DENVER, Jan. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- DaVita (NYSE: DVA), a leading independent medical group and a leading provider of kidney care services in the United States, today released a recap of major milestones and accomplishments for the company in 2015 to celebrate its 15^th anniversary.

"For the 15^th year in a row, our wonderful teammates once again demonstrably improved clinical outcomes, supported by the U.S. government's data and quality rating systems," said Kent Thiry, chairman and CEO of DaVita. "Our teammates also achieved many other special milestones as they cared for our patients, each other and our communities."

Large-scale initiatives and highlights for 2015 include:

Clinical Leadership

DaVita Leads Major Dialysis Providers in Quality – For the second consecutive year, DaVita leads all major dialysis providers in highly ranked centers under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) Five-Star Quality Rating system. The company has nearly twice the percentage of centers with four- and five-star ratings compared to all other major dialysis providers. DaVita also led in CMS' ESRD Quality Incentive Program (QIP) for the second year in a row with the most dialysis centers ranking in the top clinical performance tier.

DaVita launches the first-ever Medicare disease-specific ACOs for ESRD patients – In a step toward providing integrated care for all Medicare patients with kidney failure, DaVita launched End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Seamless Care Organizations (ESCOs) in conjunction with CMS in Arizona, Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

HealthCare Partners Recognized as Top Performing Medical Group by SCAN Health Plan – SCAN Health Plan recognized HealthCare Partners for the quality of care and service delivered by its medical professionals and staff. Selection is based on HealthCare Partners' performance score of four stars or higher – on a five-star scale – in areas such as preventive screenings, treatment of chronic conditions and appropriate documentation.

FluidWise® Program Helps Dialysis Patients Maintain Weight – FluidWise, DaVita's fluid management program, aims to reduce fluid-related hospitalizations – the main reason for dialysis patients' hospital admissions. Since 2013, DaVita has seen a more than 10 percent reduction in the number of patients with frequent excessive interdialytic weight gain.  

WipeOut® Program Helps Prevent Infections for Dialysis Patients – WipeOut, DaVita's infection surveillance, prevention and response program, aims to help patients live longer and avoid infection-related hospitalizations. DaVita leads the industry with more than 90 percent of its dialysis patients immunized for influenza in 2015. 

VillageHealth Patients Experience Fewer Hospital Admissions – VillageHealth, a subsidiary of DaVita that specializes in integrated kidney care, saw a nearly 40 percent reduction in avoidable admissions and almost 30 percent lower overall admissions among patients enrolled in VillageHealth® programs through a partnership with Highmark.

Business Growth

Washington's Everett Clinic to Join DaVita – DaVita announced its intent to acquire The Everett Clinic, a nationally recognized physician group. The Everett Clinic operates 20 care sites north of Seattle, treating more than 315,000 patients and employing roughly 2,200 teammates, including more than 500 specialty and primary care providers.

DaVita Acquires Renal Ventures – DaVita announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Colorado-based Renal Ventures Limited, LLC – including a 100 percent interest in all dialysis centers owned by Renal Ventures. Renal Ventures operates more than 35 dialysis clinics in six states.

VillageHealth and Humana Team up to Create Humana Kidney Care – VillageHealth and Humana Inc. created a special needs plan (SNP) for Medicare beneficiaries with ESRD. The program, called Humana Kidney Care, specifically targets ESRD patients in Las Vegas and uses HealthCare Partners Nevada's physicians as part of its provider network.

Paladina Health, UnitedHealthcare and State of Colorado Partner to Provide Innovative Physician-Led Primary Care to State Employees – Paladina Health announced that State of Colorado employees and their eligible dependents who have health coverage through UnitedHealthcare now have access to Paladina Health's "medical home" approach to primary care that includes 24/7 telephone access to physicians and help in getting outside care at no- or low-cost to the patient.

DaVita to Expand World Headquarters in Downtown Denver – DaVita announced the company will build a new space directly across 16th Street from its original headquarters building. The new building will offer up to 410,000 square feet of space, with DaVita leasing 265,000 square feet. This will accommodate 1,200 additional teammates.

