HONG KONG
Today, on International Nurses Day, Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s leading provider of dialysis products and services, is celebrating the extraordinary contribution that its nurses make to the organization and wider community – every day, and particularly in the face of our current global health challenge.
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Fresenius Kidney Care nurses volunteered to care for dialysis patients who contracted COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, where the outbreak first took place. (Photo: Business Wire)
Throughout the world, International Nurses Day is celebrated on 12 May, the birthday of Florence Nightingale: founder of modern nursing and infection control. This year, the day is particularly noteworthy, as it marks the 200-year anniversary of Nightingale’s birth with 2020 declared as the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Year of the Nurse and Midwife. It is also very fitting that 2020 will be remembered as the year that the COVID-19 pandemic shook healthcare systems to their core and where, more than ever before, nurses rose to the challenge of caring for patients on the frontline.
‘Stories of Strength’ by Fresenius Kidney Care nurses
At Fresenius Kidney Care, the dialysis care services division of Fresenius Medical Care, nurses have demonstrated the critical role of nurses during the pandemic. Some of them volunteered to care for dialysis patients who contracted COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, where the outbreak first took place. Qun Xiao, who was one of the first nurses to treat infected dialysis patients, recalls that she initially felt anxious about her role, but those feelings disappeared when she saw her patients, many of whom had been not received their life-sustaining dialysis treatment for days. “Their faces simply lit up when they saw us. We were their hope,” she recalls.
Liangju Jiao, who has been a dialysis nurse for 20 years, says that her role was like nothing she had ever done before, with exhausting shifts spent in full personal protective equipment (PPE). “At first, I was worried about getting infected. But when I saw patients getting help and being cared for, I felt that it was all worth it. Some even called us life-saving angels,” Liangju reflected.
Supporting Fresenius Kidney Care nurses during the global pandemic
Practical support on the ground has been vital for nurses during the global pandemic. Fresenius Medical Care employees have been quick to provide infection prevention and control guidance, and have often gone to remarkable lengths to secure PPE for nurses. The company’s human resources departments across Asia Pacific are working together to provide access to counselling services for ongoing support. Office-based employees have delivered ‘Share that you care’ video messages to nurses, as a personal way of acknowledging and thanking nurses for all that they do.
‘Hearts for Hearts’ campaign
Throughout the year, and specifically on International Nurses Day, Fresenius Kidney Care hosts special events to recognize and engage with nurses. This year, the organization has created a nurse engagement campaign ‘Hearts for Hearts’. The campaign’s name stems from nurses being the heart of Fresenius Kidney Care and having big hearts for their patients – who show their love and respect for nurses in return. Additionally, everyone in the organization has a heart for our nurses.
At the core of the Hearts for Hearts campaign is a dedicated online hub for the company’s nurses, providing a place to celebrate the joys and acknowledge the challenges of being a dialysis nurse in the 21st Century. The site includes information, resources and practical tools to help nurses navigate the challenges of their profession – from stories that showcase nurse heroes like Qun Xia and Liangju Jiao, to hand care tips through to simple yoga and meditation practices and extending support to the nurses’ families.
“All of our nurses are extraordinary people doing extraordinary work in these extraordinary times,” said Harry de Wit, President and CEO of Fresenius Medical Care, Asia Pacific. “International Nurses Day is always an important day for us. This year, it has become a momentous occasion where we are able to both celebrate and support our nurses and their families for the ways in which they have gone above and beyond to care for our patients in such challenging times – a time where they are truly nursing the world back to health – as the official theme of this year’s International Nurses Day states.”
More ‘Stories of Strength’ of Fresenius Kidney Care healthcare heroes can be found on our LinkedIn:
Qun Xiao’s story: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6658922704344887297
Liangju Jiao’s story: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6656737662566785024
Mingxia Xu’s story: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6653909576041234432
Dr. Angel Zhang and Rose Xu’s story: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6661093178508226560
For further information, please contact: Dr Alexandra Villar: Alexandra.Villar@fmc-asia.com
ABOUT FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE
Fresenius Medical Care is the world’s leading provider of products and services for individuals with renal diseases of which around 3.5 million patients worldwide regularly undergo dialysis treatment. Through its network of 4,002 dialysis clinics, Fresenius Medical Care provides dialysis treatments for 348,703 patients around the globe. Fresenius Medical Care is also the leading provider of dialysis products such as dialysis machines or dialyzers. Along with the core business, the company focuses on expanding the range of related medical services in the field of Care Coordination. Fresenius Medical Care is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FME) and on the New York Stock Exchange (FMS).
For more information visit the company’s website at www.freseniusmedicalcare.asia
DISCLAIMER
This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to various factors, including, but not limited to, changes in business, economic and competitive conditions, legal changes, regulatory approvals, results of clinical studies, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, uncertainties in litigation or investigative proceedings, and the availability of financing. These and other risks and uncertainties are detailed in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA’s reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA does not undertake any responsibility to update the forward-looking statements in this release.
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CONTACT
Dr. Alexandra Villar
Vice President
Corporate Communications and Branding
Asia Pacific
Fresenius Medical Care
T +61 2 9466 8020
Alexandra.Villar@fmc-asia.com
