Our Business

By conducting our business responsibly and transparently, we establish ourselves as the leader and partner of choice in managing kidney care in a value based system. We must continuously create clinical value for our partners and patients that translates to economic value for all of us. Our approach is guided by evolving best practices and feedback from our stakeholders on topics identified as vital to our shared success.

We are a wholly owned subsidiary of  Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s leading provider of products and services for individuals with renal diseases. Key information on our global operations includes: 

• Fresenius Medical Care Corporate Governance
• Annual Reports 
• 2021 Facts and Figures
• 2021 Global Medical Report
• 2021 Fresenius Medical Care Magazine
   

Sustainability reports and indices:

• 2021 Non-Financial (Sustainability) Group Report  
• Climate Targets
• ESG Performance Data
• Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Index  
• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Index  
• Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Index  

We develop policies and targets to drive progress on our commitments. Key global policies and standards are found on Fresenius Medical Care’s website, and include, but are not limited to:

• Code of Ethics and Business Conduct 

• Company Position Statement on Bioethics 

• Compliance Brochure for Our Business Partners

• Conflict Minerals Policy Statement  

• Environmental Policy 

• Global Occupational Health & Safety Policy 

• Group Tax Policy 

• Human Rights, Workplace Rights, and Labor and Employment Principles 

• Privacy Policy

• Statement on Gender Equality

• Statement on Political Engagement

• Supplier Code of Conduct

2021 was the sixth consecutive year Fresenius Kidney Care led the industry in patient safety, maintaining 5-Diamond status at 100 percent of participating facilities in 2021. The external 5-Diamond program encourages safety for dialysis center patients and staff.

In 2021, we supported 82,000 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for diagnosing COVID-19 infections and 3,500 antigen tests to comply with state vaccine mandates through our lab services business, Spectra Laboratories. Spectra Laboratories is the leading provider of renal-specific testing services, performing more than 78 million tests each year.

When a disaster strikes, our Disaster Response Team works with local, regional, and national entities to ensure critical supplies such as water, fuel, and transportation are prioritized for dialysis patients. We mobilize command centers to account for all patients and employees, arrange food distribution, and supply personal generators, fuel, and water. In 2021 we supported more than 25 disasters, with Hurricane Ida having the biggest impact on our operations. Our disaster relief efforts were recognized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Citizen Awards for excellence in corporate citizenship (finalist in the Disaster Recovery category, 2018).

“Over the years we have responded to many types of natural and manmade disasters. Anything that disrupts our ability to operate our centers will activate our facility emergency plan, as well as both our local and national response teams. Water is essential to dialysis, and interruption of water supply is becoming a more frequent issue that requires us to have water bladders and/or an alternate water supply vendor on standby to deliver water tankers.”

Bob Loeper, Vice President of Disaster Response, Fresenius Medical Care North America

The health and safety of our employees is one of our most important concerns and commitments. Our Corporate Employee Safety Committee is composed of employees from each business unit, and meets quarterly to identify, develop, and promote initiatives to enhance a sustainable safety environment within our operating entities. Our successful, innovative safety programs and initiatives have earned us the CNA Safety in Excellence Award for 21 years. We are the only company to have achieved this accomplishment. 

Our Compliance Program focuses on key healthcare risk areas and partners dedicated ethics and compliance officers with business leaders to set expectations of honesty and integrity in all relationships — with patients, customers, suppliers, fellow employees, investors, the general public, and others. Our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct requires employees to comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and rules, and is included in employee training. Our goal is to continue to have all current employees complete annual compliance training.

The  Global Supplier Code of Conduct outlines our commitment to good business practices and sustainable procurement. The Global Supplier Code of Conduct comprises the following six key principles: integrity and ethics, human rights and labor conditions, occupational health and safety, environment, quality, and governance and management systems.

With thousands of suppliers providing us with products and services, we recognize the opportunities our supply chain creates to positively impact people through inclusive and diverse sourcing. Diverse suppliers include minority-owned, woman-owned, disability-owned, veteran-owned, small business, and HUBZone (business in historically underutilized business zones) to name a few. Within our indirect supplier base, our supplier diversity program includes more than 11,000 diverse suppliers across North America.

