Yo Davita !

Quick one, yesterday home workout at 6:30 am followed by PT visit (big breakthrough!), followed by a sequence of 9 meetings and phone calls which ended at 7:30 pm, followed by a dinner with Denver Public Schools Superintendent with whom we do a lot of pro bono stuff, home at 10:30, call with Denise who is in California and then a friend with issues, bed at 11:45 after packing for my trip to California today.

This morning started at 6:30 in gym again, and now I have to run into office, am giving speech in an hour!  Talk to you later, hope you are MTM well !!!!!!!!!   KT

Good Morning Citizens of DaVita Village,

And also good morning to those of you who do not consider yourself to be citizens of our little community as well.  I hope your future experience with us persuades you to cross the bridge and declare citizenship, to yourself, no need to make it public but fine to do so also it is contagious.

29 PT POINTS YESTERDAY, on a week-day of work!  that is really good, starting with my home gym at 6:30 am (also 25 minutes of cardio), and continuing thru the day.  I only had to get on the floor in one meeting, so not too bad.  The other floor ones I did in my office in between meetings.  I also was able to reach up and grab a hanger that was on a pole a full 12 inches above my head, with my right arm !!  First time in 92 days I could do that !!  I had to move slowly, and had my left hand underneath to catch it if it gave out, but I made it!   ALSO I can now put on socks without significant pain!  Also 8 minutes of meditation.

Sunday was not a strong day, we got up and went straight to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson for a great 4 hour tour with a wonderful guide who taught us lots of history. Then a 4 hour plane trip back to Denver, during which I used every minute to do email, as usual.  Then I visited my dear mommy –although I did some good therapy in her room, we can keep talking while I do it, and she critiques my form.

Then it was time for watching the Packers scramble to their first victory of the season, I had taped it so I could fast forward thru all commercials, half-time, etc – plus I did my icing and read the paper.  Anyway Sunday was only 14 points, including 5 minutes of meditation.

Monday was filled with back-to-back meetings with 5 minute windows in between, like all days.  I had an hour with Javier, 50 minutes with our CFO Jim Hilger, I got an update on some international stuff, had a federal policy meeting, had 45 minutes with Misha Palacek our Chief Development Officer, etc etc.  As always I ate lunch while talking to my assistant about scheduling … unless I am in a meeting where we eat lunch at the meeting table.

But at 6:30 I switched to an Open Primaries session with the CEO of another big company.  We talked about workplace culture and other topics until 8 pm.  He was a great guy, I had not met him before.  At 8:10 I headed home, doing voicemail during the drive.  Dinner at 9 pm, then Denise and I sat outside for 30 minutes to enjoy the beauty of the night, then newspaper and bed.

Now I am heading down to the gym, after which I go straight to see my PT.

I hope you are all well!   I hope you are achieving your MTM goals for a healthier life!  3200 of us, working together!

KT

Yo DaVita !

It is Sunday afternoon, we are flying back to Denver from Virginia, where we attended a wedding.  A wonderful celebration of life and love.

Yesterday I woke up in DC and headed down to the gym.  30 minutes of cardio on the bike, and then 12 sets of PT plus time doing other ROM in the pool, for a total of 15 sets.  No meditation on Saturday, but did 8 minutes on Friday.  The rest of Saturday was spent driving from DC to Charlottesville and then being at the wedding.  Does dancing count as PT?  It certainly involved a lot of arm movement, so I think I will declare that I did 17 sets of PT!

On Friday I also delivered 14 sets, spread throughout the day, on top of 30 minutes of cardio on the bike.  I finished work at 6:30 pm, and Denise and I had a wonderful quiet dinner together.

I hope you each had a great MTM weekend, all 3200 of you !  Just picture 3200 linked arm-to-arm, cheering you on!!!

KT

Yo DaVita !!
It is 10:30 pm, I am in Washington DC. We had a great 24 hours!

When I landed yesterday I started with a meeting with Senator Bennet, discussing some of our kidney care policy issues. We have a lot of earned credibility with his office. Then I had a long dinner with Senator Gardner, discussing the same things. After that it was off to check into the hotel, do some PT, some email and go to bed.

This morning, Thursday, I set alarm for 6:15, or 4:15 my body time from Colorado. I started with the gym, I was so bummed when the two lifecycles were taken! But after 7 minutes on a treadmill one of the bikes opened up, and I did 19 minutes of solid cardio. Then I did some PT, and raced back to my room to shower and take off.

That is when THE GREAT DAY BEGAN. The House Ways and Means Committee passed our Integrated Care Bill !!!! This is like a dream, it passed overwhelmingly, this is the result of the great clinical outcomes you have generated, the emails you have sent, and our policy prescription thoughtfulness !! Now the bill goes to the full House floor, it is quite amazing that a narrow segment like our dialysis operation is getting this kind of legislative attention!

I had a great meeting with Todd Young, Congressman from Indiana, who is one of our leaders. Then with Senator Cassidy of Louisiana, a doctor who asked great questions. Then Senator Wyden of Oregon, who is passionate about improving chronic care. Then a lunch with John Lewis, American civil rights hero. Then Diane Black, congresswoman from Tennessee, who signed onto our bill today. Then Congressman Upton, who helped pass our bill thru the committee. Then Chairman Brady from Texas who was key to the bill advancing. Then dinner with Congressman Kramer, to talk about charitable premium assistance. Then a post-dinner meeting for 90 minutes with a member of our Board of Directors. I know I am forgetting a couple meetings, but you get the idea.

I did get some therapy in during the day! I had to lay down on the floor in one Congressional office, and one dining room, which drew a lot of stares, but I got it in.

Time for me to move to bed. I hope you all had great MTM days. This was a GREAT day for our village. The one opponent of our beautiful integrated care legislation, as he was trying to find anything substantive to say, exclaimed that “this is nothing but a DaVita bill!”. While that is not true, this is for a better kidney care community, it does reflect the fact that you are the unambiguous leaders of this reform effort.

Oh, btw, I did about 16 sets today, about 14 yesterday. I will get back to you with the details.

All the best !! KT

Yo DaVita !!
It is 11 pm in Washington DC. My day started at 5:30, a little earlier than usual because of an early meeting. I did 25 minutes of cardio and about 5 sets of PT, then had to run.

At 8 am I was presenting on the subject of Open Primaries with about 50 civic leaders of Colorado. It went well, and was exciting to do, I intensely believe in this cause.

That meeting ended early so I stopped to see my mommy on my way to the airport. I had not seen her for 8 days, that is a lot for us. She was in bed, she is 88 and has a lot of issues. I sat on the side of the bed and we held hands and talked and joked. She wanted to see how much I could move my arms now, and joked that she is more mobile than I am.

Off to the airport I went. As usual I did calls the entire drive, same as on my way to the morning event, same as on the drive to my mom’s nursing home. Also as usual I got great work done on the 3 hour flight. 90 minutes of email and paperwork, 75 minutes of working with a fellow DaVitan. 15 minutes of eating and talking.

Off the plane and into a car, conference calls for the drive into a 5:45 meeting with Senator Bennet of Colorado. We had a productive hour together, and then I was off to dinner with Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado. That went until 9:15. I went to my hotel, checked in, did 5 more sets of PT and then had a call with my wife and daughter. I did a bit of email, and now will read the paper and do a little more PT, and some meditation. Will let you know how much tomorrow!

I hope everyone else had a productive and fulfilling day. Thanks for your good work! So many of you are wonderful!

KT

Greetings to the Good People of the DaVita Village!

I hope you had a glorious Labor Day weekend, and achieved your MTM goals!  I had a strong one …

I maintained my 32 minutes of high intensity cardio lifecycle (not high intensity every minute, but most!) each day.  Also did the 45 minute brisk walk with my wife each day.  And my PT Points were 19, 26, 22, 24, 27 … backwards from Sunday to Wednesday.  Good stuff!  I am at 21 as of 7 pm today, Monday.   Meditation was about 8 minutes every day except yesterday which was zero.

I am also pleased to report I did very little work on Saturday and Sunday, other than family admin stuff and my Open Primaries Initiative.  Had lots of reading time, some good reflecting time.  We celebrated our 32^nd wedding anniversary yesterday, and I wrote up 32 special thoughts/memories from our 32 years.  We read them in sets of 5 until the last set of 7, the first set with a glass of wine sitting by the water before dinner, the second when we ate our salads, the third before the main course, etc.  It was wonderful!

Tomorrow am we get up and fly back to Denver.  I am so sad to leave our little cottage.  But back to work I go!  Look forward to working with you, look forward to achieving MTM goals with you, over 3200 teammates are cheering you on!!!!

One for All!   KT

Yo DaVita !

It is Friday afternoon, almost 6 pm here at our cottage in northern Wisconsin.

The bad news about today is I had to do more work than I hoped, about 3 hours.  Sigh.  Stuff happens.

The good news is I did a strong 30 minutes of cardio, I am slowly building myself back up.  Plus I have already done 21 sets of PT exercises.  Re-establishing ROM (range of motion) is one brutal thing given how long we had to wait after my surgery, but I am on it like a dog on a bone.  I also actually had a strong meditation session in the bathtub at 11:30 pm last night, so maybe I am building a little muscle in that area as well.  Speaking of little muscles, it feels so funny to be doing things like curls with 8 pound weights, it will take awhile to get the muscles back.

My Thursday # of PT sets was 24, another solid day.

I have not sufficiently moderated my eating and drinking to lose any weight over the last few days.  Not that one can ever achieve monumental weight loss in that period of time, but one can establish a certain amount of positive momentum.  I have not.  On the other hand, I have not created negative momentum either.

One of my calls today was about some new opportunities in Saudi Arabia. It is a fascinating place to do business, we are clearly improving clinical outcomes and patient experience.  We are also doing healthy things with respect to the role of women in the workplace, although that is going to be a long journey.

One of my other calls was about a Joint Venture we have with a hospital system.  That one is frustrating, they move so slowly it kills us.

Time for me to wrap up and take our daily 45 minute walk, with Denise.

I was able to respond to a few teammates a day or two ago.  I am eager for an update on our total numbers.  I love picturing 3000 of us, linked arm-to-arm, marching as one team towards a healthier life.  Let’s Do IT !!!!

respectfully, your Mayor, KT

Good Morning DaVita Village !

It is Thursday and I’m at our cottage in northern Wisconsin, unfortunately kind of a windy/chilly morning so far.  Oh well, good day for book reading and family administration, plus some personal journaling.   This is day 81 of my post-injury saga.  I put on a sweatshirt yesterday that I could not have put on a week ago!  Also can drink with my right hand, almost all the time, not just after a lot of therapy!

I do not know if my log is now entered and reasonably up to date on PT and cardio, etc. Let me give you the recent point tallies, these numbers are JUST my own PT set totals, they do not include any points for cardio, meditation, nor the actual sessions with my Physical Therapist (which separately count as 30 points).

Yesterday (27) – Back at cottage, a strong performance.  I had to dial back on some of the strengthening stuff, because I over-did it on Tuesday and could barely move my arm and shoulder Tuesday night.

Tuesday (19) – At home in Denver, pressed for time before work, given flight/dinner after work.  I am up to 8 lb weights on the curls, from 5 (feels so ridiculous to be doing such little weights, but it is amazing how quickly and extremely one’s muscles atrophy when they are totally unused for 6 weeks).

Monday (20) – Rushed session, had to leave home early for that day long arbitration.

Sunday (28) – Another strong weekend session.

Saturday (08 ) – Misleading as I had a session with my PT, so that would add 30 points by itself.

Friday (05) – Not misleading, I did poorly.  Normally I go ahead and do some PT exercises during meetings, people get used to it quickly and I think it can set a good example so others do the same when they are hurt – it is hard to do the right regimen unless you do some of it in meetings, when you are in meetings all day long as I am.  But on Friday I was just lazy.  Darn.

On to another health issue, I lost 12 pounds after the injury.  But it was virtually all muscle, my waist line did not budge an inch.  I have gained 4 back, and I fear it is not all muscle.  I still cannot get the intensity/duration of exercise that I did pre-injury, PT takes up a lot of time and does not burn many calories, and my long outside weekend bike rides are of course not happening now.  So I need to watch my discipline on the eating side, especially desserts.

I hope you are all having great MTM success!

One for all, KT

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