Yo DaVita !!!

Sorry I have been absent so many days in a row !  You will better understand in a moment.

I got up at 6 am (after 4 hours of sleep, I had a hard time settling down last night), did my cardio and PT (points to follow, and I think the MTM Team has attached my log, check it out), and started work at 8 am.  Big meeting on Teammate Recruiting, a meeting with a search firm, filming for this year’s Village Celebration Dinners (last year we took 72,000 village citizens and spouses out to dinner!  to say thank you for your service, celebrate our accomplishments, and present Core Value awards!), I was as usual booked every minute.  I had another meeting with a teammate on the drive to the airport and am now on a plane to Wisconsin.

Yesterday Monday was a brutal day.  8 hours in an arbitration meeting. We had to start preparing at 7:30 am, for the hearing which started at 9 am.  When I emerged from the hearing, I had work calls booked until 7 pm.  Which is exactly when 5 DaVita executives arrived at my home for a working dinner.  The execs were from DMG (our DaVita Medical Group, formerly referred to as HCP) and we talked about spreading the DaVita Way within DMG, which has many teammates who are relatively new to the Village concept.  That went until 10 pm, after which I had to pack and do a little paperwork.  Fear not, however, I did some cardio and PT at 6:15 in the morning so I did not miss an MTM day!  The problem was that Sunday was also a 4 hour sleep night, no fun to have two bad nights in a row.  Life’s rich pageant.

Which of course could lead you to say “KT that explains no Monday message, but why not on Sunday?”.  On Sunday I got up and did my cardio and PT, then went to visit my dear 87 year old Mommy for a couple hours.  Then from 1 pm until 7 pm I had a planning meeting with the same DMG executives, we needed to catch up on some stuff, that is something we rarely do. After that we had a family dinner with my daughter visiting from San Francisco, my sister, my niece and her boyfriend.  At 10 pm I was just too tired for MTM, I must confess.

But then you will ask “why not an MTM entry on Saturday?”.  Saturday started with cardio and PT at home, then a drive to my Physical Therapist for a long live session.  After that I had a 2 hour interview/lunch session with a CFO candidate.  After that we had a one hour drive to a wedding, from which we did not return until 10:30 pm.

Which takes us back to Friday of course.  On Friday I started the day with my cardio and PT, with my calls/meetings started immediately after and were back-to-back, followed by a lunch with Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, followed by our groundbreaking ceremony for our 2^nd Denver building!  500 teammates celebrating our growth, with JR cruising in on a zip-line, and the Governor adding to the festivities.  After that was meetings and calls straight up until my 6:30 haircut, which was followed by listening to voicemail on the way to visit my Mom, which meant I did not get home for dinner until 9 pm.  Too late for MTM, I needed to focus on Denise!

Last but not least, on Thursday I left you in the morning as I flew back to Denver from Wisconsin.  I raced from the airport with a conference call while in the car (virtually every drive I do is filled with phone calls).  I then had the great thrill of participating in the Stadium Academy, 1900 teammates !  After that it took 1 hour and 20 minutes to have pictures taken with Academy teammates, which was fun and an honor.  After that I hustled over to the Governor’s mansion for a dinner with the Governor and 20 other civic leaders interested in Open Primaries.  I am the Chairman of a group that is putting an Open Primary initiative on the ballot.  I did not get home until 10 pm ( but remember, I did cardio and PT before I got on the plane).

Soooooo … that is why I have been remiss.  But I am back, eager to learn how many TM”s we have now, and find out if we have any pets signed up!  I am proud that I did not miss a day of cardio or PT – but as you will see in the log, I did not rack up as many points, not even close.

I hope each of you is meeting your MTM goals!  One for All & All for One!

KT

Yo DaVita !!

I am on a plane flying back to Denver where I get to participate in our Stadium Academy !   (or is it now called our Super Academy?)

2000 teammates from around the world, in Denver, discussing our Mission, our Values, ourselves … if you have not attended one please do.  We do not know of any other healthcare company in the world that does anything like it.