DaVita Announces New Home for HealthCare Partners Division's California Office – HealthCare Partners division California offices will move from Torrance to a new 185,000-square-foot location in El Segundo. Roughly 800 HealthCare Partners teammates will work at the new location in a large, open floor plan that allows greater access to natural light and creates a more collaborative environment.

DaVita Rx Opens New Facility in Arizona – DaVita Rx, a full service pharmacy specializing in renal care and dispensing of medications for patients with complex diseases, broke ground on a new 76,000-square-foot facility located in Chandler, Arizona. The facility includes 10,000 square feet dedicated to medication dispensing for select disease states and will house approximately 550 new teammates.

Village Awards

In 2015, DaVita won nearly 40 major awards, including the following:

Business Excellence

FORTUNE World's Most Admired Companies – For the eighth consecutive year, DaVita was named among FORTUNE® Magazine's World's Most Admired Companies.

100 Most Influential People in Health Care – Kent Thiry was ranked number 19 among the most influential people in U.S. health care by Modern Healthcare. The company wishes the list were called "the most influential companies" because it considers the award to be about teammates' hard work and commitment to patients.

ERE Recruiting Excellence – DaVita received the ERE Recruiting Excellence Military Talent Program and Best Employee Referral Program Awards for its exemplary recruiting efforts.

Consumer Reports - HealthCare Partners Medical Group was named one of the highest-ranking medical groups in Los Angeles County for the second year in a row by Consumer Reports Magazine.

Caring for Our Patients

American Business Awards - Falcon Physician, a wholly owned subsidiary of DaVita that creates nephrology-specific clinical technology, was presented with a Gold Stevie® Award in the Information Technology Department of the Year category.

Golden Bridge Award – Falcon Physician received the Gold award in the 7th Annual Golden Bridge Awards® for its Product Management Department.

Fierce Innovation Healthcare Award – Falcon Physician was awarded the Fierce Innovation Healthcare Award in the EHR category for its innovative Falcon Mobile App.

CAPG Standards of Excellence Elite Status – For nine consecutive years, HealthCare Partners has been honored with Elite status by CAPG – the highest possible honor awarded by the nation's leading association for physician organizations practicing coordinated care.

National Health Information Awards – DaVita received two awards – a gold award and Best in Show – for its kidney care patient education program.

eHealthcare Leadership Award – DaVita was presented with a gold eHealthcare Leadership Award for DaVita.com in the Best Overall Internet Site, consumer/disease-focused category.

Digital Health Awards – DaVita was honored with a silver Digital Health Award for its kidney care Twitter account and a merit Digital Award for its kidney care Facebook account in the social media category. The company also received two silver Digital Health Awards for myDaVita.com in the web-based and mobile resources categories.

Caring for Each Other

Top Workplaces – DaVita was named to the Colorado Top Workplaces list for the fourth consecutive year and to the Nashville list for the first time. HealthCare Partners Florida division was recognized as a Tampa Bay Top Workplace for the sixth consecutive year.

2015 Training Top 125 – For the 11th consecutive year, Training Magazine named DaVita a leading organization that offers exceptional workforce training and leadership development programs.

Freedom-Centered Workplace – For the eighth consecutive year DaVita was ranked among the world's most freedom-centered workplaces by WorldBlu (formerly called "most democratic workplaces").

Becker's Hospital Review 150 Great Places to Work in Healthcare – DaVita was named as one of the 150 Great Places to Work in Healthcare for the second year in a row.

LearningElite – DaVita was recognized as a Gold LearningElite organization in 2015 by Chief Learning Officer magazine for creating and implementing exemplary teammate development practices that deliver measurable business value.

Best Clinical/Top Doctors lists – Many HealthCare Partners physicians and clinics were named "Top Docs" or best medical facilities by community newspapers and business journals.

MarCom Awards – DaVita received two platinum MarCom Awards for village building displays at its 2015 Villagewide and a participant portfolio for its Stadium Academy, a large-scale orientation program to introduce company culture to new teammates. The company received three gold MarCom Awards for promoting its brand and culture in a HealthCare Partners corporate office in Las Vegas and in a dialysis center in Saudi Arabia, and for its Stories of the Village, an internal magazine. The company's internal broadcast, Rock It, DDN! received an honorable mention.

