Fresenius Kidney Care Tops Industry in Government Five-Star Quality Ratings

WALTHAM, Mass., April 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Fresenius Kidney Care, a division of Fresenius Medical Care North America and the nation's leading network of dialysis facilities, announced today that it has achieved the highest results in the industry as part of the government's Five-Star Quality Rating System. In the newly released government data, Fresenius Kidney Care is the clear leader, achieving the highest percentage of four and five star rated clinics when compared to all other major dialysis providers in the country.

The scores are based on the annual Five-Star Quality Rating System by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for dialysis centers providing in-center hemodialysis. CMS assigns one to five stars based on a series of measurements around each facility's clinical performance and patient outcomes as compared to other dialysis centers across the country.

"Our Five-Star success demonstrates our commitment to the highest quality of patient care," said Ron Rodgers, Executive Vice President of Fresenius Medical Care North America and President of Fresenius Kidney Care. "These results are a testament to our family of caregivers and physicians across the U.S. who are the foundation of our five-star quality."

The latest Five-Star ratings represent the fourth year in a row that Fresenius Kidney Care saw a significant increase in the percentage of clinics achieving a rating of five out of five stars, with 659 clinics achieving the highest rating, the most in the industry. The rating system is based on a calculation built around seven individual quality measures. The public results are published on the Dialysis Facility Compare website.

"This recognition is a direct result of our dedicated staff who work every day to improve the lives of our patients," said Dr. Jeffrey Hymes, Chief Medical Officer for Fresenius Kidney Care. "The Five-Star rankings reflect our success in reducing hospitalizations, infections and other key quality measurements reflected in the ratings. Our disciplined approach to quality is key to our ongoing success."

Each year, Fresenius Kidney Care introduces its annual Quality Agenda, a collaborative initiative across its dialysis centers nationwide to organize clinical care around core quality measures. The annual, nationwide campaign revisits fundamentals of safety and quality while highlighting new innovations and breakthroughs. Core initiatives of Fresenius Kidney Care's quality agenda include the 5-Diamond Patient Safety Program, which focuses on building a culture of patient safety; an antibiotic stewardship and infection control initiative; a vascular access program; precision medicine and analytics efforts; medication management and reconciliation; and other initiatives that focus on dialysis care fundamentals.

Fresenius Kidney Care is committed to performance measurement and outcome improvement. Five-Star is just one metric taken to guide the organization toward better patient outcomes. The company's commitment is also reflected in the exemplary results from the 2017 5-Diamond Patient Safety Program, in which 99 percent of Fresenius Kidney Care facilities achieved 5-Diamond status compared to 64 percent of all other participating providers.

About Fresenius Kidney Care
Fresenius Kidney Care, a division of Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), provides dialysis treatment and services to more than 190,000 people with kidney disease at 2,400 facilities nationwide. Fresenius Kidney Care supports people by helping to address both the physical and emotional aspects of kidney disease through personalized care, education and lifestyle support services so they can lead meaningful and fulfilling lives.

Fresenius Kidney Care patients have access to FMCNA's integrated network of kidney care services ranging from cardiology and vascular care to pharmacy and lab services as well as urgent care centers and the country's largest practice of hospitalist and post-acute providers.

As a leader in renal care technology, innovation and clinical research, FMCNA's more than 67,000 employees are dedicated to the mission of delivering superior care that improves the quality of life for people with kidney disease. For more information about Fresenius Kidney Care, visit www.freseniuskidneycare.com, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/FreseniusKidneyCare and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/FreseniusKC.

About Fresenius Medical Care North America
Fresenius Medical Care North America 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, outpatient cardiac and vascular labs, and urgent care centers, as well as the country's largest practice of hospitalist and post-acute providers, Fresenius Medical Care North America provides coordinated health care 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 at https://fmcna.com.

Media Contact:
Brad Puffer
Fresenius Medical Care North America 
781-699-3331
[email protected]

SOURCE Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc.