In 1973 four physicians in Oak Park, Illinois saw a need to provide Nephrology and Dialysis care to members of their community. These physicians rented a dialysis machine and set-up their practice in a local church basement. The practice was able to provide specialized care for Chronic Kidney Disease, Renal Failure and hypertension by physicians who lived in the community and knew the hospitals they serviced. Since then, NANI has grown to 60 physicians with a service area covering more then 300 miles from Fort Wayne, Indiana to Rockford, Illinois. Our physicians and staff provide the most advanced care available. We currently have six Interventional Nephrologists. Offering interventional services in our own facilities gives us the ability to care for patients in a safe efficient environment. We are able to treat patients quickly thus reducing the number of missed dialysis treatments. This has improved patient compliance and satisfaction while reducing overall healthcare costs. Patient outcomes are monitored regularly and are above the recorded national averages for these procedures. The physicians and nurse practitioners of our organization are committed to improving our patient quality of health once diagnosed with CKD. We monitor and treat Anemia using EPO therapies and dietician directed diets. Our Rockford region has developed a PTH protocol which actively monitors patient outcomes and compliance in several areas. We have also implemented a Fistula First identification program in our practices and have assigned coordinators at many of our large regional offices. The office staff identifies patients for this program by their GFR and flags the chart for the physician; the physician then educates their patients on Fistula placement versus catheter placement and coordinates appropriate surgical consultations and evaluations. We have effectively reduced the number of catheters being used in areas where coordinators are active. Physicians and administrators work together to move our practice into the future while maintaining a local focus and practical approach. We govern and direct large projects and topics through committees with participation from our many geographic regions. Our physicians have been recognized as leaders in their field on a National and Regional level. In Illinois our physicians have been named among Chicago Magazines “Top Docs” in their annual survey of outstanding providers. Paul Balter, MD serves as the Associate Medical Director and Quality Manager for all of RRI. In this role he oversees quality initiatives in US and Canada and is involved in setting up non-traditional delivery options. NANI physicians in Indiana are recognized nationally and have held positions as the National Medical Association President (Gadson), FMC Advisory Board Member (Golubski); and through their membership on the Renal Network Advisory Board (Golubski). They are sought out as regional leaders and actively participate on the Northwestern Memorial Hospital Post Transplant Care-Advisory Board (Golubski). Our dedication to the field is also evident by the activities and nominations of our nurse practitioners, who have been recognized by their local hospitals and area councils. Recognition includes serving as an elected officer for the local Indiana chapter of ANNA for 2 years (Kathy Wallace), being nominated for Outstanding Service and Dedication/Person You Should Know Award (Dorgan/2005) presented by West Suburban Hospital and Outstanding Teaching Dedication in the School of Nursing (Dorgan/2006). NANI has dedicated resources to ensuring that the talent of its management team does not go unrecognized and encourages participation in the RPA. We hire talented individuals with Payer and Health System experience, we have CPA’s, engineers, MBA’s and managed care certified individuals on our team. We hire certified coders and encourage the development of our staff. As a large organization with an array of opportunities we are able to attract and keep outstanding talent, even letting top performers telecommute. As an organization we still believe in offering community based services where patients live and need our care. We are on staff at more then 50 hospitals and our physicians live in the areas that they serve. We are committed to using our collective experience to ensure that every patient has the highest quality care that their community has to offer. As active members of the RPA we know that our practice has the most recent information related to our field and we continuously educate our physicians and staff using resources provided by this organization.