Ragan Intranet Award – DaVita received an honorable mention Ragan Intranet Award for the VillageWeb, the kidney care division's intranet site, in the launch/relaunch category.

Hermes Creative Awards – DaVita received a platinum Hermes Creative Award for promoting its brand and culture in a DaVita Rx corporate office and a gold Hermes Creative Award for a campaign promoting a HIPAA-secure texting app for clinicians.

Caring for Our World

Newsweek Green Rankings – DaVita was recognized by Newsweek Green Rankings as a 2015 Top Green Company in the U.S. The company has appeared on the list every year the award program has run since 2009.

Communitas Awards – The DaVita® Way of Giving program won in the 2015 philanthropy category. Each year, DaVita clinical facilities across the country choose an organization in their community to receive a charitable contribution. Nearly $6.8 million has been donated to thousands of nonprofits through the program since 2011.

Military Awards

Best for Vets – DaVita was recognized by Military Times Edge as a "Best for Vets" employer for the sixth consecutive year.

Top Veteran-Friendly Companies – DaVita was honored as a top veteran-friendly company by U.S. Veterans Magazine for the fourth consecutive year.

Most Valuable Employer for Military – For the fifth year in a row, CivilianJobs.com named DaVita as a Most Valuable Employer for Military.

GI Jobs Military Friendly – DaVita was named a Military Friendly company by G.I. Jobs for the sixth consecutive year.

Clinical Innovation and Research

DaVita Clinical Research Turns 30 – DaVita Clinical Research (DCR) celebrated 30 years of clinical research in 2015 and thanked investigators by celebrating Investigator Appreciation Day. The company has grown to offer a suite of drug development services including multi-site, full-service, phase-I clinics, late-phase trial services in the United States and Europe, and health economics and data research capabilities.

DaVita Clinical Research Expands Late-Phase Clinical Trial Capabilities in Europe – DCR is now collaborating with experienced researchers in Germany, Poland and Portugal to provide data and knowledge-based insights to clients, combining extensive nephrology and clinical trial experience with knowledge of local differences in the practice of nephrology positions.

DaVita Rx Increases Number of Patients Served – Over the past year, DaVita Rx has increased the number of patients it serves by 25 percent. More than 165,000 patients use DaVita Rx services including 24-hour access to specially trained pharmacists, refill reminders, flexible payment options and no cost delivery.

DaVita Rx Expands Training Program for Pharmacists – DaVita Rx expanded its Renal Disease State Management training program for pharmacists. Six new clinical protocols were launched with training focused on high-risk medications for ESRD patients.

Falcon Physician Develops Chronic Kidney Disease Tracker – Falcon Physician announced the development of the Falcon CKD Tracker tool to provide healthier transitions for patients from chronic kidney disease (CKD) to ESRD. The tool offers an easy-to-read format of critical data including notifications for physicians when a patient experiences a significant drop in renal function and when a patient may be a candidate to transition to dialysis.

Falcon Physician Enhances Products to Help Physicians Care for Patients – Falcon Physician developed and enhanced multiple products including the launch of the Falcon Rounding app re-architecture (to document dialysis rounding in clinics), Falcon Mobile for on-the-go order signing capabilities and access to patient summaries, and Falcon Charting to access patient charts through a native app.

Improved Patient Care

CKD Training Program Nearly Doubles Number of Patients Educated Before Starting Dialysis – Kidney Smart® programs educated 35,000 people in 2015, up from 18,000 in 2014. This program helps give new dialysis patients the opportunity to  achieve improved  clinical outcomes such as starting dialysis with an ideal vascular access.

HealthCare Partners Saves $1.8 million in Anthem Blue Cross Enhanced Personal Care Program – HealthCare Partners produced $1.8 million in savings as a result of its participation in the Enhanced Personal Care program, a commercial Accountable Care Organization (ACO) formed by Anthem Blue Cross (Anthem). The EPHC program focuses on fully insured PPO members with two or more chronic conditions.

DaVita Social Workers Launch Program to Help Patients Transition to Dialysis – Through DaVita's "Empowering Patients Program," social workers use specialized comprehensive counseling to empower dialysis patients who have difficulty. To date, 7,000 patients have graduated from the program and there has been a nearly 10 percent reduction in missed treatments.

