DaVita Inc., a leading provider of kidney care services for those diagnosed with chronic kidney disease and failure (CKD), today announced that its third annual "Kidney Awareness Time™" Walk-a-thon (KAT Walks™) will kick-off June 29, 2008 in Virginia Beach, Va. DaVita KAT Walks Across America™ are a series of 5k walks that seek to raise awareness about the 26 million American adults affected by CKD and encourage at-risk people to get tested.

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DaVita® expects about 13,000 walkers in 20 cities across the U.S. to participate in this year's event, raising an estimated $1.5 million to help fight CKD. Each 5k walk represents about 16,900 steps; when all of the walks are completed, the total distance traveled will be about 337,900 steps -- roughly equivalent to the number of Americans receiving dialysis treatment today. Proceeds from KAT Walks Across America will benefit The Kidney TRUST™, an independent public charity founded by DaVita Inc. to increase awareness about kidney disease through public education and testing programs so that the progression of CKD to kidney failure can be delayed or prevented.

"Twenty-six million American adults have chronic kidney disease and 90 percent of them don't even know it because early-stage CKD rarely has symptoms," said Stephen Cadby, event director of the KAT Walks. "That's why we walk -- to let people know of the importance of getting tested now, rather than discover they have the disease when they need dialysis or a transplant."

The KAT Walks tour includes stops in Boston, Detroit and Los Angeles, and concludes in Orlando on Dec. 7. Open to the public, each walk will also offer free CKD evaluation and screening courtesy of The Kidney TRUST. Complete details, including a list of cities, locations and downloadable registration forms are available online at http://www.davitakatwalks.com/.

DaVita, KAT Walk, Kidney Awareness Time and The 2008 DaVita KAT Walks Across America are trademarks or registered trademarks of DaVita Inc. All other trademarks are 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. DaVita manages more than 1,300 outpatient facilities and acute units in more than 700 hospitals located in 43 states and the District of Columbia, serving approximately 107,000 patients. 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 and its community programs, please visit http://www.davita.com/.

About The Kidney TRUST

The Kidney TRUST was founded in 2006 by DaVita Inc. The Kidney TRUST is an independent, non-profit organization that believes everyone should be empowered to take a proactive role in their health. Toward that end, The Kidney TRUST is seeking to reduce the advancement of chronic kidney disease (CKD) by broadly deploying cost-effective rapid-screening for CKD in non-medical settings, and providing financial assistance to people affected by CKD. For more information, visit https://www.kidneytrust.org/.

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SOURCE: DaVita Inc.