It is with a heavy heart that DPC Board, staff, and volunteers learned of the unexpected passing of one of our former Board Members, Erich Ditschman, on January 1, 2025. Erich was originally from Nyak, New York, but later moved to Michigan where he met his wife, completed both his undergraduate and master’s degrees, and raised his family.
Advocacy was always at the heart of what Erich did – first as an environmental scientist advocating for river and watershed resources, then as a patient advocate for kidney disease after receiving a diagnosis of end stage renal disease in 2001. Erich joined DPC’s Board of Directors in 2007 and served two terms until 2011, working to advance the options and protections for kidney patients across the country, particularly when it came to home dialysis. Erich remained an active DPC Patient Ambassador, traveling to Washington, DC several times over the years, most recently in 2023, for our annual Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill to meet with Members of Congress and their staff.
We want to thank Erich for his tireless efforts to improve the lives of kidney disease patients. He will be missed not only by DPC, but by the larger kidney community as well.
