The Vascular Access Center at the University of Tennessee Medical Center provides comprehensive vascular access care to Chronic Kidney Disease and End Stage Renal Disease patients throughout the region.

The center’s focus is to create a virtually seamless flow through the medical center.

Its goal is to provide you with a quality functional vascular access, as well as keeping you from missing dialysis treatments and having unnecessary hospitalizations. This will be achieved through a team approach between the vascular access coordinator, your dialysis clinic, your nephrologist and your vascular surgeon.

The center is committed to offer you the advances being made in the vascular access field and to provide these services to you as they become available.

The Heart Lung Vascular Institute at UT Medical Center is excited and proud to announce that UT vascular surgeons and the Vascular Access Center have well exceeded the National Goal for the Fistula First Initiative.

The goal of the Fistula First Initiative was developed to increase the appropriate use of AV fistulas for hemodialysis access. The Fistula First rate for the first and second quarter 2009 was 92%, surpassing the national goal of 66%. The Vascular Access Center is dedicated to insuring that every end stage renal disease patient receives the full benefits of its program and is committed to providing outstanding patient care at every level.