Fresenius Medical Care Wins Multiple National Awards for Outstanding Patient Case Management

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), the nation’s leading network of dialysis facilities, today announced that it has once again been recognized for outstanding health care case management with two “Case In Point” Platinum Awards from Dorland Health, the publisher of Case In Pointmagazine. Fern Parlier, FMCNA’s vice president of UltraCare^® Customer Connection, and Barbara Williams, director of UltraCare case management, accepted the honors during a May 7 awards brunch at the Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, Md.

Parlier – a registered nurse with a bachelor’s degree in nursing and professional certifications in case management, diabetes education and nephrology nursing – received the 2013 Case Manager Leadership award in the individual professional category. The magazine’s editors described Parlier as “an extraordinary leader” and visionary who is “highly regarded within the company, her department, and throughout the nephrology and case management community.” In selecting her for recognition, they also cited her ability to hear employees’ needs, as well as her “extensive knowledge of case management, program development, and her insightful approach to problem solving.”

Additionally, FMCNA’s UltraCare Renal Case Management Nurse Call Center received the magazine’s 2013 award for the nation’s best managed care nurse call center. Parlier leads the nurse call center along with Williams, who is also a registered nurse and certified case manager, with a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

The award-winning nurse call center takes a unique approach to patient care by using highly skilled registered nurses trained in case management to guide dialysis patients through issues commonly confronted by people with kidney disease. Case management nurses contact patients monthly to assess their needs, provide continuing education and assist with resolving concerns and issues. FMCNA’s innovative UltraCare case management programs have demonstrated improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of care, reduction of missed dialysis appointments and hospitalizations, and improved patient satisfaction.

“We’re extremely honored to be recognized with these two Case In Point Platinum Awards,” said Parlier. “The nurses and medical staff at our dialysis facilities across the country deserve to share these awards, in recognition of their dedication and ongoing efforts to improve patient care.”

“This awards program is intended to demonstrate what’s innovative in the health care industry,” said Anne Llewellyn, Dorland Health’s editor-in-chief. “We applaud the huge efforts being made by organizations like Fresenius Medical Care, which are making a real difference in patients’ quality of care and improved outcomes.”

The Case In Point Platinum Awards program is intended to highlight the innovative and creative work of individuals and organizations making a difference in today's complex healthcare system. This year’s winners were selected by a distinguished panel of judges, who reviewed entries across 30 categories that encompassed care coordination efforts in diverse settings, including acute care, managed care, disease management, behavioral health, social work, rehabilitation, workers’ compensation, military healthcare, wellness and prevention programs and others.

FMCNA also won honors in last year’s Case In Point competition, with a Platinum Award for its Renal Inpatient Care Management program, which provides experienced registered nurses to work with acute care hospitals to prevent unnecessary admissions and readmissions, shorten hospital stays and provide smoother transitions from inpatient to outpatient dialysis.

About Fresenius Medical Care North America

Through our leading network of more than 2,100 dialysis facilities in North America and our vascular access centers, laboratory, pharmacy and affiliated hospitals and nephrology practices, Fresenius Medical Care provides renal services to hundreds of thousands of people throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada. We are also the continent’s top producer of dialysis equipment, dialyzers and related disposable products and a major supplier of renal pharmaceuticals.

For more information about the company, visit www.fmcna.com; for information about patient services, visit www.ultracare-dialysis.com.