V63
13 years ago
DaVita Thanks Social Workers During National Social Worker Month
Print
Alert
Davita (NYSE:DVA)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Thursday 29 March 2012
DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA), a leading provider of kidney care services that is committed to improving the quality of life for those diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD), today thanks its nearly 1,500 social workers for the value and care they provide to patients and their families.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) designated March as National Social Work Month, recognizing March 16th as National Social Work Day and March 20th as World Social Work Day. NASW’s theme for 2012 is “social work matters.”
“The concept that ‘social work matters’ couldn’t be truer at DaVita; while dialysis extends our patients’ lives, our social workers help make sure our patients have quality of life,” explains Duane Dunn, director of social work services for DaVita®. “We value our social workers as critical resources for our patients.”
Social workers help patients adjust to life on dialysis. Teaching patients about kidney disease and their treatment options helps them understand what is happening to their bodies and make informed decisions about their care. A social worker educates and supports patients in these ways to help them enjoy a better quality of life.
Renal social work tasks include helping patients:
• Talk about their emotional needs and enhance their coping skills
•Learn about kidney disease and dialysis options
• Understand and navigate the kidney transplant process
• Strengthen their family and support system
• Adjust to treatment plans and diet changes
• Find community resources for transportation, home health services, nutrition and more
• Keep or obtain insurance
For more information on renal social workers, please visit the DaVita website Social Workers: Helping Patients at the Dialysis Center. Information on the National Association of Social Workers and its initiatives can be found at http://www.socialworkers.org/.
DaVita is a registered trademark of DaVita Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
About DaVita
DaVita Inc., a Fortune 500® company, is a leading provider of kidney care in the United States, delivering dialysis services to patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. DaVita strives to improve patients’ quality of life by innovating clinical care, and by offering integrated treatment plans, personalized care teams and convenient health-management services. As of Dec. 31, 2011, DaVita operated or provided administrative services at 1,809 dialysis facilities in the United States, serving approximately 142,000 patients. The company also operated 11 outpatient dialysis centers located in three countries outside the United States. DaVita supports numerous programs dedicated to creating positive, sustainable change in communities around the world. The company’s leadership development initiatives and social responsibility efforts have been recognized by Fortune, Modern Healthcare, Newsweek and WorldBlu. For more information, please visit www.davita.com.
More DVA Messages
Latest Davita Inc. Common Stock, DVA Messages
FOREVER STOCKS Warren Buffett Just Spent $200 MillionV63 • Thu Mar 29, 2012 3:18 AM (1 hour ago)
MY POINT IS THAT EVEN WITH THE ECONOMYV63 • Thu Mar 29, 2012 3:07 AM (1 hour ago)
MORE ROOM Water Testing TechV63 • Thu Mar 29, 2012 2:59 AM (1 hour ago)
ROOM TO GROW! V63 • Thu Mar 29, 2012 2:56 AM (1 hour ago)
<<< $DVA Links! >>> ~ MAC's Quick DDMACDgyver • Tue Mar 27, 2012 2:07 PM
There's something also happening in washington about requiredV63 • Tue Mar 27, 2012 4:19 AM
Health care stocks were no 1 gainers yesterday...I'mV63 • Tue Mar 27, 2012 4:14 AM
I know its kinda high but I thinkV63 • Tue Mar 27, 2012 4:12 AM
Warren buffet bought a large sum of thisV63 • Tue Mar 27, 2012 4:11 AM
Finished more than $3 off its intra-day high.Trueheart • Fri Feb 17, 2012 8:48 PM
~ Thursday! $DVA ~ Earnings posted, pending orMACDgyver • Mon Feb 13, 2012 5:51 AM
~ Thurs-Fri $DVA ~ Earnings posted, pending orMACDgyver • Thu Feb 9, 2012 2:00 AM
Bookmark With :
V63
13 years ago
FOREVER STOCKS Warren Buffett Just Spent $200 Million on this "Forever" Stock
Monday, March 26, 2012
10:00 AM
2
Print
Email
More from Ryan Fuhrmann...
