DaVita Houston Teammate Receives Department of Defense Patriot Award

HOUSTON—DaVita  announced that Dave Blank, military veteran and regional operations director for DaVita, received the Department of Defense Patriot Award for his work to support military veterans and those in the armed forces reserves.

Harris Soofi, a dialysis nurse for the Army Reserves and DaVita’s Northstar Clinic, nominated Blank for his unique engagement with the military community as part of DaVita’s company-wide efforts to become a top military-friendly employer in the U.S.

“Blank represents a fine tradition of supporting our nation’s troops,” said Soofi. “We recognize his leadership and continued commitment at DaVita to making sure service members have what they need to transition back and forth between their civilian and military careers.”

The Patriot Award is given to supervisors and bosses nominated by a guardsman or reservist employee for support provided directly to the nominator, including flexible schedules, time off prior to and after deployment, caring for families, and granting leaves of absence if needed.

DaVita currently hires military veterans and spouses through memberships in programs like Milicruit’s 10,000 Job Challenge and Military Spouse Employment Partnerships. When active duty calls, DaVita supports its reserve and guard members through the Star Troopers Program, continued health care coverage and the DaVita Village Network, which can provide up to $5,000 in financial assistance each year. There are also options for paid military leave.

DaVita’s Village Veterans team, made up of company leaders who are military veterans, also assists in the on-boarding process for new hires through a mentorship model that allows teammates to ask for advice and help as well as general questions to assist in making their transition successful.

DaVita has received numerous awards for its military-friendly employment efforts including Best For Vets Employers by Military Times Edge Magazine (2010, 2011 and 2012), GI Jobs Top 100 Military Friendly Employers (2010, 2011 and 2012) and Most Valuable Employer Military by civilianjobs.com (2011 and 2012).

The Northstar DaVita Dialysis Center serves Harris County. For more information, please call (281) 448-4506 or visit them at 380 W. Little York Road, Houston, TX 77076.