Kidney Care Partners (KCP) Announces Fresenius Medical Care's Ron Kuerbitz as its New Chairman

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Kidney Care Partners (KCP), an alliance of patient advocates, dialysis professionals, providers and manufacturers working together to improve the quality of care for individuals with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), named Ron Kuerbitz, Executive Vice President for Fresenius Medical Care-North America, the Coalition's new Chairman for the 2011-2012 term.

Taking the helm of KCP, the nation's leading voice for the kidney care community, Kuerbitz said he looks forward to working with the leaders and staff of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the new Congress and Administration officials to continue to advance quality kidney care for all patients with chronic kidney disease and kidney failure.

"KCP has been and continues to be a leading advocate for kidney patients by supporting policies that improve quality, protect patient access and ensure the integrity of the Medicare benefit for those suffering from kidney failure," Kuerbitz said. "In the next two years, our priority as a broad-based coalition is to educate lawmakers, advance innovation and ensure high quality kidney care."

Dr. Ed Jones, a past chairman of KCP and current President of the Renal Physicians Association, said, "Ron's expertise and background in kidney care issues gives him the necessary tools to lead such a broad-based coalition as Kidney Care Partners, allowing our community to speak with one voice."

Kuerbitz is the Executive Vice President, Market Development and Administration of Fresenius Medical Care North America. He has more than 19 years experience in the health care field, having held positions in law, compliance, business development, administration and operations in both private and public organizations. Kuerbitz holds a juris doctor degree from Yale Law School.

John Davis, CEO of the National Kidney Foundation, a KCP member organization, said, "Ron is a thoughtful leader with a proven ability of bringing together groups with varied perspectives, a quality essential to the success of KCP and the entire kidney care community. We look forward to continuing our work under Ron's capable leadership to ensure that kidney patients' voices are heard."

Kuerbitz said KCP's priorities for the upcoming year include advocating for policies and initiatives that support increased use of AV fistulas and reduced use of catheters in dialysis to improve quality; continuing to provide best-practice tools to reduce mortality in first-year dialysis patients through KCP's Performance Excellence and Accountability in Kidney Care (PEAK) program, and continuing efforts through PEAK to measure and report upon quality improvements; fixing the transition adjuster to ensure that it is based on real numbers, rather than estimates, and does not provide an added financial burden on providers; and assisting in the implementation of and promoting an appropriate structure for Medicare's new Quality Incentive Program.

Kuerbitz takes the KCP reigns from Kent Thiry, CEO of DaVita, who held the post previously.

"As KCP chairman, my goals are two-fold. First, I am committed to maintaining the kidney care community's focus on efforts to continuously improve the quality of dialysis care, especially with regard to significantly increasing survival rates of individuals with ESRD during their first year on dialysis – our 'PEAK' campaign must remain a top priority," Kuerbitz said. "Also, I believe we have a significant opportunity to deepen public and policy maker understanding of kidney disease and its relationship to the obesity and diabetes epidemics."

About KCP: Kidney Care Partners is an alliance of patient advocates, dialysis professionals, providers and manufacturers working together to improve the quality of care for individuals with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). For more information, visit www.kidneycarepartners.org.

SOURCE Kidney Care Partners