As part of the Oral History of Nephrology Project, Dugan W. Maddux, MD, interviewed Nancy Armistead, a pioneering leader in the development of the systems and organizations that support kidney care in the United States. Although not a physician, Nancy played a central role in the evolution of the ESRD Network program, helping shape quality improvement, data reporting, patient advocacy, and oversight activities from the earliest years of the Medicare ESRD entitlement. For more than four decades, including many years as executive director of ESRD Network 5 through the Mid-Atlantic Renal Coalition, she worked alongside many of nephrology’s leading physicians and policymakers. Her unique perspective provides invaluable insight into how the ESRD program grew from a small federal initiative into a nationwide system of care for patients with kidney failure.
