DaVita Inc. announced that the Uptown Dialysis center located in Touro Hospital in New Orleans is due to reopen Wednesday, October 19. The facility was closed due to Hurricane Katrina. DaVita, the largest independent provider of dialysis services in the United States provides treatments to approximately 1200 patients and employs 325 teammates in the New Orleans area.

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Uptown Dialysis is located on the fourth floor of Touro Hospital. While the center sustained no damage due to the hurricane, the opening was delayed until Touro Hospital reopened.

Uptown Dialysis is a twenty station dialysis facility that can accommodate up to 120 patients. It will be open for two Monday-Wednesday-Friday shifts and additional shifts and days will be added as patients return to the area.

Patients should call Uptown Dialysis at 504-897-8530 to resume their treatment schedule or call DaVita's Guest Services Hotline at 800-400-8331 for more information.

DaVita is a leading provider of dialysis services for patients suffering from chronic kidney failure. DaVita operates and provides administrative services to kidney dialysis centers and home peritoneal dialysis programs domestically in 41 states, as well as Washington, D.C. As of October 1, 2005, DaVita operated or provided administrative services at 1,200 outpatient centers serving approximately 94,000 patients.

SOURCE: DaVita Inc.