DaVita Inc. , a leading provider of kidney care services for those diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD), today commended Kidney Care Partners for launching the Performance Excellence and Accountability in Kidney Care (PEAK) campaign. Kidney Care Partners - a coalition of patient advocates, dialysis professionals, care providers and manufacturers working together to improve quality of care for individuals with CKD - designed the project to significantly reduce the high mortality rate for patients in their first year of dialysis.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020729/DAVITALOGO)

Due to complexities involved in starting dialysis - including dietary changes, vascular access management and adjusting to a regular treatment schedule, among many other factors - patients are at their most susceptible to complications during their initial transition to dialysis. PEAK is a quality improvement campaign pledging to extend, even save, as many as 10,000 lives and reduce mortality among first-year dialysis patients by 20 percent by the end of 2012.

"The kidney care community has achieved wonderful and demonstrable quality improvements in the last 10 years, and PEAK is now being launched to help us achieve the same in the next 10 years," said Kent Thiry, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DaVita®. "When dialysis patients are at their most vulnerable, PEAK will work with leading researchers and experts to provide recommendations on care and education necessary to help make a difference in the lives of countless patients and their families. DaVita applauds the work of all members of Kidney Care Partners and looks forward to working together to provide even better outcomes for new dialysis patients."

As part of DaVita's commitment to continuous quality improvement, the company recently announced similar efforts with the company's IMPACT™ (Incident Management of Patients, Actions Centered on Treatment) pilot program. In a study presented at the National Kidney Foundation's Spring Clinical Meeting in Nashville, TN, DaVita researchers detailed how the IMPACT patient care model educates and manages dialysis patients within the first 90 days of treatment, when they are most unstable and are at highest risk. Data reflects a reduction in annualized mortality rates by eight percent for IMPACT patients compared with non-IMPACT patients in the DaVita network.

DaVita and IMPACT are trademarks or registered trademarks of DaVita Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About DaVita Inc.

DaVita Inc., a FORTUNE 500® company, is a leading provider of kidney care in the United States, providing dialysis services and education for patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. Recognized as the only FORTUNE 500® company on WorldBlu's annual List of Most Democratic Work Places™, DaVita manages more than 1,475 outpatient facilities and acute units in more than 700 hospitals located in 43 states and the District of Columbia, serving approximately 114,000 patients - nearly one-in-three of all dialysis patients in the United States. As part of DaVita's commitment to building a healthy, caring community, DaVita develops, participates in and donates to numerous programs dedicated to transforming communities and creating positive, sustainable change for children, families and our environment. For more information about DaVita, its kidney education materials and its community programs, please visit www.davita.com.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: LeAnne.Zumwalt@davita.com

SOURCE: DaVita Inc.