Largest USA Kidney Group Hails Pine Bluff Hometown Hero

Little Rock Hosts Kidney Patient Meeting on Science, AI, New Treatments

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP), the nation’s oldest and largest independent and nonpartisan kidney patient advocacy organization, began its 51st annual National Patient Meeting September 10 – 13, 2026, in Little Rock, Arkansas, with the induction of a well-known Arkansas kidney disease educator and advocate to its Kidney Advocate Hall of Fame – Bob Abbott of Pine Bluff.

Abbott, owner and manager of Abbott Enterprises Inc. in Pine Bluff, was inducted into the AAKP Kidney Advocate Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class of nationally respected influencers in kidney research and innovation. Abbott was honored for five decades of kidney advocacy alongside medical experts, federal officials, patient advocates, and researchers. The ceremony took place at the William J. Clinton Presidential Center during AAKP’s Policy Forum session. The AAKP National Patient Meeting, an in-person and online event, includes over 30 top kidney disease and treatment innovation experts. Admission and meals are free to kidney patients, family members, care partners, and living organ donors. Pre-registration is easy throughout the event for in-person walk-in attendees or online at https://bit.ly/AAKPNPM.

AAKP’s Hall of Fame tribute to Abbott includes the language: “In recognition of more than five decades of extraordinary, selfless service on behalf of kidney patients and their families, unwavering commitment to improving care access and opportunity for all patients, and to make certain elected leaders respect the voices of patients. A Lifetime of Impact – A Legacy of Effective Advocacy.”  His extraordinary volunteer service has earned national recognition, including a President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2020, following his nomination by AAKP, and the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022, after AAKP again recommended him for the honor. The Lifetime Achievement Award represents the highest level of presidential recognition for volunteer service.

Abbott’s advocacy began when his father, Floyd Abbott, developed kidney failure at a time when access to life-sustaining dialysis was severely limited and financially out of reach for many families. The Abbott family purchased a dialysis machine to keep his father alive—an experience that motivated Bob to fight so that other families would not face the same barriers to care. In Arkansas, Bob proposed legislation that led to the creation of the Arkansas Kidney Disease Commission in 1971, one of the nation’s earliest state efforts to assist people with kidney failure, and he served as one of its original members. He also became a founding member of the National Kidney Foundation of Arkansas. At the federal level, Bob and his family helped bring the realities of kidney failure and the promise of dialysis to the attention of influential policymakers, including House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Wilbur Mills, as momentum grew for the landmark 1972 legislation extending Medicare coverage to people with kidney failure.

AAKP President Edward V. Hickey, III, a chronic kidney disease patient, stated, “Bob’s story is a powerful reminder of the impact a family caregiver can have far beyond their own family. What began as a fight to save his father’s life became a lifetime commitment to ensuring that kidney patients across America have access to lifesaving care, a voice in the decisions that affect them, and the opportunity to live longer and better lives. And it is especially meaningful to honor Bob, a fine American and true patriot, here in his home state of Arkansas.” Hickey is a U.S. Marine Corps Veteran, a former senior Congressional aide, and has served in appointed roles in two presidential administrations. He currently serves on the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Nephrology Specialty Board and as the Chair of the AAKP Veterans Health Initiative.

AAKP Vice President and Chair of Policy Paul T. Conway, a 49-year kidney patient and 29-year transplant recipient, stated, “Bob Abbott’s service reflects his empathy for his fellow human beings, the depth of his character and his faith. AAKP held our first Policy Forum at the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in 2011 at Bob’s suggestion, marking the first time a national kidney group spotlighted the linkage between status quo kidney dialysis care and patient unemployment. Bob has been a fearless champion for principled public policy and medical innovation as a means for ending dependency, economic insecurity, and preventable death.” Conway is a former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of Labor and served as the inaugural Chair of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Patient Engagement Advisory Committee (PEAC). He was honored by former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson as an Arkansas Traveler for his work to improve kidney care and the well-being of Arkansas residents.

AAKP provides advocacy skills and social media training for patients and organ donors through its Center for Patient Engagement and Advocacy and National Patient Meeting with a faculty of allied government affairs and political experts. AAKP advocates help advance kidney community efforts, coordinated by the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) (view report), to expand Congressional appropriations and taxpayer investments in kidney science and research by up to $1.8 billion, through the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Defense. AAKP is committed to American leadership in the discovery of safe, next-generation kidney technologies while counteracting the pacing threat of communist China and its state-orchestrated efforts to dominate biotech, manipulate the drug supply chain, and limit patient choice.

Follow AAKP on social media at @kidneypatient on Facebook, @kidneypatients on X, and @kidneypatients on Instagram, and visit http://www.aakp.org for more information. AAKP patient advocates advance bipartisan kidney policy including:  passage of the bipartisan law modernizing the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN)  (2023); lifetime transplant drug coverage for  kidney patients (2020);  the historic Executive Order on Advancing American Kidney Health signed by President Donald Trump (2019); job protections for living organ donors under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) via the U.S. Department of Labor (2018); and  Congressional approval  of HIV positive organ transplants for HIV positive patients (2013).

MEDIA CONTACT:
Brendan LaCivita
National and Medical Media Specialist
blacivita@aakp.org
(813) 906-7740

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SOURCE American Association of Kidney Patients