Yesterday I set a new record of 32 reps of therapy exercises!  Also did 30 minute cardio on the lifecycle, from which I emerged drenched with sweat as usual.  Also 45 minutes of brisk walking.  Also 5 mediocre minutes of meditating.

This morning (Thursday) I hit the lifecycle first thing, only did 25 minutes because of need to catch plane, but still got in very good cardio as I ratcheted up the resistance and kept my speed above 15 mph.

I have been terrible in my eating on this partial vacation, terrible!  I have had a dessert every day, and some large portions.  Yikes.

I did some email early today, before my cardio.  Once I land I will do a call with a search firm regarding our international business, then a meeting in the Casa.  Then the Academy, then a meeting, then a phone call.  then dinner with the Governor at the state mansion, with a small group discussing an Open Primaries initiative I am Chair of here in Colorado.  We go on the ballot in November!

We are now over 2900 teammates, locking arms together in the quest for better health!  Please talk to a teammate or two, let’s clear the 3000 mark.  Our numbers include 2000 from US Kidney Care (DKC), 700 from the DaVita Medical Group, almost triple last year’s number at this time (formerly called HCP, now DMG), and almost 50 from international!   Also 70 friends and 125 family.

Do Good, it’s contagious!    Your Mayor, KT

Greetings to the good People of DaVita !

It is Wednesday mid-day, our final day at our cottage in northern Wisconsin. I think I will escape with about 3.0 hours of work today, not as bad as I feared. I hope to do better during the 3 vacation days I have booked for next week, although there is so much going on I know there will be some “pollution”. Life’s rich pageant!

My shoulder was pretty dead tired yesterday, after the 3 prior days of big therapy sessions. So I pulled things back to 16 sets of therapy. I will take it back up today!

I also did the 32 minutes of cardio, and about 5 minutes of quiet time/meditation, I just could not quite settle down for longer.

I am reading a couple of good books, the first is about the war with the Philippines back around 1900, and the second is about the real life stories of 4 young Hispanic women being raised in the Denver area, called “Just like us.” Helen Thorpe is the author of the latter book.

That is it for now, I want to get back down to the family! I hope each of you is reaching your MTM goals !! I will have some participation data soon, we will learn more about the 2800 teammates we are in solidarity with!!

Ciao! KT

Greetings to the good people of DaVita, Inc.

It is Monday afternoon.  My little vacation (Monday to Wednesday) is getting a bit more polluted than I hoped.  I only worked 1.5 hours on Saturday, and 2.0 on Sunday, that is okay.  But I am getting hit with about 4 hours today, we have a few little emergencies going on.  Oh well, if one takes the CEO job some of this comes with the territory.

BUT I am doing great exercise!   32 minutes of cardio on Saturday, Sunday and today!  Plus very robust PT.  As I think I mentioned, I will pass along the total number of reps of different PT exercises I am doing, so you can see that.  Once I return to the Casa (our headquarters) I will provide them with the detail to complete the log that you can look at on the MTM site.  On Saturday I did a total of 27 sets of various PT exercises, and on Sunday 27.  My arm and shoulder are pretty darn sore, but I am thinking that is a good soreness as we strive to break down the scar tissue blocking range of motion.  Game On!

My body feels so happy after those 70 minute sessions of cardio and PT.  And I get excited when I can move my arm somewhere new – for example I can now put on and take off t-shirts, all by myself.  I also took a drink of water holding a glass in my right hand.  (it had to be a small glass with a straight side, buy hey, that’s still progress!).  I am also getting reasonable sleep each night, and taking long walks with my wife, close friends, and as of today, with my son.  We have some great talks about life on these walks.

I hope each of you had a great MTM weekend!  There are now over 2800 teammates cheering you on, and I love it!

One for All, KT

Yo DaVita !!

First let me say I love the notes that are sent in, I read every one.  I will not be able to answer every one, but will do my best to answer some.