DaVita.com Re-Launches as Mobile-Friendly – DaVita.com, the award-winning flagship site for kidney disease information, can now be accessed through a new mobile version that allows users to view kidney disease resources on their smart phone or tablet.

More than 11,000 People Assessed Their Risk for Kidney Disease During National Kidney Month – In March 2015, more than 11,000 people took a 60-second quiz – which can be accessed at DaVita.com/LearnYourRisk – to help assess their risk for kidney disease. One in 10 adults age 20 or older in the U.S. has kidney disease, but many don't know it because the disease is often symptomless in its early stages.

DaVita Rx Expands In-depth Pharmacy Expertise to Other Complex Disease States Beyond Kidney Care – DaVita Rx began dispensing a drug therapy for prostate cancer and growth disorders and is now providing pharmacy support services for multiple sclerosis patients in California and oncology patients in Nevada.

DaVERT Educates Community about Health and Disaster Preparedness – DaVita Village Emergency Response Team (DaVERT) and Colorado Springs Health Partners hosted a community fair to provide free primary health screenings for the Colorado Springs community and highlight the need for health care providers to have comprehensive disaster preparedness plans in place.

DaVita Supports Transplant Education – DaVita has long been committed to helping its patients receive a thorough kidney transplant education within 30 days of their first dialysis treatment. Patients are educated about the step-by-step transplant process and requirements, health benefits of a transplant and the transplant center options available to them.

HealthCare Partners Launches New Resource for Insurance Agents – HealthCare Partners created agent resource center websites for California, Florida and Nevada to help agents better assist Medicare customers. This free tool allows agents to easily search for primary care providers within the HealthCare Partners network.

DaVita Launches the Improved DaVita Diet Helper™ – DaVita Diet Helper relaunched on DaVita.com with notable features including more mobile access, a combined meal planner and nutrition tracker and an expanded shopping list. The tool can be accessed at DaVita.com/DietHelper.

DaVita Labs Processes More Than 51 Million Tests in 2015 – DaVita Labs delivers accurate, timely test results for kidney care patients. In 2015, DaVita Labs processed more than 51 million tests, helping nephrologists provide quality care to their patients.

International

DaVita Announces its First Chief Medical Officer for International Operations – Mahesh Krishnan, M.D., MPH, MBA, FASN, serves as the company's international chief medical officer and group vice president of research and development to implement global clinical initiatives. Dr. Krishnan previously served as DaVita's vice president of clinical research, innovation and public policy.

DaVita Creates Joint Venture in China – In August 2015, DaVita announced a joint venture kidney care specialty hospital chain in Shandong province, China. The agreement establishes DaVita (Shandong) Kidney Disease Hospital Co., Ltd., a first-of-its-kind renal dialysis joint venture between a multinational health care provider and the private sector in China.

DaVita to Establish Operations in Brazil – In October 2015, DaVita entered the Brazilian market. The company announced plans to help Brazilian physicians grow their practice by providing them access to a worldwide network of experts, best-in-class training programs and the most advanced clinical and administrative service standards.

DaVita Expands Kidney-Friendly Recipe Tool to Three Countries – DaVita expanded its kidney-friendly recipe tool to Germany, Portugal and Colombia, providing kidney diet support for people living with CKD.

Lifeline Vascular Access Opens Center in Saudi Arabia – Lifeline Vascular Access opened a new state-of-the-art outpatient vascular access center in Jeddah, the first of its kind in the Saudi Kingdom. This is the first of several centers that are planned to treat patients in Saudi Arabia and dramatically enhance the way vascular access care is delivered.

Bridge of Life Expands Reach with New Missions in Telehealth, Hand Hygiene and Primary Care – In 2015, Bridge of Life, the primary program of DaVita Village Trust, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, completed more than 30 international medical missions and over 50 domestic missions and CKD screening events. More than 300 DaVita volunteers supported these missions, impacting nearly 17,000 men, women and children in 15 countries. 