Buy This Safe Stock -- and Double Your Money in Five Years
One of the Most Hated Stocks in America is a GREAT Deal
2 Stock Ideas from Bill Gates' Portfolio
Ryan
Fuhrmann
Ryan C. Fuhrmann, CFA, began his investment career at Northern Trust Corporation in Chicago. He is actively involved with the CFA Institute, an association of investment ... Read More
Warren Buffett is no fan of short-term trends. Rather than focusing on the flavor of the minute, Buffett instead fixates on trends that will last decades.
And then he makes a fortune off of them.
Take his investment in Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), for example. Buffett began buying the soda maker in 1988, eventually acquiring about 7% of the company, thinking it had room to grow in the developing world.
He was right. What was a roughly $1 billion investment for about 200 million shares is now worth nearly $14 billion.
But it doesn't stop there. The same can be said for his stakes in Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), American Express (NYSE: AXP), IBM (NYSE: IBM), the list goes on...
Buffett's stock purchases are some of the best examples of what we call "Forever Stocks." It's a term coined by Paul Tracy, StreetAuthority's co-founder and chief investment strategist of our Top-10 Stocks newsletter. Forever Stocks are stable, growing companies you buy and hold almost quite literally "forever." And like Buffett's Coca-Cola stake, you can make incredible gains over time, while resting easy knowing that you own shares of a solid company.
Back in February, I briefly mentioned that the billionaire investor's firm, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B), had acquired more than $200 million worth of stock in another company, one of the leading kidney dialysis center operators in the United States.
So did Buffett just buy another Forever Stock?
I think so. Here's why...
The stock Buffett bought is DaVita (NYSE: DVA). And as I said, the company provides dialysis treatment to patients with kidney failure, also known as end-stage renal disease.
The loss of kidney function is usually irreversible and requires dialysis to remove toxins, fluids and salts from the blood -- functions that the kidney would usually perform. Kidney failure is caused by ailments such as diabetes, high blood pressure and other less common kidney diseases. Diabetes continues to grow into an epidemic in the United States, due an aging population and unhealthy eating habits. (Older Americans are much more susceptible to higher blood pressure and other kidney ailments as they continue to age, and I don't have to tell you the staggering statistics behind the obesity problem plaguing this country.)
This is obviously not something that's appealing for the health of individuals, but it is driving DaVita's growing business. During the past three years, DaVita has grown annual sales by more than 7%, up to a recent $7 billion, and profits have grown a very respectable 12% each year, up to $2.3 billion. Going forward, this trend is highly likely to continue -- the first wave of Baby Boomers just reached 65 years old last year.
DaVita ran 1,820 dialysis centers in the United States at the end of 2011. This was up 33% from just over 1,300 centers in 2007. Underlying demand is growing and steady, as there are few options other than dialysis for many of these ailments. Kidney transplants are an option, but it can take many months and even years for a donor match to become available, to say nothing of the cost.
As you might imagine, the business is stable and very profitable. Last year, DaVita generated just close to $800 million in free cash flow, or about $8.08 per diluted share. As a reminder, free cash flow is capital left over after a company has paid for its regular business operations and invested in growth. That $8 per share cash flow figure I just mentioned is pretty impressive, as it's nearly 10% of DaVita's share price (the stock currently trades for about $86 a share). This left room for the company to buy back more than $300 million of its own stock and acquire additional dialysis centers.
Combined with the fact it is growing, it is easy to see why Buffett would want to own this stock.
Since the time Berkshire made the purchase, the stock has rallied only about 2%. It has, however, rallied close to 16% so far this year, while the market has also had a strong 12% rally.
That's nice, but I don't think this matters much. As I said, I think Buffett just bought a Forever Stock -- one that will likely deliver staggering results over the long-term. It's a lot easier to sleep at night, not worrying about the short-term fluctuations, knowing you own a well-run company riding a mega-trend like this one.
I would say that DaVita will outperform archrivals as well, but there simply aren't may direct rivals in the United States. Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE: FMS) is in the same line of business and, along with DaVita, controls roughly 32% of the domestic market. But Fresenius is based in Germany and operates in more than 40 countries. It is also valued much more richly than DaVita, with a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 18. DaVita, meanwhile, trades at a more compelling P/E of 14 and has been growing much faster.
Risks to Consider: Medicaid accounts for close to half of DaVita's sales. Government programs are notoriously unpredictable and stingy, but so far, DaVita has had little problem negotiating profitable, though low-margin, reimbursement levels from Medicaid. And again, patients have few other treatment options.
