• Review the performance of dialysis facilities in your area
• Find ways to improve quality
• Answer patients’ questions and educate them about their dialysis facility choices
• Learn more about services provided by dialysis facilities in your area

If the information provided is inaccurate, please contact the Network office to make corrections.

Dialysis Provider List
This is a list of all dialysis facilities, their addresses, phone numbers, types of centers and training services offered. Single copy $10.00

We also have a Facility List card, which lists the name of each dialysis and transplant facility along with their Medicare Provider numbers. Available at no charge.

Dialysis Facility Reports - University of Michigan 2009
Click to view or download the Guide to 2009 Dialysis Facility Reports. On September 24, 2009, CMS and UM-KECC notified facilities about the recalculation of the Standardized Mortality Ratios (SMRs) on the DFRs.

Dialysis Facility Staff Update
Update your facility's staff contacts online!

The Network also has a Position Statement regarding facility Disaster Contacts.

Dialysis Facility Training
The Network office conducts online educational sessions via WebEx with facilities for basic training regarding Network requirements and quality improvement projects.

Another popular resource for facility training is the Network's In-Service Training Modules. These modules are designed to be used by dialysis center staff responsible for conducting in-service training, such as nurse educators and trainers. The training topics were selected and designed for patient care staff, specifically dialysis technicians and LPNs who work on the floor. The trainings aim to build their skills in communication to promote better customer service and client satisfaction. Topics include:

1. Professionalism in Dialysis Care
2. Patient-Centered Care
3. When Patients Have Concerns
4. Fistula First
5. Caring through the End

Dialysis Provider Professionalism Training
Microsoft PowerPoint Slide Show (.pps)
Basics of Patient - Centered Care 
Polishing Up on Professionalism
Professionalism in the Workplace

Adobe PDF (.pdf)
Basics of Patient - Centered Care
Polishing Up on Professionalism
Professionalism in the Workplace

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Decreasing Dialysis Patient-Provider Conflict (DPC)
The DPC Toolbox is designed for all levels of dialysis staff who provide direct patient care and includes tools and resources regarding professionalism and conflict resolution.

Dialysis Keeps People with Kidney Failure Alive
(formerly "Know Your Number")
This CMS brochure provides information for patients on how to check the adequacy of their hemodialysis, and what to do if it is not adequate. Single copies are free.

Educational Materials
Review information and download presentations from past Network educational meetings, including the annual Council meetings.

Emergency Preparedness
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services guides for dialysis facilities and patients (in English and Spanish versions) on general emergency/evacuation planning and information for bioterrorism/disaster planning are available for download. Visit our emergency preparedness page to download the guides, as well as additional resources.

The Network also has a Position Statement regarding facility Disaster Contacts.

End-Of-Life Care
The Advance Care Planning: For the Dialysis Patient and Their Family brochure was developed by the MARC and the Academy for Educational Development, with funding from CMS, to serve as a guide for patients and their families as they discuss options for future care. If you would like copies of the brochure, download an order form for the Advance Care Planning brochure and submit it to the Network office.

In 2005, MARC partnered with a number of organizations on a national collaborative effort, which resulted in the formation of the Kidney End-of-Life Coalition. Visit the Kidney End-of-Life Coalition website for more information on the Coalition's efforts to promote end-of-life care and advance care planning.

Microsoft PowerPoint Slide Show (.pps)
Incorporating Palliative Care Into Your Dialysis Unit
Why the Nephrology Community Should Care about End-of-Life Care

Adobe PDF (.pdf)
Incorporating Palliative Care Into Your Dialysis Unit
Why the Nephrology Community Should Care about End-of-Life Care

Infection Control
Overview of Network 5's Prevention and Management of Bacterial Infections Task Force and position on Admission of VRE/MRSA Colonized or Positive Patients to Network 5 Dialysis Facilities.

The VRE (Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus) brochure is the result of Network 5's Medical Review Board Workgroup on Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It provides an introduction, types of VRE infections, Hepatitis B versus VRE precautions and isolation precaution guidelines. Single copy $5.00

The Tuberculosis Screening and Management in Healthcare Facilities brochure is an overview of CDC guidelines addressing tuberculosis in the provider setting. Single copy $5.00

Recommendations for Preventing Transmission of Infections Among Chronic Hemodialysis Patients issued by the Centers for Disease Control on April 27, 2001.

Overview of CDC's Campaign to Prevent Antimicrobial Resistance in Healthcare Settings (PDF)

Sign up to receive email updates from the CDC! Complete a subscription profile, and you will get updated information on the items of interest to you automatically without having to return to the website and check for changes.

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Involuntary Patient Transfer and Discharge
The number of displaced patients (patients with no facility willing to accept them) is a concern in Network 5 and throughout the country. These patients are forced to go to hospital emergency rooms for treatment, thus contributing to an already over-burdened system, and also receiving little or no continuity of care. MARC supports the recommendations on involuntary discharge from the Ethical, Legal, and Regulatory Subcommittee of the Decreasing Dialysis Patient-Provider Conflict Project.

MARC Position Statement on Involuntary Patient Transfer and Discharge

Guidelines for Involuntary Patient Transfer and Discharge

Involuntary Discharge Checklist for Dialysis Facilities

Keeping Kidney Patients Safe
The Renal Physicians Association (RPA) and the Forum of End-Stage Renal Disease developed the Keeping Kidney Patients Safe website to serve as a resource for nephrology professionals who are committed to optimum levels of kidney patient safety. The site includes information pertaining to incorrect dialyzers or dialyzing solution, patient falls, medication errors and omissions, hand hygiene, and non-adherence procedures.

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Medicare Issues & Answers Brochure
The Medicare Issues and Answers brochure clarifies misconceptions regarding Medicare coverage and answers several commonly asked questions. Singles copies are free.

Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (Part D)
Information for providers and patients is available on our Medicare Prescription Drug Plan webpage.

Nephrology Oral History Project
The Nephrology Oral History Project seeks to document renal-related healthcare from the 1950s to the present through recorded interviews with sentinel nephrologists and nephrology-related individuals. These oral histories focus on the development and innovations of early dialysis therapy and the impact dialysis has had on the care of patients and the practice of nephrology.

Non-Compliant and Abusive Patients
The Working with Non-Compliant and Abusive Patients manual was developed by Network 5 as a resource for facility staff who may provide services to difficult, noncompliant and, occasionally, dangerous patients. Single copy $5.00 (inside Network 5); $10.00 (outside Network 5)

Nutrition and Chronic Kidney Disease
Patients under the care of a nephrologist and who see a registered dietitian for nutrition therapy prior to starting dialysis are often in better health and have fewer nutritional complications when they start dialysis than those patients who do not receive that prior care. Click here for more information on nutrition and CKD, including handouts for patients and professionals. Following are additional resources:

American Association of Kidney Patient's Nutrition Counter: A Reference for the Kidney Patient

American Kidney Fund's Tips for Healthy Eating

National Kidney Foundation's Nutrition & Diet Resources

The DaVita Diet Helper makes planning, preparing, and tracking kidney-friendly meals easy.

Patient Grievances/Complaints
The Patient Grievance Policy brochure contains the rights and responsibilities of an ESRD patient, the grievance procedures and the Network responsibilities to the ESRD patient. A Patient Grievance/Complaint Form is also available. Single copies are free.