Our Business

MANAGING Our BUSINESS RESPONSIBLY

By conducting our business responsibly and transparently, we establish ourselves as the leader and partner of choice in managing kidney care in a value based system. We must continuously create clinical value for our partners and patients that translates to economic value for all of us. Our approach is guided by evolving best practices and feedback from our stakeholders on topics identified as vital to our shared success.

99.63%

of Fresenius Kidney Care facilities maintained 5-Diamond status for patient safety.

48,200+

U.S. employees completed OSHA training.

8,000+

diverse suppliers supported in the U.S.

“We’re the nation’s leading provider of kidney care products and services. Every day, our team of more than 68,000 employees cares for people living with kidney disease, and each deserves to live their life to its fullest. We are committed to delivering superior care that improves the quality of life of every patient, every day.” 

Bill Valle, Chief Executive Officer, Fresenius Medical Care – Care Delivery

GOVERNANCE

GLOBAL OPERATIONS AND POLICIES

We are a wholly owned subsidiary of Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s leading provider of products and services for individuals with renal diseases. See Fresenius Medical Care Sustainability for key information on our global operations.

We develop policies and targets to drive progress on our commitments. Key global policies and standards, including our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct, Health Equity Statement, and Supplier Code of Conduct, among others can be found on Fresenius Medical Care's website.

RESPONSIBLE MANAGEMENT

PATIENT SAFETY

2022 was the seventh consecutive year Fresenius Kidney Care led the industry in patient safety, maintaining 5-Diamond status at 99.63 percent of participating facilities. The external 5-Diamond program encourages safety for dialysis center patients and staff.

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DISASTER RESPONSE

When a disaster strikes, our Disaster Response Team works with local, regional, and national entities to ensure critical supplies such as water, fuel, and transportation are prioritized for dialysis patients. We mobilize command centers to account for all patients and employees, arrange food distribution, and supply personal generators, fuel, and water. In 2022 Hurricane Ian had the biggest impact on our operations.

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“Over the years we have responded to many types of natural and manmade disasters. Anything that disrupts our ability to operate our centers will activate our facility emergency plan, as well as both our local and national response teams. Water is essential to dialysis, and interruption of water supply is becoming a more frequent issue that requires us to have water bladders and/or an alternate water supply vendor on standby to deliver water tankers.”

Bob Loeper, VP, Operations Support and Business Continuity / Disaster Response

EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND SAFETY

The health and safety of our employees is one of our most important concerns and commitments. Our Corporate Employee Safety Committee is composed of employees from each business unit, and meets quarterly to identify, develop, and promote initiatives to enhance a sustainable safety environment within our operating entities. Our successful, innovative safety programs and initiatives have earned us the CNA Safety in Excellence Award for 22 years. We are the only company to have achieved this accomplishment. 

COMPLIANCE PROGRAM

Our compliance program focuses on key healthcare risk areas and partners dedicated ethics and compliance officers with business leaders to set expectations of honesty and integrity in all relationships — with patients, customers, suppliers, fellow employees, investors, the general public, and others. Our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct requires employees to comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and rules, and is included in employee training. Our goal is to continue to have all current employees complete annual compliance training.

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SUPPLIER DIVERSITY

With thousands of suppliers providing us with products and services, we recognize the opportunities our supply chain creates to positively impact people through inclusive and diverse sourcing. Diverse suppliers include minority-owned, woman-owned, disability-owned, Veteran-owned, small business, and HUBZone (business in historically underutilized business zones) to name a few. Within our indirect supplier base, our supplier diversity program includes more than 8,000 diverse suppliers in the U.S.

DATA PRIVACY AND CYBERSECURITY

In 2018 Fresenius Medical Care North America established our Information Security Office and appointed a chief information security officer (CISO) who partners with executive leadership to deploy trusted solutions that strengthen and streamline our approach to data privacy and cybersecurity. In 2021, Fresenius Medical Care expanded its commitment to improving cybersecurity resilience and hired their first global CISO. The global CISO will drive an Information Security and IT Privacy Assurance program that integrates against our global corporate needs.

POLITICAL ADVOCACY

Our mission is to deliver superior care that improves the quality of life of every patient, every day, setting the standard by which others in the healthcare industry are judged. It is that focus on providing superior care to patients that drives our work every day. It is why we advocate for people living with kidney disease and the dialysis community at all levels of government. Our Government Affairs team collaborates with centers across the country to provide them with tools and information to support these advocacy efforts.

Education is key to our approach, and providing center tours for state legislators, members of Congress, and other government leaders is just one of the ways we work to educate. Center tours allow these leaders to see firsthand the importance of end stage renal disease treatment for our patients.

We started these tours nearly seven years ago and continue to receive positive feedback from government leaders who enjoy and benefit from being able to see how a dialysis center operates, and learn about our focus on quality care, healthcare overall, and patients.

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RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SOLUTIONS IN NEPHROLOGY

Artificial Intelligence (AI), data science, and advanced analytics are helping to make advances in the treatment of chronic kidney disease and across healthcare at large. By leveraging big data to accelerate AI solutions for kidney disease, researchers, data scientists, and practitioners are developing clinical tools that enhance patient care. Throughout Fresenius Medical Care, we’re using advanced analytics to support clinical decision-making with a suite of more than 20 different models. Some of these AI-based tools include models to reduce hospitalizations, provide insights on in-center dialysis patients who would do well on home modalities, identify patient acuity according to social workers and dietitians, and predict peritoneal dialysis technique failure.

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FRENOVA RENAL RESEARCH

In the world of kidney disease and related disorders, Frenova Renal Research is a site management organization and the largest global network of investigators, chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, and data assets for clinical trials. In 2022, Frenova enrolled 2,019 patients across 39 studies.

RENAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Our Renal Research Institute (RRI) is committed to helping people with chronic kidney disease and end stage kidney disease lead fuller, more active, and vibrant lives. We strive to achieve this goal by not only offering the best care possible, but also by giving our patients an option to enroll in research studies. We have continued to focus on novel technologies, such as the use of artificial intelligence in the care of dialysis patients; the impact of COVID-19, climate change, and extreme weather events on kidney patients; and the development of novel prediction models and devices. In 2022 RRI had its research published in over 20 peer-reviewed publications.

INVESTING IN INNOVATION

Fresenius Medical Care Ventures invests in start-ups and early stage companies in the healthcare sector. The investments are targeted to support Fresenius Medical Care’s corporate strategy to grow continuously in our core business and to expand into new business areas. Fresenius Medical Care Ventures is complementing the corporate activities in external innovation

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RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP FOR NEW KIDNEY DISEASE TREATMENTS

To advance new research in kidney disease and to help find a cure, the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) established the Ben J. Lipps Research Fellowship as part of its foundation, KidneyCure. The fellowship is named after the former CEO of Fresenius Medical Care North America. The program supports research over a two-year period, with five new fellowships funded annually.

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