KishHealth System Welcomes New Staff
September 20, 2011
New School Health Promotion Specialist
Kish Hospital’s Community Wellness Department welcomes Matt Wittrup, MAT, School Health Promotion Specialist. Matt is working with schools in the area to provide health education services. His focus is teaching the children about issues including hand washing, dental health, MyPlate nutrition, hygiene, puberty, water and sun safety, and more.
Matt graduated from Carthage College in Kenosha, WI, with a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing in 2002. He is a recent graduate of Northern Illinois University’s Graduate School, with a Master of Arts in teaching, specializing in health education.
Matt was born at Kish Hospital and attended Kindergarten through twelfth grade in Sycamore. He and his wife Andrea currently live in Sycamore with their dog Moses.
For more information about school programs through Kish Hospital’s Community Wellness Department, visit www.kishhospital.org/programs/wellnessforkids.
New Oncology Social Worker
The Cancer Center at Kishwaukee Community Hospital welcomes Craig Pressley, LCSW, as the center’s new oncology social worker. Craig’s role as the oncology social worker is to continue to innovate and develop programming to expand the range of care and support provided to families living with cancer, as well as to provide support and advocacy to partner with individuals living with cancer. Craig provides counseling support for individuals, couples, children and adolescents, caregivers, and families. He brings 15 years of experience in the care of families who have faced the daunting realities of homelessness, barriers to employment, mental health and substance abuse issues, financial stress and realities of medical crisis.
Craig recently relocated here with his family from Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he served as an oncology social worker with the Memorial Hospital Center for Cancer Support. He earned his Master’s of Social Work degree in 2004 from Aurora University.
“Craig brings with him broad experience as a true partner and advocate in the delivery of care to support patients and their families to live well with the difficult adjustment and psychological stressors that often accompany a cancer diagnosis,” said Debra Bemis, director of oncology services for KishHealth System.
For more information about staff at The Cancer Center at Kishwaukee Community Hospital, visit www.kishcancer.org.
New Behavioral Health Therapist
KishHealth Behavioral Health Services welcomes a new member to its team of trained therapists. Emily Dienst is currently a co-facilitator for Dialectical Behavior Therapy and leads the Anger Management group. She currently provides bilingual therapeutic services to children, adolescents, families, and individuals, and is certified as bilingual in Spanish and English through Pacific Interpreters. Dienst serves as the chair of the Latino Action Group with DCP/SAFE, where she recently coordinated the sixth annual Back to School Fair.
Dienst is a graduate of Benedictine University with a Master of Science in clinical psychology with a child subspecialty. Emily completed her undergraduate degrees in psychology and Spanish at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Dienst traveled abroad extensively while in the program; her travels included a month in South America visiting Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay to examine the relationship of tourism and native cultures as well as other excursions to Germany, Poland, and Morocco. Dienst spent a semester living with a host family in Granada, Spain and attended University of Granada’s Center for Modern Languages. While attending college Dienst served as president of Gamma Nu Sigma, the neuroscience student organization, and was an active member of Psi Chi, the honorary psychology fraternity.
During her master’s education, Dienst completed a clinical placement at Lutheran Social Services in Villa Park where she worked with children, adolescents and adults, and delivered presentations to the community on mental health. In her final clinical placement, Dienst served as an intern at KishHealth’s Behavioral Health Services providing therapeutic services directed towards empowering clients as individuals, family members, or as a couple, for children, adolescents, and adults through the Employee Assistance Program.
Dienst gained experience working with children and adolescents who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as well as the parents and family members, while providing in-home behavioral therapy. Her background also includes providing community-based mental health services through bilingual case management and therapy services, crisis intervention services, and clinical assessments.
For more information about KishHealth Behavioral Health Services, visit www.kishhospital.org/counseling.
