Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Natalie Cole appeared last night on CNN's "Larry King Live" and discussed her battle with kidney failure and her "wonderful" experience receiving dialysis treatments at a dialysis facility owned and operated by DaVita Inc. , a leading provider of kidney care services for those diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

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

"There's a wonderful facility that I go to called DaVita. There's a gentleman named Kent Thiry who founded this organization some - a little a little while ago," said Cole in her discussion with King. "I've just met him very recently. There's now 1,400 of these [DaVita] facilities around the country...I mean there are so many people that are in some form of -- are having some form of dialysis around the country. It's amazing. It's like almost half a million people now."

Cole has been undergoing regular dialysis treatments three times per week, enabling her to continue her career and even go on tour to promote her newest album, Still Unforgettable. From the transcript of her appearance on "Larry King Live," she said: "I have a wonderful team of people at my facility here in Los Angeles that I tell them where I'm going and they make phone calls and make appointments. And it's really quite amazing. I have been on dialysis in Istanbul, Milan, Indonesia, Manila, London. It's -- it's amazing. It's really fascinating."

Chronic kidney disease is a silent epidemic affecting 26 million adult Americans - 90 percent of whom do not know they are at risk. DaVita® provides life-saving treatments to 1 in 4 Americans undergoing dialysis, a process for patients with kidneys that are no longer able to clean toxins and waste product from their blood.

DaVita is a registered trademark of DaVita Inc. All 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. DaVita manages more than 1,400 outpatient facilities and acute units in more than 700 hospitals located in 43 states and the District of Columbia, serving approximately 110,000 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 materials, and its community programs, please visit www.davita.com.

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

SOURCE: DaVita Inc.