Teammate Support

DaVita Launches New Intranet Site for Teammates – DaVita redesigned its intranet site to better serve teammates' needs. With updated search functionality and easy-to-use navigation, the VillageWeb allows teammates to find clinical, operational and cultural materials quickly and efficiently to better care for their patients and fellow teammates.

DaVita University Helps Teammates Develop Personally and Professionally – In 2015, DaVita University's Schools of Clinical Education and Leadership delivered 200 programs impacting more than 21,000 teammates to enhance their personal and professional development.

DaVita Supports Teammates with Military Background – Over the past five years, DaVita has hired more than 2,000 veterans and offered transitional support for teammates coming from a military background. "Village Veterans" encourages new veteran teammates to receive mentorship from company leaders as they transition to new roles within the company.

DaVita's Compliance Program Evolves and Grows in 2015 – Significant compliance resources have been dedicated to reinforcing the existing practices and standards of our organization across the enterprise. These efforts include recruiting a board member with compliance expertise, recruiting senior compliance professionals, and significantly increasing our compliance budget to enhance computer systems and increase external legal advice. Finally, a Management Compliance Committee was established for formal oversight of the enhanced compliance program.

Corporate Citizenship, Education, Empowerment

DaVita Gives More Than $2 Million to Nonprofits Across the U.S. – For the fifth anniversary of the "DaVita Way of Giving" program, teammates at nearly 1,900 DaVita kidney care centers and HealthCare Partners sites directed $2 million of company donations to locally based charities across the United States. 

Teammates Volunteer More Than 5,400 Hours During Earth Day Initiative – In honor of Earth Day 2015, more than 1,600 DaVita teammates and their families and friends volunteered over 5,400 hours through 110 environmental service projects in their local communities.

DaVita Village Green Exceeds 10 Percent Water Reduction Goal – Because of the efforts of DaVita's clinical enterprise and biomedical teams, DaVita dialysis centers are on average using nearly 30 percent fewer gallons of water per dialysis treatment in 2015 than they did in 2010.

Tour DaVita® raises $1.2 Million for Care and Disease Prevention Around the World – More than 550 riders participated in Tour DaVita, DaVita's annual charity bike ride, which raised $1.2 million to support Bridge of Life. Bridge of Life serves thousands of men, women and children around the world through kidney care, primary care, education and prevention and medically supported camps for kids.

DaVita and Denver Public Schools Strengthen Relationship – DaVita continues to partner with Denver Public Schools (DPS) to build culture among administrators, teachers, students and parents through training and development programs. In 2015, DPS launched DPS Teams, a program based on DaVita Way of Team, which aims to open honest conversations, help teams overcome obstacles and move them toward creating new possibilities.

DaVita and Achievement First Build Culture Between School and Parents – DaVita helped New York Achievement First, a network of public charter schools, create a two-day program that increased stakeholder engagement, better connected parents to the school culture and established commitments that participants could bring to life at home and at school.

DaVita Reports on Corporate Social Responsibility Progress – DaVita released its 2014 Community Care report, which highlights progress on key initiatives supporting the company's vision for corporate social responsibility (CSR) – the Trilogy of Care: Caring for Our Patients, Caring for Each Other and Caring for Our World. The report is available at DaVita.com/CSR.

DaVita, HealthCare Partners, DaVita Clinical Research, DCR, Paladina Health, Tour DaVita, DaVita Rx 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 HealthCare Partners

DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., a Fortune 500® company, is the parent company of DaVita Kidney Care and HealthCare Partners. DaVita Kidney Care is a leading provider of kidney care in the United States, delivering dialysis services to patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. As of September 30, 2015, DaVita Kidney Care operated or provided administrative services at 2,225 outpatient dialysis centers located in the United States serving approximately 177,000 patients. The company also operated 104 outpatient dialysis centers located in 10 countries outside the United States. HealthCare Partners manages and operates medical groups and affiliated physician networks in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Florida and Colorado in its pursuit to deliver excellent-quality health care in a dignified and compassionate manner. As of September 30, 2015 HealthCare Partners provided integrated care management for approximately 808,000 patients. For more information, please visit DaVitaHealthCarePartners.com.

Contact Information
Media:
David Gilles
(303) 876-7497  
david.gilles@davita.com

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