A crucial lifeline: reducing mortality in the first 120 days.

Data from the United States Renal Data System shows that mortality and hospitalization rates for prevalent ESRD patients is high and has only gradually improved year after year. Furthermore, the same rates are even higher for patients in the first year of care, especially the first 120 days. Renal Ventures Coaching for Actions, Results, and Empowerment (RVCARE) was developed to reduce the high mortality and hospitalization risk, improve cardiovascular disease, decrease the use of catheters, offer optimal modalities of therapy, and change other outcomes in incident patients undergoing in-center hemodialysis. The results demonstrate that it is indeed possible to positively affect these outcomes, even in a small dialysis organization (SDO).