A nurse shares why she suggested a waste reduction initiative at her dialysis clinic.

Aligning global standards and embedding sustainable change across the Company requires teamwork. We are driven by our mission to provide the best possible care, while contributing positively to society and the environment.

Interview with Jesseca Davis - Registered Nurse in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, USA

What inspired you to suggest a waste reduction initiative at your dialysis clinic?

My parents raised me to be environmentally conscious, and I do my best to not generate unnecessary waste in my home. At work, I noticed that we were using 30 to 50 single-use plastic medicine cups every day to hand out capsules and gel caps – that added up to about 15,000 cups a year! I thought, ‘This just doesn’t make sense. We don’t need plastic when paper would work just as well.’

What did you do?

With support from my management team, I suggested we switch to paper cups. And we did! Other clinics followed our lead, and now, paper medicine cups are the new standard at all of our U.S. dialysis clinics. This is a really important change. It will help us save more than 31 million plastic cups from landfills every year.

Do you have tips for other employees?

Don’t be afraid to speak up! By working together, we can all contribute to reducing our environmental impact while continuing to provide stellar care to our patients.

78 % of our patients would highly recommend our services. Listening to and learning from our patients is key to providing high-quality care.
More than 2,000 improvements were made to our dialysis machines, dialyzers, and solution products in 2021. We constantly analyze and improve our product offerings with our patients in mind.
More than 100 environmental initiatives were reported at our production sites in 2021. We give priority to saving energy and water, recycling, and cutting emissions.

Smart steps – steady progress

When it comes to reducing our environmental footprint, every effort counts. At our production sites around the globe, our employees collaborate on initiatives like Green & Lean to analyze and minimize our impact on the environment. These joint efforts produce results: In 2021, we prevented around 5,500 tons of carbon emissions and recycled or reused roughly 700 tons of waste thanks to Green & Lean.

Partnerships for accessible health care

Improving access to high-quality health care and services for a greater number of patients also calls for collaboration. We have engaged in over 60 key partnerships with academia, research institutes, and other companies. They are committed to providing research and education about kidney disease and prevention, as well as to improving the choice of treatments and outcomes for patients.