You might not expect a health care company to be expert in disaster preparedness. But Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA) knows that kidney dialysis patients need treatments every two to three days to survive, and they can’t wait for treatment and supplies until the wreckage and debris are cleared after a storm.

As the world’s largest vertically integrated provider of dialysis products and services, FMCNA has a responsibility to operate smoothly when crisis strikes for the sake of their patients. For its robust emergency response program, the USA Council of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) has given FMCNA its 2010 IAEM-USA Business & Industry Preparedness Award.

“For dialysis patients, getting treatment in the face of a disaster is a matter of life or death,” says Bill Numbers, FMCNA vice president of operations support and incident commander for disaster response and planning. “That’s why we have such extensive plans in place to care for patients and our staff. With over 1,800 clinics across the country, we can mobilize very quickly at the local level to provide treatment and supplies to both our patients, and patients from other providers.”

In the past year, FMCNA prepared to treat thousands of dialysis patients displaced or stranded by floods, snowstorms, wildfires, tornadoes and hurricanes, as well as those affected by the H1N1 pandemic. Cohesive efforts across all levels of the company effectively provide patients with dialysis treatments, equipment and supplies, medicines, lab services, and more. When disasters strike, the company moves quickly to provide emergency backup generators, water and fuel to help keep the clinics running without interruptions. These supplies are also provided to employees hit by disasters to ensure that they can get to their clinics to care for patients.

The IAEM-USA Business & Industry Preparedness Award is based on excellence in implementing a program that plans for multiple hazards, sets implementation priorities, is cost effective, links all levels of the organization, and coordinates with local emergency response and management agencies, according to the IAEM.

As part of its emergency preparedness planning, FMCNA has implemented an incident command structure, much like local governments have in place. A corporate disaster response team meets monthly to develop policies and procedures that can be quickly enacted following a storm or other emergency. The program also includes a company-wide effort with comprehensive training, table-top exercises, and other drills.

The company also partners with outside organizations, and takes a leadership role in the Kidney Community Emergency Response Coalition (KCER), which formed four years ago to ensure life-sustaining dialysis and transplant services following major disasters.

It’s this model that helped FMCNA earn this industry award, according to the IAEM.

“Our judges look for projects that demonstrate innovation and can be replicated by other businesses and in other industries,” says Phyllis Mann, IAEM-Global Award & Recognition Work Group Chair. “As a provider of dialysis products and services in the United States, Fresenius Medical Care is committed to overcoming all obstacles to ensure that dialysis patients receive critical treatments during and after disasters. The judges especially noted that the company utilized the incident command structure and a disaster team that was made up of representatives from all of its major functional and operational units.”

In the past year, the company’s response plan was tested when snowstorms blanketed the mid-Atlantic, for instance. As businesses closed following massive snowfall in Pennsylvania and the Washington D.C. area, FMCNA staff mobilized to keep clinics running and cared for patients from competing dialysis companies.

And when Haiti was devastated by an earthquake earlier this year, FMCNA chartered a plane within 72 hours, delivering 10,000 pounds of needed dialysis supplies to Doctors Without Borders via the Dominican Republic. FMCNA also contributed $260,000 in dialysis products and resources, and matched employee donations for Haiti relief.

IAEM will present the IAEM-USA Business & Industry Preparedness Award to FMCNA on Nov. 2 at its annual conference in San Antonio. FMCNA representatives will be on hand to accept it.

The PDF version of this release may be downloaded <link file:1453 - download "Initiates file download">here</link>.

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Fresenius Medical Care is the world's largest integrated provider of products and services for individuals undergoing dialysis because of chronic kidney failure, a condition that affects more than 1.89 million individuals worldwide. Through its network of 2,599 dialysis clinics in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Africa, Fresenius Medical Care provides dialysis treatment to 202,414 patients around the globe. Fresenius Medical Care also is the world's leading provider of dialysis products such as hemodialysis machines, dialyzers and related disposable products. Fresenius Medical Care is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FME, FME3) and the New York Stock Exchange (FMS, FMS/P).

This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to certain factors, including changes in business, economic and competitive conditions, regulatory reforms, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, uncertainties in litigation or investigative proceedings, and the availability of financing. These and other risks and uncertainties are detailed in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA's reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA does not undertake any responsibility to update the forward-looking statements in this release.

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