Dialyze Direct Acquires Renew Dialysis, Adding Virginia to Its SNF Footprint

Dialyze Direct, already the nation’s leading provider of hemodialysis services in skilled nursing facilities, shows no signs of slowing as it’s poised to enter states in 2022.

The national provider now in 13 states and 130 SNFs across the country, announced this week that it acquired Renew Dialysis, a regional provider of on-site dialysis with eight locations in Ohio and one in Virginia.

Already incentivized to add specialty services during the switch to the Patient-Driven Payment Model in 2019, in-house dialysis continues to be one of the fastest growing service lines for skilled nursing facilities. Furthermore, the pandemic only compounded the need for SNFs to attract and accept a sicker patient population, though location continues to be key in the expansion of these services.

The acquisition announced this week further solidifies Dialyze Direct’s position in the Ohio market and expands its national footprint to Virginia.

“We have big expansion plans system-wide for the upcoming year,” Dialyze Direct President and Co-Founder Josh Rothenberg told Skilled Nursing News. “The industry showed an enormous need for our unique patient-centric model and it’s only been exacerbated by the pandemic.”

He expected the momentum for in-house dialysis in SNFs to continue in 2022 in part because demand is rising throughout several markets, but also because the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) continues to focus on expanding in-house, staff-assisted home dialysis in the nursing home.

“We are looking to double our nursing home presence in the next year,” he added.

Dialyze Direct acquired Renew Dialysis from Saber Healthcare Group as the deal isn’t the first time it partnered with a large regional skilled nursing operator.

In 2019, it partnered with Signature HealthCARE, adding its services to select locations among the company’s 10-state footprint at the time.

Earlier that same year, it also agreed to provide services to a handful of facilities at what was then HCR ManorCare, part of the ProMedica Health System.

“Renew Dialysis is a patient-focused provider and we decided that Dialyze Direct is the right partner to take our patient care model to the next level due to their leadership in the SNF home dialysis market, their extensive hospital and payor relationships and their national scale,” Nola McMullen, Renew’s chief operating officer, said in a news release. “This will benefit our patients and meet the unique needs of today’s underserved market.”