DaVita Awarded Ambulatory Health Care Accreditation for Inpatient Kidney Care Services by The Joint Commission
DaVita®,
a division of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. (NYSE: DVA) and a leading
provider of kidney care services, today announced that DaVita
Hospital ServicesSM, the company’s inpatient kidney care
services, has received Ambulatory Health Care Accreditation from The
Joint Commission.
DaVita Hospital Services is the first-ever inpatient kidney care
services provider to receive Ambulatory
Health Care Accreditation. DaVita worked with The Joint Commission
to understand the application of Joint Commission ambulatory standards
relevant to efforts to improve safety and quality of inpatient kidney
care and dialysis therapies.
“Simply put, this accreditation makes DaVita the partner of choice for
hospitals,” said Dr.
Robert Provenzano, vice president of medical affairs at DaVita.
“These standards will help DaVita assist our hospital partners in risk
management, survey preparedness and enhancements to the quality and
safety of patient care.”
The Joint Commission surveyed more than 175 DaVita
inpatient kidney care sites over the course of two and a half months to
determine the validity of the accreditation.
“We are honored that The Joint Commission's review determined
that DaVita's standards for inpatient kidney care services set the bar
for the industry," said Dennis Kogod, COO of DaVita. "We thank our
teammates who helped make this happen and The Joint Commission for its
thorough review, analysis and hard work. We are proud to have earned
their seal of accreditation."
The Joint Commission accredits and certifies more than 20,000 health
care organizations and programs in the United States. Joint Commission
accreditation and certification is recognized nationwide as a symbol
of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to meeting
certain performance standards.
“Accreditation validates DaVita’s commitment to continuous quality
improvement and supports the commitment of their hospital partners to
quality and safety for their patients, staff and community,” said
Michael Kulczycki, executive director, Ambulatory Health Care
Accreditation, The Joint Commission.
DaVita
nurses administer inpatient kidney care services in the hospital
setting. Inpatient kidney care services performed by DaVita Hospital
Services include acute hemodialysis for chronic end stage renal patients
and those admitted to the hospital with acute renal failure; peritoneal
dialysis for current dialysis patients as well as patients who are
hospitalized with newly diagnosed kidney failure; apheresis, a
therapy to remove a patient's blood and separate out certain components;
ultrafiltration, a therapy that removes excess salt and water to
alleviate fluid overload; and continuous renal replacement therapy,
which is a slower form of dialysis performed over the course of 24
hours. To learn more about DaVita’s inpatient kidney care services,
visit www.davita.com/quality.
Accreditation was based on a survey of 177 DaVita acute programs, which
included Joint Commission accredited hospitals and other hospitals
permitting The Joint Commission access for purposes of the survey
process (a limited number of hospitals did not permit access).
DaVita 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
DaVita is the dialysis division of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., a
Fortune 500® company that, through its operating divisions, provides a
variety of health care services to patient populations throughout the
United States and abroad. A leading provider of kidney care in the
United States, DaVita delivers dialysis services to patients with
chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. DaVita strives to
improve patients’ quality of life by innovating clinical care, and by
offering integrated treatment plans, personalized care teams and
convenient health-management services. As of Dec. 31, 2012, DaVita
operated or provided administrative services at 1,954 outpatient
dialysis centers located in the United States serving approximately
153,000 patients. The company also operated 36 outpatient dialysis
centers located in eight countries outside the United States. DaVita
supports numerous programs dedicated to creating positive, sustainable
change in communities around the world. The company’s leadership
development initiatives and social responsibility efforts have been
recognized by Fortune, Modern Healthcare, Newsweek and WorldBlu. For
more information, please visit DaVita.com.
