Fresenius Medical Care Launches Expanded Dialysis Patient Education Initiative

  Fresenius Medical Care Launches Expanded Dialysis Patient Education
  Initiative

 RightStart Program Empowers Dialysis Patients to Succeed in Early Stages of
                                  Treatment

Business Wire

WALTHAM, Mass. -- May 23, 2012

Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), the nation’s leading network of
dialysis facilities, announced today new educational resources to enhance
RightStart™, its innovative program designed to educate and empower new
dialysis patients.

The new RightStart materials are tailored for in-center and home patients
beginning dialysis, and are intended for use during their first four months of
treatment and as ongoing reference. The new resources were developed to:

  * Enhance the patient’s quality of life
  * Minimize complications from renal failure and maximize the patient’s
    health
  * Increase the patient’s adherence to his or her treatment regimen
  * Increase the patient’s knowledge, skill and confidence in managing health
    problems
  * Reduce hospitalizations and premature mortality

“These new RightStart resources are part of an ongoing effort to help
newly-diagnosed dialysis patients feel more comfortable and informed as they
begin treatment,” said Carolyn Latham, Vice President of Clinical Quality and
UltraCare^® at Fresenius Medical Care. "The program provides personalized
education combined with consistent follow-through to truly engage patients and
help them live a better life on dialysis.”

RightStart, the first program of its kind, pioneered strategies for improving
outcomes for new dialysis patients by providing intensive education,
encouragement and support to help them manage their own treatment and health.
In designing the program, FMCNA sought to address some of the reversible risk
factors contributing to early mortality, such as poor nutrition, anemia, poor
mineral metabolism, cardiac issues, inadequate dialysis dose, and lack of
patient empowerment. The program uses an interdisciplinary team approach to
patient education involving physicians, nurses, social workers and dietitians
who assess each patient’s learning style and capabilities.

The new RightStart educational resources include information guides, videos
and other tools to help patients understand how dialysis works, available
treatment options, dietary restrictions and related materials that explain
what to expect when they begin treatment. These resources are designed to help
new patients get off to the best possible start on dialysis.

The new materials include a “We Care About Your Health” audio card and DVDs in
English and Spanish entitled, “What to Expect When You Start In-Center
Hemodialysis,” “What to Expect When You Start Home Dialysis” and “Feeling Good
Starts With a Great Access.”

RightStart demonstrates FMCNA’s UltraCare^® mission of delivering excellent,
patient-centered care through innovative programs, the latest technology,
continuous quality improvement and a focus on superior customer service.

Dialysis is a life-sustaining process that cleans waste products from the
blood, removes extra fluids and controls the body’s chemistry when a person’s
kidneys fail. Dialysis patients typically require treatment on an ongoing
basis unless they receive a kidney transplant.

About Fresenius Medical Care

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE: FMS) is the world’s leading company devoted to
patient-centered renal therapy. Through more than 2,890 clinics in North
America, Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Africa, we provide kidney
dialysis treatments to approximately 233,000 patients worldwide. We are also
the world’s leading maker of dialysis products, such as dialysis machines,
dialyzers and related disposable products. Chronic kidney failure is a
condition that affects more than 2.1 million individuals worldwide.

For more information about the company’s more than 1,850 U.S. dialysis
facilities, visit www.ultracare-dialysis.com (in English and Spanish). For
more information about Fresenius Medical Care, visit www.fmc-ag.comor
www.fmcna.com.

Contact:

Media contact:
Loomis Group
Jaclyn Petros, 617-638-0022
petrosj@loomisgroup.com
or
Company contact:
Fresenius Medical Care
Rosemary Heinold, 781-699-4171
rosemary.heinold@fmc-na.com