DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 2014-- DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. (NYSE:DVA), one of the nation's largest and most innovative health care communities, released a year-end recap of major milestones and achievements for the company in 2013.

“In 2013, DaVita HealthCare PartnersSM achieved outstanding results on clinical and business metrics and expanded the portfolio of initiatives aimed at improving patient care and the communities we serve,” said Kent Thiry, co-chairman and CEO of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. “This success is a team effort and speaks to the work of our 50,000 DaVita HealthCare Partners teammates delivering industry-leading clinical outcomes and driving down health care costs that already have saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Major initiatives and highlights for 2013 included:

Clinical Excellence:

• DaVita Survival Rate Leads Kidney Care Industry – In September, the United States Renal Data System released its 2013 Atlas of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). The Atlas covers population and treatment data available in 2011; for that year, DaVita had the lowest standard mortality rate in the industry (along with DCI).1 Through an integrated approach to patient care, DaVita continues to improve survival rates. According to the latest available internal data, gross mortality rate at DaVita fell in 2012 to its lowest level ever at 13.9 percent, a 27 percent decrease since tracking began in 2001. This decrease represents thousands of lives saved over a period of years.
• DaVita Clinical Research® (DCR®) Launches Biorepository – In 2013, DCR announced the commercial availability of its biorepository and completes the collection of blood, serum and plasma samples and accompanying annotated clinical data from more than 4,000 patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD). The vision is to be a resource to drive new innovations and advance the knowledge and practice of kidney care. In 2013, DCR cemented agreements with biopharmaceutical and molecular diagnostic companies seeking to leverage the biorepository.
• DaVita’s Catheter Rates Fall to Historic Lows – DaVita continues to see improvement in its efforts to reduce patient central venous catheter (CVC) rates, a major risk factor for serious infection in kidney patients. In 2008, DaVita established CathAwayTM, the company's seven-step program for reducing the number of hemodialysis patients dialyzing with CVCs. Since the inception of the program, DaVita has achieved a 45 percent reduction in the number of "Day 90+" catheter patients (i.e., those patients who have been dialyzing at DaVita for 90 days or more with a CVC in place), and the company is now at an all-time low catheter rate of 13 percent for this patient population as of November 2013. DaVita is among the leaders in the industry in the use of fistulas, the “gold standard” for dialysis access.
• DaVita Patient Vaccination Rates Again Top 90 Percent – Less than a month into flu season, DaVita announced that it had exceeded its goal of vaccinating 90 percent of its dialysis patients for influenza and pneumonia. As of early December 2013, DaVita had vaccinated 91.9 percent of its patients for influenza and 92.7 percent of its patients for pneumonia. Vaccinations are critically important for kidney care patients who are at high risk for complications, helping prevent hospitalizations and even death and supporting quality of life.
• 30,000 DaVita Teammates Participate in Health-Promoting DaVita Vitality Points Program – The Vitality Points program is designed to reward and encourage participants to be accountable for their own health. About 80 percent of DaVita’s health care costs are attributed to preventable risks and lifestyle behaviors. Vitality Points participants become aware of their own health risks and start taking steps to reduce or eliminate them. Historically, the program has been a success: Of the roughly 20,000 teammates who got their Vitality Screenings in consecutive years between 2010 and 2012, 50 percent saw their blood pressure and cholesterol score decline at least a little; 10 percent of those same teammates (2,000 individuals) significantly reduced their health risks related to blood pressure and cholesterol. And while year-over-year results aren’t yet available (expected in March 2014), in 2013 more than 30,000 teammates and 8,000 spouses and domestic partners took action by participating in the program.

DaVita is proud of its clinical accomplishments, which have improved and extended the lives of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries. However, in 2014 the kidney community was presented with new challenges due to substantial cuts to Medicare reimbursement. All of these wonderful advancements in care depend on adequate Medicare funding, which is at risk like no other time in history.

Patient Service:

• The New and Improved myDaVita.com Health-Management Platform Launches – myDaVita.com offers a social networking platform that is now available wherever and whenever a member needs the online kidney community. myDaVita.com members can take control of their kidney care in the palm of their hands with the new myDaVita.com mobile experience. With convenient, on-the-go access to myDaVita.com, it is easier than ever for people to manage their kidney disease. Members have access to a variety of features, including DaVita Diet Helper™ for easy kidney diet meal planning, the DaVita Forums and specialized groups, as well as personalized profiles. DaVita dialysis patients also have access to the DaVita Health Portal™ health-management tool through myDaVita.com.
• An Enhanced DaVita Diet Helper™ Diet-Management Tool Launches – First launched in 2007, the highly popular DaVita Diet Helper has undergone changes that are bound to make this coveted kidney diet tool even better. Now users in any stage of kidney disease can get 1,000+ recipes for quick and easy meal planning. The improved experience also includes customizing recipes and meals to their liking, viewing their mobile Nutrition Tracker and Shopping List on the go and checking their nutrition goals with ease.

