DaVita Named Among Five Most Likeable Companies of 2012

DaVita recognized as “a community first and a company second”

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DaVita®, a division of DaVita HealthCare Partners, Inc. (NYSE: DVA) and a leading provider of kidney care services, was recognized this week as one of the top five most likeable companies in the U.S. by New York Times bestselling author Dave Kerpen, whose latest book is Likeable Business.

“They care for each other with intensity, learn from each other, and work hard to live their shared values for each other and their patients.”

Rounding out the top five most likeable businesses according to Kerpen were The Company Store, Entenmann’s, Southwest Airlines, and Trader Joe’s.

Likeable Business describes a variety of traits that make businesses “likeable” – qualities that help them deliver more of what modern consumers demand. Kerpen says the traits of a likeable business include gratefulness, team playing, responsiveness, passion and surprise and delight.

“DaVita is the nation's second largest dialysis provider and holds ‘team playing’ as a core value,” according to a news release from Likeable Media, where Kerpen serves as CEO. “The DaVita Village, home to 45,000 team members, is a community first, and a company second.”

Likeable Business chronicles DaVita’s dramatic turnaround from company on the brink of bankruptcy in 1999 to a thriving business with more than $7B in revenues in 2011. Much of DaVita’s success can be attributed to the team assembled and nurtured by DaVita Chairman and CEO Kent Thiry.

Living out DaVita’s “team” value included the creation of the DaVita Village Network (DVN), a program Thiry proposed early in the company’s turnaround period. The DVN provides DaVita teammates with financial assistance during times of crisis and has supplied more than $2 million to hundreds of teammates since its creation.

“The DaVita team is a family – all 45,000 of them,” Kerpen writes in the book. “They care for each other with intensity, learn from each other, and work hard to live their shared values for each other and their patients.”

DaVita and DaVita HealthCare Partners are trademarks or registered trademarks of DaVita Healthcare Partners Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About DaVita

DaVita is the dialysis division of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., a Fortune 500® company that, through its operating divisions, provides a variety of health care services to patient populations throughout the United States and abroad. A leading provider of kidney care in the United States, DaVita delivers 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 September 30, 2012, DaVita operated or provided administrative services at 1,912 outpatient dialysis centers located in the United States serving approximately 150,000 patients. The company also operated 24 outpatient dialysis centers located in five 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 DaVita.com.