DENVER, May 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA), a leading independent medical group and a leading provider of kidney care services in the United States, today announced the release of its 2016 Community Care report, which highlights key clinical, operational and corporate social responsibility (CSR) achievements in the past year.

"The ways in which we care for our patients, each other and our world define who we are as a community first, company second," said Kent Thiry, chairman and CEO of DaVita. "We will continue spreading ripples in our local and global communities."

The report, available at DaVita.com/CommunityCare, outlines the ways DaVita cares for its patients, each other and the world. The company's approach to CSR is what drives industry-leading clinical outcomes, award-winning leadership development programs, multiple goodwill initiatives and a commitment to environmental sustainability. Highlights from the 2016 report include the following.

Caring for Our Patients

DaVita's kidney care services and medical group provide compassionate care to more than 1.5 million primary and specialty care patients around the world. DaVita's integrated approach offers preventive care while addressing the health and lifestyle complexities of chronic conditions. DaVita continues to invest in creating online tools to help patients learn about their health care options and take a more active role in managing their health and diet.

Leading Industry Quality

DaVita continuously works to improve the quality of care and its standards have been recognized publicly by the federal government. For three years in a row, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Five-Star Quality Rating System recognized DaVita Kidney Care as a leader in quality care, with the highest percentage of centers that met or exceeded quality measures compared to the rest of the industry. DaVita Medical Group in California and The Everett Clinic in Washington were also recognized for high-quality care through an elite status award from the CAPG 2016 Standards of Excellence survey.

International

DaVita Kidney Care is committed to elevating the health and quality of life for patients around the world. In 2016, the company achieved several milestones across the globe.


    --  DaVita Kidney Care reached more than 140 million Arabic speakers in
        Saudi Arabia through its kidney disease awareness program.
    --  DaVita became the largest dialysis provider in Malaysia, providing care
        to more than 1,500 patients served in 38 centers.
    --  In Brazil, DaVita acquired and began clinical operations in eight
        clinics across three regions, providing care for more than 1,900
        patients.

Complex Care Programs

The country's largest kidney care provider accredited by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), DaVita VillageHealth has led the industry in providing renal population health management for more than two decades, resulting in a 20 percent lower hospitalization rate than the industry average and up to 18 percent addressable cost savings.

DaVita VillageHealth currently manages the total care for more than 20,000 renal patients, of which nearly 7,000 are under at-risk arrangements, through partnerships with more than 20 health plans and health systems.

Caring for Each Other

DaVita provides unique opportunities for teammates to succeed at work and at home through leadership courses, professional development and education scholarships for children and grandchildren and support in times of crisis.

DaVita's Village Vitality program offers teammates several tools for making healthy choices including:


    --  Free biometric screenings at work sites
    --  Stress-management courses
    --  Tobacco-use cessation programs
    --  Challenges such as Match the Mayor, a six-week program in which
        teammates try to match Chairman and CEO Kent Thiry in adding a variety
        of fruits and vegetables to their daily meals.

DaVita Village Network

The DaVita Village Network offers teammates the opportunity to help each other during times of crisis, such as a natural disaster, an accident or an illness through optional payroll contributions and DaVita provides funding to match up to $250,000 per year.

Commitment to Veterans

DaVita cares for active service men and women and strives to provide assistance to veterans as they transition from life in the military to life as teammates in the Village. DaVita offers workshops and development courses designed to help foster a stronger community for new veteran teammates.

The Veterans 2 Village program is a two-day class introduced in 2016 that focuses on self-development and introduces veterans to DaVita's existing military programs and benefits, with the goal of integrating an introductory veterans-specific course into the DaVita professional development curriculum in 2017.

Open Communication

DaVita is deeply committed to engaging its more than 70,000 teammates in a dialogue about our company's objectives and their role in shaping the future of health care. DaVita has several channels for two-way communication with senior leadership. During Voice of the Village Calls, senior leaders report on the state of the company, and teammates are encouraged to ask questions about any subject.

Caring for Our World

Each year, our teammates reaffirm their commitment to caring for our world through service projects, outreach initiatives, charitable contributions and a continued focus on sustainability. DaVita is working to improve the lives of patients, of the people in the regions in which it operates and those in need throughout the world by examining and reducing the company's environmental impact, performing international medical missions, offering health screenings and pursuing philanthropic endeavors.

Bridge of Life

This nonprofit aims to improve access to primary care and dialysis treatments in underserved communities around the world. Since 2006, Bridge of Life has completed 398 domestic and international medical missions and events in 25 countries, impacted more than 96,000 lives and engaged more than 900 DaVita teammate volunteers.

DaVita Way of Giving

DaVita continued its long tradition of supporting local communities this year by making charitable contributions across the nation through its DaVita Way of Giving program. In 2016, teammates directed donations of more than $2.2 million to local nonprofits. In total, DaVita has donated nearly $9.1 million to thousands of nonprofits since 2011.

Home-State Engagement

In addition to teammates directing donations of more than $2.2 million nationwide through DaVita Way of Giving in 2016, DaVita contributed nearly $1.4 million to community and nonprofit organizations across Colorado.

Dynamic Volunteerism was created as a local initiative with the purpose of utilizing the unique skillsets of DaVita teammates, individually and collectively, to help nonprofits perform at a higher level. Teams are mobilized to assist in areas as specific as strategic planning, corporate development, board development, IT consultancy, coaching, capacity building, staffing and more.

KT Community Foundation

The KT Community Foundation offers backing for teammate-led projects that make a difference in teammates' local communities and overseas. To date, it has funded more than $415,000 for such projects.

Village Service Days

DaVita teammates and their families and friends have volunteered more than 140,000 hours through 3,600 community service projects - known as Village Service Days - since 2006.

Sustainability

DaVita continues to help improve patients' and teammates' health and quality of life while reducing its environmental footprint. DaVita Kidney Care's 2020 environmental goals were formally announced in 2016. These ambitious goals, organized around the categories of energy, water, waste, green buildings and supply chain, will set the course for the next four years.


    1. Reduce energy use and carbon emissions 10 percent per treatment.
    2. Reduce water use by 30 percent per treatment.
    3. Add solid waste recycling to at least 45 percent of kidney care
       locations.
    4. Conduct an annual sustainability review with all national vendors.
    5. Increase availability of environmentally preferable products & equipment
       and reduce packaging.
    6. Certify one new LEED clinic as prototype.
    7. Certify major business offices as LEED silver.
    8. Implement Village Green Certification, DaVita's internally developed
       green building certification process.

To learn more about DaVita's approach to corporate social responsibility, please visit DaVita.com/CommunityCare.

About DaVita Inc.

DaVita Inc., a Fortune 500® company, is the parent company of DaVita Kidney Care and DaVita Medical Group. 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 March 31, 2017, DaVita Kidney Care operated or provided administrative services at 2,382 outpatient dialysis centers located in the United States serving approximately 189,400 patients. The company also operated 162 outpatient dialysis centers located in 11 countries outside the United States. DaVita Medical Group manages and operates medical groups and affiliated physician networks in California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington in its pursuit to deliver excellent-quality health care in a dignified and compassionate manner. As of December 31, 2016, DaVita Medical Group's teammates, employed clinicians and affiliated clinicians provided care for approximately 1.7 million patients. For more information, please visit DaVita.com/about.

Contact Information

Media:
Caitlyn Shuket
(303) 876-7547
Caitlyn.Shuket@davita.com

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SOURCE DaVita Inc.