Fmc - Knox County Kidney Center

Services

• ✕

  Evening shifts Not offered

  A dialysis shift starting after 5 p.m. — useful for patients who work during the day.

• ✓

  In-center hemodialysis Offered

  Hemodialysis performed at the facility, typically three sessions a week.

• ✓

  Peritoneal dialysis Offered

  A home-based option that uses the lining of the abdomen to filter blood.

• ✕

  Home hemodialysis training Not offered

  Trains patients (and care partners) to run hemodialysis at home.

Services as reported to CMS by the facility. Call ahead to confirm — shift schedules and home-training availability can change.

Clinical Outcomes

Where CMS publishes its own comparison — Better than Expected, As Expected, or Worse than Expected — it is shown verbatim. National averages come from CMS's national dialysis file; for measures without a CMS comparison, we show the national average without a verdict.

• Patient survival

  As Expected

  13.0 deaths per 100 patient-years

  National average: 22.2

  Based on 145 patients.

  CMS compares each facility’s patient death rate with what it would expect given the patients it treats. The comparison label is CMS’s own.

• Hospital admissions

  Better than Expected

  61.1 admissions per 100 patient-years

  National average: 148.0

  Based on 35 patients.

  How often this facility’s patients are admitted to the hospital, adjusted by CMS for patient mix.

• Hospital readmissions

  As Expected

  21.1% of hospital stays followed by an unplanned readmission within 30 days

  National average: 27.2%

  Based on 24 hospital stays.

  Unplanned return trips to the hospital within 30 days of discharge.

• Bloodstream infections

  As Expected

  0.36 standardized infection ratio

  A ratio of 1.00 means the facility had exactly the number of bloodstream infections CMS predicted for it; below 1.00 means fewer than predicted. The comparison label is CMS’s own.

• Dialysis adequacy (Kt/V)

  100% of adult in-center hemodialysis patients reached the Kt/V target of at least 1.2

  National average: 97%

  Based on 34 patients.

  Kt/V measures how thoroughly a dialysis session cleans the blood. CMS publishes no better/worse comparison for this measure.

• Fistula in use

  As Expected

  76.1% of patients dialyzed through an arteriovenous fistula

  National average: 57.1%

  Based on 39 patients.

  A fistula — a surgical connection using the patient’s own blood vessels — is the vascular access clinicians generally consider to carry the lowest infection risk.

• Long-term catheter use

  9% of adult patients used a catheter for 90 days or longer

  National average: 19%

  Based on 39 patients.

  Catheters left in place long-term carry a higher infection risk than a fistula or graft. CMS publishes no better/worse comparison for this measure.

Measures and comparison labels are from CMS Dialysis Facility Care Compare. CMS risk-adjusts survival, hospitalization, readmission, and infection measures for patient mix, so facilities treating sicker patients are not penalized for it.