DaVita Inc. , today announced that Allen Nissenson, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.S.N. Professor of Medicine; Associate Dean; Director, Dialysis Program, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA has been appointed Chief Medical Officer effective August 1, 2008.

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

Kent Thiry, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are very excited to have Allen expand his role with DaVita. Allen has been working with us the past few years on a consulting basis and has been instrumental in our VillageHealth initiative. He is an outstanding choice for the CMO role as his career and research interests have focused on the quality of care for chronic kidney disease patients including issues of healthcare delivery and economics."

"After 31 years at UCLA I will be retiring, effective August 1, 2008. I will continue as an Emeritus Professor of Medicine, but more importantly I will be starting in a new and exciting position as Chief Medical Officer of DaVita Inc. This is a great opportunity for me to expand my efforts to improve the lives of patients with kidney disease, working with 31,000 DaVita teammates who care for approximately 108,000 patients on dialysis, by building on the many innovative DaVita programs for ESRD and CKD patients," stated Dr. Nissenson.

In addition to Dr. Nissenson's extensive academic achievements and appointments he is very active in the Nephrology Community serving on many professional organizations. Dr. Nissenson is a former President of the Renal Physicians Association and serves on the RPA Board of Directors as a special advisor to the current President. He is the Immediate Past President of the National Anemia Action Council (NAAC) and the Southern California End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Network. He has consulted for the Rand Corporation, Pacificare, the National Institutes of Health, the National Kidney Foundation, among other organizations.

Dr. Nissenson served as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow of the Institute of Medicine in 1994-5, working in the office of the late Senator Paul Wellstone. He has served as a member of the Advisory Group overseeing the entire Dialysis Outcomes Quality Initiative of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF-DOQI).

He has published over 440 articles in the field of nephrology, dialysis and health care delivery and policy and is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Hemodialysis International the official journal of the International Society for Hemodialysis, as well as Medscape Nephrology, an innovate website focused on nephrology.

DaVita Inc. 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 over 1,300 outpatient facilities and acute units in over 700 hospitals located in 43 states and the District of Columbia, serving more than 107,000 patients.

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

SOURCE: DaVita Inc.