Fresenius Kidney Care Celebrates Nephrology Nurses Week with The CARE Award

The CARE Award Honors Frontline Nephrology Care Team Members for Embodying the Company's Core Values

WALTHAM, Mass. – September 12, 2022 – Fresenius Kidney Care, the nation’s leading provider of kidney care services, is pleased to announce its new annual recognition program to honor frontline nephrology care team members for embodying the company’s core values of collaboration, proactivity, reliability, and excellence in care. Fresenius Kidney Care will present The Caring About Renal Excellence (CARE) Award to those who excel in any of the five clinical pillars: quality and safety, growth, clinical leadership, clinical excellence, and patient experience.

In its inaugural year, Fresenius Kidney Care will present 250 nephrology nurses with CARE awards across the United States as part of Nephrology Nurses Week. CARE winners will receive a personalized certificate and an all-expenses-paid trip to the American Nephrology Nurses Association (ANNA) Spring National Symposium in May 2023. 

“Our nephrology care team members play a vital role in providing our patients with superior care every day,” says Fresenius Kidney Care Chief Nursing Officer, Kathleen Belmonte. “It is important that we continue to foster a culture of caring and provide ongoing recognition for our exceptional care team members. The CARE Award will be embedded into the fabric of who we are and how we recognize our employees for years to come.” 

Nephrology nurses devote their lives to providing superior care and stay beside every patient every step of the way. Patients living with kidney disease face unique challenges that require the support of expert nurses to help them thrive. That dedication was readily apparent over the last few years as care teams faced numerous and difficult challenges caused by the unprecedented global pandemic.

Fresenius Kidney Care is committed to furthering and growing the nephrology nurse profession, especially as the nationwide nursing shortage continues, by investing in our employees’ and future nurses’ growth, professional development, and career advancement. For example, the company offers a tuition reimbursement program to help employees advance their careers, which approximately 600 employees are taking advantage of to obtain a nursing degree. And as part of the tuition reimbursement program, regular full- and part-time employees have the option to reduce their work hours to 20 hours per week while maintaining healthcare benefits as they study. Additionally, in 2020, the company kickstarted the nurse residency program, which has welcomed approximately 740 total pre-licensed nurses since its launch. 

Through Fresenius Kidney Care’s collaborative partnership with the American Nephrology Nurses Association (ANNA), the company funds an ongoing membership program and provides scholarship dollars to help ANNA provide ongoing education support to nurses dedicated to caring for people living with chronic kidney disease.

Nephrology Nurses Week, observed September 11 through 17 this year, celebrates the dedication, compassion, and commitment of nurses who make a difference in the lives of people living with kidney disease. ANNA launched Nephrology Nurses Week to give employers, patients, and others the opportunity to thank nephrology nurses for their life-saving work and to help recruit new nurses to the field of nephrology.

For a full list of Nephrology Nurses Week CARE Award Winners, click here. 

Fresenius Kidney Care will also present CARE awards to patient care technicians and biomedical technicians during National Dialysis Technician Recognition Week in October, as well as dietitian and social worker team members in the coming months.  

About Fresenius Kidney Care 
Fresenius Kidney Care, a division of Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), provides kidney disease education, dialysis treatment, and support services to more than 200,000 people with kidney disease every year whether in their own homes or at more than 2,600 facilities nationwide. Fresenius Kidney Care’s dedicated teams help address the physical and emotional aspects of kidney disease through personalized care, education, and lifestyle support services. For more information about Fresenius Kidney Care, visit www.FreseniusKidneyCare.com.

About Fresenius Medical Care North America 
Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA) is the premier healthcare company focused on providing the highest quality care to people with renal and other chronic conditions. Through its industry-leading network of dialysis facilities and outpatient cardiac and vascular labs, Fresenius Medical Care North America provides coordinated healthcare services at pivotal care points for hundreds of thousands of chronically ill customers throughout the continent. As the world’s largest fully integrated renal company, it offers specialty pharmacy and laboratory services, and manufactures and distributes the most comprehensive line of dialysis equipment, disposable products, and renal pharmaceuticals. For more information, visit the FMCNA website.