Action to Take --> Buffett has a reputation for being one of the most loyal stockholders in history. And given its stable and growing revenue streams, it seems hard to go wrong for investors willing to hold DaVita for the long haul. By my reckoning, it's a true Forever Stock.
[Note: If you're wondering who coined the term "Forever Stock," that would be none other than StreetAuthority co-founder Paul Tracy. He's put together a special report, called "Top 10 Stocks to Hold Forever," in which he describes what makes a stock worth holding forever and gives the names of some of his favorites. Go here to learn more.]
-- Ryan Fuhrmann
V63
13 years ago
ROOM TO GROW!
Vice President, Integrated Care Services Development - Western US
DaVita, Inc. - Los Angeles, CA (Greater Los Angeles Area)
Job Description
**Please note: This role will lead business development and relationships for the Western US in a remote capacity.
GENERAL PURPOSE OF THE JOB: The Vice President, Integrated Care Services Development role is a critical leadership role at DaVita Inc. (DaVita), a $6 billion company and the nation's leading private provider of kidney care services in the United States. This position reports to the Vice President, Integrated Care Services. This individual will be the lead architect in identifying and developing new strategies to support and drive business relationships between DaVita and various integrated care services organizations including: Accountable Care Organizations, Hospital and Health Systems, and Multi-Specialty Groups. The key business objectives are to identify and develop relationships in which DaVita's care management capabilities are utilized to achieve superior clinical outcomes under innovative payment methodologies. This role is focused on growth and making "real" the parts of our mission to be "Partner of Choice."
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
The following duties and responsibilities generally reflect the expectations of this position but are not intended to be all inclusive.
•
Provide leadership, management, and direction to all aspects of building trusting business partnerships between DaVita and broader health care provider community
•
Grow our business (all aspects)
•
Create a pipeline portfolio of prospective accountable care organizations, hospitals and health systems, and multi-specialty physician groups and execute on that portfolio
•
Work closely and collaboratively with other DaVita stakeholders, including, but not limited to: Operating Divisions, Hospital Services, Village Health, Corporate Development, and Nephrology Practice Solutions
•
Build trusting relationships with physicians and other health care providers in a specific geographic area
•
Apply appropriate health care legal and regulatory considerations to specific pipeline opportunities
•
Maintain and gauge competition in a given geographic area
•
Conduct marketing and financial analysis that address possible metrics between DaVita and its current and prospective partners
•
Establish a disciplined process for evaluating the right team, the right format, and the right management process for each unique situation
Here is what you can expect when you join our Village:
•A "community first, company second" culture based on Core Values that really matter.
•Clinical outcomes consistently ranked above the national average.
•Award-winning education and training across multiple career paths to help you reach your potential.
•Performance-based rewards based on stellar individual and team contributions.
•A comprehensive benefits package designed to enhance your health, your financial well-being and your future.
•Dedication, above all, to caring for patients suffering from chronic kidney failure across the nation.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
(Education, licenses, certifications, and experience required to fulfill the essential duties, include computer skills as required):
•
Strong alignment with DaVita's Mission and Core Values
•
Strong emotional intelligence. A commitment to personal and professional growth
•
Solid negotiation skills that drive results
•
Proven ability to "Get Stuff Done" and a bias for action
•
Must possess excellent interpersonal skills, honed diplomacy skills
•
Must have solid presentation skills
•
Proven ability to function in a matrix management organization
•
Excellent listening, verbal and written communication and leadership skills are essential
•
Innovative thought processes are required
•
Ability to grasp financials and tell the story
•
Ability to establish sound working relationships with C-Suite level executives
•
Ability to travel 50% of the time
•
Bachelor's degree is required, Masters degree is preferred
ESSENTIAL BEHAVIORS, SKILLS, AND ATTITUDES REQUIRED FOR SUCCESS IN THIS POSITION:
Commitment to DaVita's values of Service Excellence, Integrity, Team, Continuous Improvement, Accountability, Fulfillment and Fun with ability to demonstrate those positively and proactively to patients, co-workers, management, physicians, and/or vendors in every day performance and interactions
Join us as we pursue our vision "To Build the Greatest Healthcare Community the World has Ever Seen."
Why wait? Explore a career with DaVita today.