It is with a heavy heart that DPC and the DPC Education Center Board, staff, and volunteers learned of the passing of one of our Board Members, Stephen (Steve) Ahern. Steve was born and raised just outside of Philadelphia, PA, and was a lifelong Eagles fan. He worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation before working as a Commercial Loans Officer for PSFS Bank. Steve moved to Cape May County 40 years ago and worked as a real estate agent in Avalon and Stone Harbor, NJ, a seasonal beach community along the southern Jersey shore. He also volunteered with his local Board of Realtors, serving in a variety of responsibilities including Director, Treasurer, and other positions.
Steve was a dialysis patient for over nine years. He was listed as Status 7 transplant patient which made him “inactive” for a transplant due to various medical issues including heart stents and two bouts with lung cancer. Steve was not the type of person though to let anything slow him down. He joined DPC in 2020 and was elected to the Board of Directors in October 2022. Two months later he jumped-in to serve as Treasurer and was an outspoken advocate for access to Medigap coverage for dialysis patients. Steve knew that kidney disease can affect anyone, and the diversity of the dialysis community reflects that fact. He believed that bringing together different backgrounds, both professionally and personally, had the power to make positive change.
We are deeply grateful to Steve for his many years of working to improve the lives of kidney patients – he will be sorely missed on the DPC and Education Center Boards, as well as by the larger kidney community.
