funded by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR, now AHRQ); member of the Institute of Medicine ESRD Program Study Committee 1988-91; chair of the ESRD Health Status Outcomes Group, 1995-97. Published author of many studies on dialysis effectiveness, anemia management, and innovations in vascular access.
Emeritus Chairman of the Board, Dialysis Clinic, Inc., Nashville, TN, Nephrologist, and faculty member, Vanderbilt University. Former president of both SEOPF and UNOS, the transplant registries and education organizations. Author of several peer-reviewed articles in nephrology. Medical Director of the Renal Transplant Program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center from 1990-99; Medical Director of the Renal Transplant Section of the Veterans Administration Medical Center, Nashville from 1972-99.
Managing partner at Medical Device Experts, LLC. Fred has applied his extensive global business and marketing experience to the renal community for years, starting as an engineering manager in the Renal Division at Baxter Healthcare in 1979. In 1993, he was a Director of Engineering for Aksys, Ltd., working on the revolutionary Aksys PHD home hemodialysis system. He left Aksys in 1997 to co-found FiF Marketing, a promotional marketing consultancy. In 1999, he returned to Baxter Healthcare Renal Division, responsible for growing the dialyzer product line. In 2007, Fred co-founded Medical Device Experts to support successful design, manufacturing, and marketing of new medical devices. He was member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer for the International Society for Hemodialysis (ISHD) from 2002-2008. Baxter recruited Fred back in 2008 in the global renal franchise, where he developed and implemented a global strategy for their hemodialysis business, launched four new and profitable global product families, and initiated Baxter’s fastest development program with a new dialyzer manufacturer in China. Fred resides in Barrington, IL and is a leader in his community and in business.
Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Pharmacy and Director of the Sonderegger Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Pharmacy, Madison, WI.
Recipient of many state and federal grants, including: “Pharmaceutical Care Outcomes: The Patient’s Role,” funded by AHRQ; Early Head Start Program Evaluation; and studies on individuals with chronic health conditions. Author of numerous publications, including a book promoting client self-management in chronic disease patients. Four-time recipient of the Teacher of the Year Award from the School of Pharmacy and the UW-Madison Medical School, Department of Preventive Medicine.
Vascular Access Marketing Manager at Transonic. Nephrology Nurse with over 35 years’ experience in both acute and chronic hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Roles included direct patient care to various management roles in various dialysis setting.
Extensive experience in the dialysis device related development and clinical support including a home dialysis system and multiple vascular access related products. Awarded the ANNA Nephrology Nurse Educator Award in 2007. Received the National Kidney Foundation Serving the Alleghenies Gift of Life Small Hands, Big Heart Award in 2010. Active member of ANNA, ASDIN, NKF and previous served as secretary for VASA. Work Group Member for the NKF KDOQI Vascular Access Guidelines 1997, 2000 and 2006 publications. Author of multiple publications on vascular access. Frequent speaker at professional symposium.
Vice President, Applied Data and Strategy Transformation at Satellite Healthcare/Wellbound. Previously at the Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI) in Minneapolis, Minnesota as a senior epidemiologist at the Chronic Disease Research Group (CDRG), a division of the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Eric has worked continuously in chronic kidney disease research since 2004. He has worked at CDRG between 2004 and 2015 and again since May 2020, at NxStage Medical between 2015 and 2019, and at Fresenius Medical Care North America between 2019 and 2020 (following Fresenius’ acquisition of NxStage). During his time in the field, Eric has devoted effort to the United States Renal Data System Coordinating Center, studies of both home hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, and pharmacoepidemiologic analyses about erythropoiesis-stimulating agents and phosphate binders. Eric is also an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Care and Health Systems in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Minnesota. He lives in Victoria, Minnesota, with his wife, Sarah; 3 sons, Isaac, Lucas, and Maxwell; and daughter, Abbilyn.
Dori brings a life-long interest in chronic disease, a passionate commitment to patient self-management, and 32 years in the renal industry to her role. An experienced medical writer/editor with more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, abstracts, booklets and books, fact sheets, and other pieces to her credit, she is also a national speaker and a policy advocate. She directs the Life Options program, Kidney School, and Home Dialysis Central; staffed the first DOQI Anemia Guideline; produced six editions of the Core Curriculum for the Dialysis Technician.
She has a BA in Psychology and History of Medicine and an MS in Child & Family Studies, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Kristi has more than 20 years of MEI experience managing all facets of research, from IRB submissions to subject recruitment, data collection, and peer-reviewed journal articles.
She has a BS in Community Health Education from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse.
Jenn joined the MEI team as Program Director in 2022, after spending most of the previous decade as an RN specializing in home dialysis modalities in New York. She graduated from SUNY, Albany, in 2006 with a BA in fine art and art history, and enrolled in nursing school at SUNY Adirondack 2 years later. Jenn’s grandmother was on dialysis at the time, so she bought MEI’s Help! I Need Dialysis! book, read it several times, and fell in love with MEI and its mission to improve the lives of people with chronic illness. Jenn started her nursing career in acute dialysis, moved to in-center, and finally to home therapies, teaching PD and HHD on as many systems available to her. From the start, her colleagues noted her fierce advocacy for patients, dedication to quality of life, and penchant for education. She strived to treat each family as if they were part of her own, earning the affectionate nickname, “Jenn Jenn the RN.” When MEI offered her a dream job combining problem-solving, research, and passion, she hung up her stethoscope, bittersweet as it was, and followed the call.
Karen joined the MEI team in 1994, took time off to raise children, and returned part-time in 2008. She supports the KDQOL Complete, Home Dialysis Central, and MEI.
Karen has BS degrees in Psychology and History from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Peter helps to plan and implement the computer-related activities within our organization. He enjoys spending time with his family and catching up on the latest web trends.
Kim originally worked for MEI in 1999 and then resigned to raise her children. She continued to work with MEI over the years on various freelance projects, and rejoined MEI in 2023 as their Development Manager. As a mom who has managed her child’s chronic illness issues for over 10 years, Kim is extremely passionate about patient rights and empowerment, researching medical literature, and developing partnerships with healthcare professionals to achieve the best possible outcomes.
Kim enjoys spending time with her three young adult children, taking care of their “zoo” of rescue animals, traveling, and helping others. She truly believes in being the change she wishes to see in the world!
Beth has been a renal social worker since 1978. She has worked with the MEI team since 1993 as a contributing writer, researcher, technical consultant, and community outreach expert. She served on the workgroup that developed the NKF KDOQI™ Clinical Practice Guidelines for chronic kidney disease and on a Rehabilitation Services Administration workgroup that developed a national training manual for vocational rehabilitation counselors. In 2010, Beth received the CNSW Lifetime Achievement Award. Beth writes and presents on rehabilitation, health-related quality of life, and employment and kidney disease.
Beth Witten received her MSW from the University of Kansas.