Houston VA doctor receives Presidential Volunteer Service Award
PRESS RELEASE
November 4, 2022
Houston , TX — President Joseph R. Biden has recognized Dr. Stephen Z. Fadem, a nephrologist who has provided care for Veterans at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC) without compensation since 1980, with a Presidential Volunteer Service Award.
The highly competitive and non-partisan national award recognizes the exceptional contributions of American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) volunteers to both the organization and the wider kidney community.
Dr. Fadem was one of six AAKP leaders who received the President's Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest level of recognition that is unique and recognizes an exemplary level of volunteerism to build a stronger nation through volunteer service, including the investment of thousands of hours of personal time and professional expertise.
“I am deeply touched by this honor,” said Dr. Fadem, the Medical Advisory Board Chairman for AAKP. “Working with the VA and with AAKP has been deeply gratifying and inspiring. AAKP was founded by resilient patients who proved that achieving the impossible was possible. The work they do is amazing.”
Dr. Fadem conducts inpatient care one month a year at MEDVAMC as a renal attending physician.
“We are incredibly proud that Steve is recognized for his exceptional volunteerism and long-standing contributions to the kidney community through patient care, scientific contributions, patient education efforts, and active role in public policy,” said Dr. Venkat Ramanathan, Associate Chief, Medical Care Line & Director, Solid-Organ Transplant Programs. “At MEDVAMC, Dr. Fadem has been providing inpatient kidney care for our Veterans for almost four decades.”
His volunteer work also includes training residents at MEDVAMC.
“Dr. Stephen Fadem, a dedicated, thoughtful, and compassionate physician has been providing high-quality care our Veterans for over four decades,” said Dr. Sankar Navaneethan, Chief of Nephrology. “He is also committed to educating the next generation of nephrologists and has taught our nephrology trainees for the past several years.”
In addition to patient care, he is a frontrunner of cutting-edge research, and specializes in kidney disease management with a special interest in delaying the progression of chronic disease.
Dr. Fadem also serves as the Medical Advisory Board Chairman of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) Serving Texas and is on the NKF Scientific Advisory Board.
He is a diplomate and fellow of the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians. He is a fellow and active member of the American Society of Nephrology, the International Society of Nephrology, a past board member of the Renal Physicians Association, the American Association of Kidney Patients, and a current board member of the National Kidney Foundation Serving Texas.
In addition to caring for patients at Kidney Associates, he is also a Clinical Professor of Medicine at Baylor College of medicine where he lectures frequently on dialysis management, COVID-19, disaster preparation, patient safety, preventive nephrology, vascular calcification, anemia, patient education, CKD education, information systems, computer technology, and computer security.
Dr. Fadem has received several awards and accolades including the American Association of Kidney Patients Nova Award and the National Kidney Foundation’s Distinguished Service Award. He has also been awarded the National Kidney Foundation’s President's Award, the Myron L. Jenkins Award, the Samuel Orenstein Award, the AAKP Visionary Award and Peter Lundin Award for his contributions to patient education.
He is the recipient of the 2013 Core Value Award for Continuous Quality Improvement, which is given yearly to the DaVita Medical Director who best exemplifies the core value of CQI through outcomes-based leadership. Furthermore, he is a 2014 recipient of the NKF Crystal Slipper Award and was awarded the Lifetime Academic and Professional Achievement Award by AAKP in 2018.
In 2019, Dr. Fadem received the Medal of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed upon a physician by AAKP. Dr. Fadem has been ranked among the Top Doctors in the USA by U.S. News and World Report and Castle Connolly and is a Texas Super Doctor. He was ranked among the top nephrologists in Houston by the Houston Chronicle and is listed as a Top Doctor by H Texas Magazine.
Dr. Fadem is widely published. He has edited three textbooks on kidney disease, Issues in Dialysis (Nova Science, Hauppauge, NY, March 2012), Essentials of Chronic Kidney Disease (Nova Science, Hauppauge, NY, June 2015), and Essentials of Chronic Kidney Disease 2nd edition (Nova Science, Hauppauge, NY, October 18, 2018).
He graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine with his Medical Degree. He went on to complete his internal medicine residency from the University of Texas Health Science Center. Subsequently, he began practice in 1978 after completing his renal fellowship at The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.
Formerly from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Dr. Fadem is married and has three children.