In 2018 Fresenius Medical Care North America established our Information Security Office and appointed a chief information security officer (CISO) who partners with executive leadership to deploy trusted solutions that strengthen and streamline our approach to data privacy and cybersecurity. In 2021, Fresenius Medical Care expanded its commitment to improving cybersecurity resilience and hired their first global CISO. The global CISO will drive an Information Security and IT Privacy Assurance program that integrates against our global corporate needs.

Our mission is to deliver superior care that improves the quality of life of every patient, every day, setting the standard by which others in the healthcare industry are judged. It is that focus on providing superior care to patients that drives our work every day. It is why we advocate for people living with kidney disease and the dialysis community at all levels of government. Our Government Affairs team collaborates with centers across the country to provide them with tools and information to support these advocacy efforts. 

Education is key to our approach, and providing center tours for state legislators, members of Congress, and other government leaders is just one of the ways we work to educate. Center tours allow these leaders to see firsthand the importance of end stage renal disease treatment for our patients.

We’ve adapted to the current environment and have moved these tours to a virtual format for both state- and federal-level members. We started these tours nearly six years ago and continue to receive positive feedback from government leaders who enjoy and benefit from being able to see how a dialysis center operates, and learn about our focus on quality care, healthcare overall, and patients.

Artificial Intelligence (AI), data science, and advanced analytics are helping to make advances in the treatment of chronic kidney disease and across healthcare at large. By leveraging big data to accelerate AI solutions for kidney disease, researchers, data scientists, and practitioners are developing clinical tools that enhance patient care. Throughout Fresenius Medical Care, we’re using advanced analytics to support clinical decision-making with a suite of more than 20 different models. Some of these AI-based tools include models to reduce hospitalizations, provide insights on in-center dialysis patients who would do well on home modalities, identify patient acuity according to social workers and dietitians, and predict peritoneal dialysis technique failure.

Our Clinical Research and Medical Affairs team co-authored 18 scientific and medical publications in support of our products. In addition, we completed an open-label clinical study to assess the performance of the dialyzer with Endexo™ in patients with end stage renal disease. This study saw heparin-free hemodialysis achieved in 80 to 96 percent of dialysis sessions using a circuit with the dialyzer with EndexoTM, Citrasate dialysate, and two different bloodlines.

In the world of kidney disease and related disorders, Frenova Renal Research is a site management organization and the largest global network of investigators, chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, and data assets for clinical trials. In 2021, Frenova enrolled 2,092 patients across 49 studies, a 266 percent increase in patients from 2020.

Our Renal Research Institute (RRI) is committed to helping people with chronic kidney disease and end stage kidney disease lead fuller, more active, and vibrant lives. We strive to achieve this goal by not only offering the best care possible, but also by giving our patients an option to enroll in research studies. We have continued to focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021 RRI had its COVID-19 research published in 10 peer-reviewed publications and helped advance novel SARS-CoV-2 testing strategies. In addition, we have advanced the use of artificial intelligence tools in patient care and explored technologies to enhance the removal of protein-bound uremic solutes.

In 2021, Spectra Laboratories opened a new 200,000-square-foot laboratory in Southaven, Mississippi. At Spectra’s new build-to-suit facility, employees conduct comprehensive testing, analysis, and reporting to ensure the best possible care and outcomes for patients. The new state-of-the art facility is the company’s largest laboratory and will create more than 300 jobs over the next several years, providing the capacity to serve more patients.

Fresenius Medical Care Ventures invests in start-ups and early stage companies in the healthcare sector. The investments are targeted to support Fresenius Medical Care’s corporate strategy to grow continuously in our core business and to expand into new business areas. Fresenius Medical Care Ventures is complementing the corporate activities in external innovation

To advance new research in kidney disease and to help find a cure, the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) established The Ben J. Lipps Research Fellowship as part of its KidneyCure Foundation. The fellowship is named after the former CEO of Fresenius Medical Care North America. Since its establishment in 2012, we have contributed $10 million and supported 35 unique studies. The program supports research over a two-year period, with five new fellowships funded annually. In 2021, the Ben J. Lipps Research Fellowship Program received 46 applications and awarded 10 new research fellowship grants. 

All sustainability data is from Fresenius Medical Care North America for 2021 unless otherwise noted.