Second, it is Saturday night, I am at our cottage in Wisconsin.  I have been coming up here every year of my life, I absolutely love it.

Third, both yesterday late afternoon, and today, I did MONSTER physical therapy plus solid cardio !!!  Woohoo!

Given I can’t fax my results and they need to be converted into points/minutes, I will start reporting the total number of “PT sets” I do in a day.  That way the MTM crew can convert them into the right scoring.  Yesterday I did 31 DISCRETE PT SETS, on top of 36 minutes of cardio on the bike.

I also took two brisk walks, total of about 4 miles.  I cannot run yet, shoulder must heal more first.

I hope you had a great MTM day, here’s to your health !!!

KT

Yo to the Good Citizens of the DaVita Village,

It is Friday I am on a plane from Vermont to Wisconsin.  I was raised in Wisconsin (GO PACKERS), we have a family cottage in the north, and I am going to stay for the weekend and 3 days of partial vacation next week.  I hope each of you USES each day of your vacation, it is so good for your health and relationships!

Yesterday (Thursday) was a mediocre MTM day for me.  I wanted to get 5 hours of sleep on Wednesday night – that meant I only had time for a partial PT set before I had to leave home to go to the airport.  I did a little on the plane, but it is pretty awkward in the little aisle. Once I finally landed in Vermont I had an hour drive to the meeting location, and then I went straight into a meeting, then presentation, then mixer, then dinner, then post-dinner program.  It was GREAT, over 100 DaVita leaders and 80 spouses, we gave some core value awards and did some serious reflecting on our Mission & Values.  But it meant an 11 pm return to my room.  I did some good PT then, I need to figure out how to get my updated log to OOTM (Office of the Mayor, my assistants) so they can attach it.  When I am on the road the log will be a little behind the blog.

I hope many of you have attended the Village Celebration dinners we have been able to fund each of the last 5 years.  Last year we had over 50,000 teammates and spouses attend, and I hope there were a couple Core Value awards given at each one!  That is the deal, we will fund those dinners every year we can, IF the dinners include our little Village Celebration video and some CV awards.

I am off to a decent start on PT today, in and around several business calls.   I should get to our cottage about 4 pm, and will do some strong stuff PT at that point.  I also hope to get some cardio.  I think I need to change my cardio goal to 5x per week.   I just will not be able to do my physical therapy AND my cardio every day, there are not enough minutes if I have plane flights or late dinners two nights in a row.  But I can hit 5.  I need to try to hit the PT at the full 7, as best I can.

We are now over 2700 teammates!  Just picture being in a room, being in a theatre, with 2699 teammates watching you exercise, cheering you on, applauding your daily discipline !

Time to attack hundreds of emails.  I hope you are having a great MTM day !    KT

Good Morning DaVita Teammates !

MTM 9 rolls on, almost 2500 strong, linking our arms together as we march towards a healthier life!

It is Thursday am, I am on a plane heading to a business meeting in Vermont.  But let me double back a bit …

My PT session yesterday morning was somewhat brutal (does it make sense for something to be “somewhat brutal?”).  It started with 30 minutes of deep tissue massage, which in my case is painful but essential to loosening up the tissue.  The second half was spent doing a subset of my daily exercises.  Some of them she led my arm and shoulder around, to try to expand my Range of Motion in a way that the patient cannot, because there is not enough muscle left after the x weeks without any movement.  Some of them I did myself, so she could review technique.

About half of the stuff hurts, because you are trying to break thru resistance and expand the Range of Motion.  My surgery was pretty severe, so they told me right up front I was going to have to wait much longer to start more aggressive PT, because they needed to make sure a bunch of the healing was done.  Unfortunately that means the tissue et al has had more time to settle and solidify, and so breaking and loosening it up will be more difficult.  Life’s rich pageant!