Business Growth, Thought Leadership:

• HealthCare Partners® Celebrates Multiple Operational Milestones – HealthCare Partners (HCP) hit a series of significant milestones in 2013, including the following: being named a top-performing medical group by theIntegrated Healthcare Association for the tenth consecutive year; expanding operations into a fifth state with the acquisition of Arizona Integrated Physicians (HCP already provides care for patients in California, Florida,Nevada and New Mexico); adding nearly 60,000 Medicare Advantage patients – an increase of 28 percent; being selected by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to participate in the Medicare Shared Savings Programs in California, Florida and Nevada; and partnering with leading health plans in Commercial Accountable Care Organizations.
• Studies Show DaVita Rx® Patients Live Longer, Have Fewer Hospital Visits – A 2013 independent study showed that patients who use DaVita Rx, the world’s first and largest full-service pharmacy dedicated to serving the unique needs of kidney patients, have a 21 percent lower risk of death and experience 14 percent fewer hospital visits per year than patients who do not use DaVita Rx.
• DaVita’s International Expansion Continues – As of December 2013, DaVita had 67 clinics located in 10 countries outside the U.S. In 2013, DaVita entered four new countries: Poland, Portugal, Taiwan and Colombia.
• VillageHealth® Garners Top Award – SCAN Health Plan’s Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan (C-SNP) for individuals with end stage renal disease – called VillageHealth (a joint partnership with DaVita) – received the highest patient satisfaction rating of any C-SNP in California. VillageHealth received a 92 percent satisfaction rating in Medicare’s Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) 2013 survey.

Corporate Citizenship, Education, Empowerment:

• DaVita Provides Nearly 13,000 Pairs of Shoes to Underserved Children – Through a nationwide initiative known as “Shoes-a-palooza,” DaVita teammates committed to donating 5,000 pairs of shoes through a partnership with Shoes That Fit, a Claremont, Calif.-based charity whose mission is to provide new shoes to children in need so they can attend school in comfort and with dignity, and be better prepared to learn and play. DaVita teammates far exceeded that goal and provided 12,915 pairs of new shoes to children in 167 schools nationwide.
• Bridge of Life Brings Dialysis to Previously Unserved Areas – In 2013, nearly 50 volunteers from Bridge of Life – DaVita Medical MissionsTM, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, worked together to complete 15 missions in 11 countries, during which volunteers and partners helped to install or repair 77 dialysis machines and train more than 50 kidney care professionals, bringing treatment and quality care to an additional 420 people around the world.
• Tour DaVita ® – DaVita’s annual charity bike ride, Tour DaVita, raised $1 million to support The Kidney TRUST in 2013. The Kidney TRUST, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, offers no-cost kidney disease screenings in nonmedical settings. The proceeds from Tour DaVita will help fund future screenings by The Kidney TRUST as well as its mission to educate communities around the country on kidney health, including kidney disease risk factors.
• DaVita Provides Leadership, Management Training to Nearly 10,000 Teammates – Reflecting a steadfast commitment to delivering advanced educational opportunities to DaVita teammates, in 2013 more than 9,700 teammates benefited from the various award-winning curricula of DaVita University. Additionally, nearly 5,000 teammates from every level of the company attended DaVita Academies, which are two-day introductions to DaVita culture and to important leadership practices to use with their teams and in their communities.
• DaVita Executives Spend the Day Supporting Clinical Operations in Dialysis Centers – More than 200 DaVita executives (vice president and higher), including company co-Chairman and CEO Kent Thiry, served in clinics from Washington to Florida and New York to California. While they are not providing direct patient care, they supported the clinical care team by performing a range of other duties, such as cleaning, organizing, stocking supplies and visiting with patients.
• DaVita Educational Programs, Cultural Displays Win Major Awards – In 2013 DaVita’s “Wisdom” department won numerous awards for its representation of the DaVita culture through various vehicles:
  • International Gold Quill, Silver Quill and Ragan Health & PR Awards for Stories of the DaVita Villagemagazine
  • Video Award of Distinction by Videographer Awards
  • Platinum Hermes Creative Award for collateral at DaVita’s 2012 “Nationwide” event
  • Gold Hermes Award for a recruiting email campaign
  • Platinum MarCom Award for promoting DaVita brand and culture in a new office in Federal Way, Wash.
  • MarCom Gold Award for an educational piece on home dialysis
  • MarCom Awards for branding and marketing initiatives in Poland
• DaVita Way of Giving – For the third year in a row, DaVita teammates chose charities in their communities to support financially as part of “DaVita Way of Giving,” the company’s locally focused charitable giving initiative. This year, teammates donated $1.2 million to help nonprofit organizations throughout the United States grow and thrive.

