Our Business

Managing Our business Responsibility

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.

63k+

U.S. employees and contractors completed compliance policy training.

46k+

U.S. employees completed at least 14 annual health and safety training programs based on job description and role.

62k+

U.S. employees and contractors participated in trainings on Data Privacy and Security.

“We’re the nation’s leading provider of kidney care products and services. Every day, our team of nearly 70,000 employees cares for tens of thousands of 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 North America

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. Key information on our global operations includes:

Sustainability reports and indices:

We develop policies and targets to drive progress on our commitments. Key policies and standards include, but are not limited to:

Code of Ethics and Business Conduct (Global)
Compliance Brochure for Our Business Partners
Global Statement on Human Rights, Workplace Rights, and Labor and Employment Principles
Patient Care Global Policy
Prohibition of Discrimination, Harassment, Sexual Harassment, and Bullying (Global)
Global Supplier Code of Conduct
Global Environment Policy
Conflict Minerals Policy Statement (Global)
Group Tax Policy
Statement on Gender Equality
Privacy Policy
Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Policy
Conflict of Interest Policy
Political Engagement and Advocacy Statement

Responsible Management

Patient Safety

2019 was the fourth consecutive year Fresenius Kidney Care led the industry in patient safety, maintaining 5-Diamond status at 100% of participating facilities.¹ The external 5-Diamond program encourages safety for dialysis center patients and staff.

^{1. Due to the pandemic, the 2020 5-Diamond Patient Safety Program has been extended to 2/15/21 and results will be available in 2021.}

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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 comprised 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 earned us the CNA Safety in Excellence Award, 20 years running. 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, rules, and is included in employee training. Our goal is to continue to have all current employees complete annual compliance training and new employees complete it within 45 days of hire.

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GLOBAL SUPPLIER CODE OF CONDUCT

The Global Supplier Code of Conduct outlines our commitment to good business practices and sustainable procurement. It is comprised of the following six key principles: integrity and ethics, human rights and labor conditions, occupational health and safety, environment, quality, and governance and management systems.

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DATA PRIVACY AND CYBERSECURITY

In March 2018 we established our Information Security Office and appointed a Chief Information Security Officer who partners with executive leadership to deploy trusted solutions that strengthen and streamline our approach to data privacy and cybersecurity.

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 clinics across the country to provide them with tools and information to support these advocacy efforts.

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

We’ve adapted to the current environment and have moved these tours to a virtual format, providing five to six per week at both the state and federal level. We started these tours nearly five years ago and continue to receive positive feedback from government leaders who enjoy and benefit from being able to see how a dialysis clinic operates, and learn about our focus on quality care, healthcare overall, and patients.

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. Our disaster relief efforts were recognized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Citizen Awards for excellence in corporate citizenship (finalist in the Disaster Recovery category, 2018).

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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. Interruption of water supply is becoming a more frequent issue that requires us to have an alternate water supply vendor on standby to deliver water tankers.”

Bob Loeper, Vice President of Disaster Response

Providing Diagnostic testing for COVID-19

In 2020, we supported 91,000 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for diagnosing a COVID-19 infection through Spectra Laboratories. Spectra Laboratories is the leading provider of renal-specific testing services, performing more than 78 million tests each year.