Patience for Patients

Patients are the reason for everything we do at DaVita Kidney Care . Working in dialysis is a fulfilling but intense career centered on providing life-sustaining care for vulnerable patients. While in-center hemodialysis may be the type of care we provide that the public is the most familiar with, the truth is the care we offer takes many forms. Determining what’s best for our patients requires patience – and is the guiding light of all our work.

Better care equates to better patient outcomes. This is why we’ve instilled our WE CARE (Welcome, Empathize, Connect, Actively Listen, Respect, Encourage) behaviors as best practice for our caregiving teammates. These six behaviors demonstrate how our teammates go above and beyond to support our patients – no matter where they are in their health care journey. At DaVita, we know every interaction matters. Creating connection is key, because when patients connect with their caregivers, it offers a more enjoyable and hopeful experience for them. Furthermore, when connections are formed, patients are more likely to feel they can be open and honest about how things are going.

With this in mind, we launched a pilot of a program, DaVita Listens, last November. This program is designed to elicit direct patient feedback in real-time as it relates to patients’ care plans, treatments and overall experience. The platform offers various ways for patients to have their voices heard through surveys, email questionnaires, QR codes and more. What I believe is the key component of this platform’s success is that it asks for specific feedback on how patients’ care is going during key moments in their experience with us. Based on patients’ feedback, we’ve seen more than 500 clinics and home programs make changes meaningful to patients. I’m excited that DaVita Listens is now rolling out across the company!

Listening to our patients is about more than just written feedback. We also want to know if the care we’re providing them is really working for their lifestyles. This is why we strive to meet patients where they are and offer treatment options that fit their needs. We offer in-center hemodialysis and two types of home treatment options. Because there are pros and cons to each type, we’re committed to working with our patients, and their nephrologists, to land on a course of treatment that truly empowers them to live their fullest lives. Treating at home can offer patients more flexibility and independence – which likely contributes to 84% of home dialysis patients rated DaVita a 9 or 10 out of 10. Understanding that home dialysis treatments could be preferable to some, we’re focused on educating eligible patients about this option. In 2022, more than 15% of our patients dialyzed in the comfort of their homes – and we’d love to see that percentage grow in the future.

Without the right caregiving team in place, the right treatment can only go so far. This is why we’re focused on providing our teammates with the right support. One of the many programs we offer is the DaVita University Digital Experience, which provides education tailored to individual roles and interests. As a featured leader on this channel, I’m excited to contribute best-demonstrated practices, thoughts on our Core Value of Continuous Improvement and more. Additionally, Clinical Ladders is our thoughtful, five-level career mapping model that gives teammates the resources needed to help them grow their careers. It’s reflective of our teammates’ ask for role definitions that are easy to understand and defined competencies for each level. When teammates understand how to get from one level to the next, they’re more inclined to stay – and continuity of the caregiving experience is important for patients. Since the introduction of Clinical Ladders, we’ve promoted more than 11,000 teammates!

We put patients first at DaVita – and that means preparing our frontline teammates to provide exceptional care. We’re committed to our WE CARE behaviors because they help us determine the best way to support our unique patients. We love our patients and we know how challenging managing kidney disease can be, so we listen to their needs. This is why, above all else, we’re focused on having patience for our patients.