Awards

In 2013, DaVita won nearly 70 major awards, including the following:

Business Excellence

• World's Most Admired Companies – DaVita was named the most innovative company on FORTUNE®Magazine's World’s Most Admired Companies’ 2013 ranking of health care facilities. This marked the fourth consecutive year DaVita has been ranked no. 1 in innovation and the eighth consecutive year DaVita has been recognized on the World’s Most Admired Companies industry list.
• 50 Top Performing Companies – DaVita was named a top performer by Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
• 100 Most Influential People in Health Care – Kent Thiry was ranked number 11 among the most influential people in U.S. health care by Modern Healthcare. We believe this should be called the “most influential companies” list because this recognition is both a testament to our teammates’ hard work and commitment to patients and an indication of growing acknowledgement of the contributions DaVita HealthCare Partnersmakes to the health care industry and to the world at large.

Caring for Our Patients

• Renal Physicians Association’s Patient Safety Improvement Award – DaVita stands atop the "Adherence to Procedures" category.
• Case in Point Platinum Award – Patient Pathways garnered the top honor in the “Best Discharge Planning” category.
• National Health Information Awards – DaVita took home three awards plus a Best in Show award: Gold and Best in Show for The Compass, a patient education magazine; silver for Kidney Diet Delights, a kidney-friendly cookbook; and silver for Kidney Smart magazine, vol. 2, an in-depth educational tool for patients transitioning to dialysis.

Caring for Each Other

• Best Places to Work – DaVita was voted among the top places to work in Denver, Nashville, Philadelphia and the San Francisco Bay Area.
• 2013 Training Top 125 – For the ninth consecutive year, Training Magazine named DaVita a leading organization that excels at employee development.
• Most Democratic Workplaces – For the sixth straight year DaVita was ranked among the world’s most democratically operated workplaces by WorldBlu – still the only health care company and the only Fortune 500® company so recognized.

Caring for Our World

• Communitas Community Service Award – DaVita was recognized in the company-sponsored volunteer project category for Shoes-a-palooza.
• EPA Green Power Partnership – DaVita was included in the Environmental Protection Agency Green Power Partnership lists of Fortune 500 companies that lead in supporting renewable generation capacity since 2009.

Military Awards

• Freedom Award – DaVita was honored with the highest military-friendly employer award presented by the U.S. government. DaVita became the first kidney care provider to win this award.
• Best for Vets – DaVita was recognized by Military Times Edge as a “Best for Vets” employer. DaVita was also included on the list for best employers for reservists.
• Military Spouse – DaVita was recognized as a top employer for military spouses by Military Spouse Magazine.
• Patriot Award – For the second year in a row, DaVita was recognized with the Department of Defense’s prestigious Patriot Award for its support of military personnel (including reservists).

DaVita, HealthCare Partners, DaVita Clinical Research, DCR, Tour DaVita, DaVita Kidney Rock, DaVita Rx, NephLink, CathAway and DaVita HealthCare Partners are trademarks or registered trademarks of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About DaVita

DaVita is the dialysis division of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., a Fortune 500® company that, through its operating divisions, provides a variety of health care services to patient populations throughout the United States and abroad. A leading provider of kidney care in the United States, DaVita delivers dialysis services to patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. DaVita strives to improve patients’ quality of life by innovating clinical care, and by offering integrated treatment plans, personalized care teams and convenient health-management services. As of Sept. 30, 2013, DaVita operated or provided administrative services at 2,042 outpatient dialysis centers located in the United States serving approximately 166,000 patients. The company also operated 66 outpatient dialysis centers located in 10 countries outside the United States. DaVita supports numerous programs dedicated to creating positive, sustainable change in communities around the world. The company’s leadership development initiatives and social responsibility efforts have been recognized by Fortune, Modern Healthcare, Newsweek and WorldBlu. For more information, please visit DaVita.com.

1 USRDS 2013 Atlas of ESRD

Source: DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc.

Media:
DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc.
Vince Hancock, 303-876-6618
vince.hancock@davita.com