MemorialCare Health System Announces Dialysis Joint Venture Partnership with Fresenius Medical Care in Southern California

ORANGE and LOS ANGELES Counties, Calif., Feb. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- MemorialCare Health System announced today that it has entered into a joint venture partnership with Fresenius Medical Care North America to operate 15 dialysis clinics in Orange and Los Angeles counties. Thirteen of these clinics are fully operational and two additional clinics are being developed in San Juan Capistrano and Huntington Beach.

The partnership will provide comprehensive programs and services, including kidney dialysis treatment, medical services, patient and family support, wellness and prevention, disease management and continuity of health care services to ensure a high quality integrated care experience, while increasing access to community clinics throughout the Southland.

Fresenius Medical Care, the world's largest integrated provider of services for patients with chronic kidney failure, cares for more than 170,000 people with end stage renal disease at over 2,200 dialysis clinics around the country. 

"This is a major step forward in MemorialCare's strategy and commitment to the community to improving the health and health care of those we serve by offering a full complement of integrated services across our wide and expanding geographic coverage area," says Barry Arbuckle, PhD, president & CEO of MemorialCare Health System. "Broadening our integrated system to cover all aspects of the care continuum—from wellness and prevention to diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation—allows us to ensure our patients receive convenient access to high quality and seamless coordination of care across our health system."

One of the nation's top nonprofit integrated delivery systems, MemorialCare has 15,000 employees, physicians and volunteers; six hospitals; and more than 200 care locations in Southern California, including ambulatory surgery centers, imaging facilities, urgent care centers, Seaside Health Plan and countless programs and services.

"For MemorialCare, being responsive to the needs of our communities has resulted in the expansion of our services and transformation of the way we deliver care," adds Mark Schafer, MD, CEO of MemorialCare Medical Foundation, which includes more than 2,000 physicians associated with MemorialCare Medical Group and Greater Newport Physicians IPA. "This new partnership to provide extensive and far-reaching kidney dialysis services across the continuum of care is vital to our ability to provide the comprehensive, affordable, integrated care that is MemorialCare's hallmark."

"In addition to providing what our patients and community need today, Fresenius Medical Care has the research and development infrastructure and capabilities to prepare us for innovations and patient care enhancements that will benefit our patients in the future, including increased utilization of home-based dialysis," adds James Leo, M.D., chair of MemorialCare Physician Society, representing 2,000 physicians from throughout Southern California who drive clinical outcomes and performance for MemorialCare. "As physicians, we are thrilled with the opportunity to engage in new and emerging technologies, techniques and treatments."

The Fresenius Medical Care clinics offer traditional in-center dialysis in locations close to where the community lives and works, as well as access to regional home dialysis programs, which allows patients to perform treatments at home and on their own schedule while receiving comprehensive care and support. The clinics also offer other dialysis patient-centered services, including a kidney transplant support program, vascular care, anemia management, nutrition counseling, bone disease management and social worker support.

"We are excited to be partnering with MemorialCare to continue advancing kidney care in Southern California," said Ana Silveira, regional vice president for Fresenius Medical Care. "MemorialCare patients in these communities will be able to have a comprehensive, integrated care experience and receive a superior level of care that is consistent with our commitment to improve the quality of life of every patient, every day."

Patient dialysis treatment clinics included in the joint venture include:

• Fountain Valley Clinic: 17197 Newhope Street in Fountain Valley, (714) 241-0196)
• Fountain Valley Home Dialysis Clinic: 17197 Newhope Street in Fountain Valley, (714) 778-0488
• East First Tustin Clinic: 535 E 1st Street in Tustin, (714) 730-1428
• Fresenius Medical Care Santa Ana Clinic: 2740 Bristol Street in Santa Ana, (714) 754-1670
• Goldenwest – Westminster Clinic: 15330 Goldenwest Street in Westminster, (714) 373-1543
• Laguna Canyon - Irvine Clinic: 16255 Laguna Canyon Road in Irvine, (949) 727-4495
• Fresenius Medical Care Orange County Home Clinic: 1401 S Brookhurst Road in Fullerton, (714) 773-1407
• Hospital Circle - Westminster Clinic: 290 Hospital Circle in Westminster, (714) 895-3698
• Garden Grove Blvd. - Garden Grove Clinic: 12555 Garden Grove Blvd. in Garden Grove, (714) 741-7255
• Harbor Blvd. - Garden Grove Clinic: 12761 Harbor Blvd. in Garden Grove, (714) 539-3122
• Fresenius Medical Care Long Beach Clinic: 440 W Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach, (562) 432-4444
• Fresenius Medical Care - Carson Community Clinic:  20710 Leapwood Ave. in Carson, (310) 323-8997
• Fresenius Medical Care Norwalk Clinic: 13063 Rosecrans Ave. in Santa Fe Springs, (562) 404-7400

Dialysis, also known as renal replacement therapy, aims to replace the critical functions of the kidneys and sustain life in people with severe kidney failure. The majority of patients receive treatment in the in-center setting three times a week with each dialysis session lasting between three to five hours. Today, about 350,000 people in the United States use dialysis as a life-sustaining therapy.

MemorialCare Health System, a nonprofit Southern California integrated delivery system and pioneer in evidence-based medicine, has more than 200 care sites; 15,000 employees and affiliated physicians; six top hospitals—Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach, Community Hospital Long Beach, Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley and Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills and San Clemente; MemorialCare Medical Group; Greater Newport Physicians (GNP); Seaside Health Plan; ambulatory surgery centers; and imaging, outpatient, kidney dialysis and urgent care facilities. Its many honors and recognition for its health care organizations include Best U S. Health Care Systems, 10 Largest U.S. Children's Hospitals, Top 50 Hospitals, Straight A Hospital Safety Scores, Top 50 Cardiovascular Hospitals, and more. For information, visit www.memorialcare.org.

Fresenius Medical Care North America is the premier health care company focused on delivering 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 hospitalists and post-acute physicians, Fresenius Medical Care provides coordinated health care services at pivotal care points for hundreds of thousands of chronically ill customers throughout the continent. As the world's only vertically 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 www.freseniusmedicalcare.us. For information about patient services, visit www.ultracare-dialysis.com

SOURCE MemorialCare