I have had some big victories in the last 3 weeks (the accident was 10 weeks ago)!.  I can now dress myself with about 80% of normal clothing (thank God for Hawaiian shirts which I wore for the first 4 weeks out of the hospital).  Also now on most days if I want to move my arm from resting on my leg to a table or arm rest I can do it!  For the prior 8 weeks I would have to take my left hand, grab my right hand at the wrist, pick it up, and move it to the new place.  If the counter or whatever is too high I still have to pick up my right hand with my left.   I can also shake hands, as long as I just put my hand out but leave my elbow tucked against my torso.

We do not know how much range of motion I will ultimately get back, my glenoid (the shoulder socket) was shattered and so required pretty radical reconstruction. and my new nickname could be Titanium Man.  But my goal is to get back to where I can swim as part of my exercise regimen.  And throw a ball with the grand-kids I hope to have one day.  You get the picture.  But first I have to get to the point where I can lift my arm up more than a few inches.  The journey continues …

After PT I raced into the Casa for meetings for the rest of the day – Compliance, recruiting, an acquisition, those were some of the topics.  I do some PT exercises in the meetings, there is no way I would come close to the daily regimen without doing that, and teammates get used to it.  In addition some of the flexion exercises are best done in 6-7 small batches through the day, not 1-2 longer ones.

I love our building, La Casa del Mundo … hope you all have a chance to visit some day.

I then had a quiet dinner at an Asian restaurant while I worked on a presentation I will be giving today.  After that I headed to the skilled nursing facility where my mom is, and had a wonderful 90 minutes with her.  Then the governor called out of the blue and we spent an hour on a number of topics.  At 10 pm I headed home from my mom’s, and did a little more PT, followed by putting ice on my shoulder and torso.   On the days I have a live session with the PT I do less of the exercises myself, of course.  I spent 8 minutes in the hot tub meditating before bed.   If you recall I did 30 minutes of good cardio on my lifecycle at home before I went to PT, so I did get that in

I hope each of you had a successful Match the Mayor day, where you did what you said you would do!  Remember there are 2400 of us rooting for you, wanting the best for you according to whatever goal you set!

Carpe Diem!!!  Yours in health !!!           Your Mayor, KT

Good Morning DaVitaLand, I am reporting in on Tuesday Day 2 of MTM IX  (is that right, this is #9?  Time flies) … with some early reporting on today, Day 3 ..

On Day 3 I already did 6 of my rehab exercises early this am.  My PT log will be posted soon so you get a sense of the menu. In addition I am about to go to the PT for a personal session, which will be an additional 60 minutes.  I also already did 30 minutes of cardio on the lifecycle (listening to voicemails as I pedaled, so good efficiency!).

Yesterday I did about 12 of my exercises, I will have to check the exact log.  I also did 8 minutes of meditation (in the hot tub, I hope that does not disqualify the minutes).

I am in Denver today, and fly to the east coast for a meeting tomorrow.  My sleep is still quite disrupted by the accident and its aftermath, so the early morning sessions and flights are a little tougher than usual.

But with the help of the 2000 teammates in MTM, I will persevere!

Have a good day, KT

Greetings to the Good People of the DaVita Village !

Welcome to Match the Mayor!    The short period where thousands of us band together and encourage each other to take clear steps towards a healthier life.  In whatever form makes sense for each individual.

I am sorry I am getting this out a day late.  I am a bit under the weather, and will open up more communication shortly I hope.

My core MTM goal is to do an average of 65% of  my Physical Therapy protocol 7 days a week.  Tomorrow I will attach the protocol, I just got a new one from my PT and it is being typed up into log form so I can track my adherence.

I will also have exercise minutes on the grid, as i was recently cleared to get back on the lifecycle.  So good to get some cardio back!

Some of you know I had a bad bike injury 64 days ago, which explains why this year I need to have PT as my core goal.   I can tell you a bit more about all of that over the coming blogs.

I hope each of you is off to a good start!  I hope many of you have a partner – but for those who do not, you have ALL of us as a partner.  Over 2000 teammates signed up before Day One.

One for All & All for One …..    Your Mayor, KT