DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 27, 2013-- DaVita®, a division of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc.(NYSE: DVA) and a leading provider of kidney care services, today announced that the seventh annual Tour DaVita® – a three-day, 220-mile bike ride to raise awareness and funds for the fight against kidney disease – will kick off on September 15 at the Cherokee Youth Sports Complex inGaffney, S.C.

“We see Tour DaVita as not only a way to celebrate our teammates and the care they provide patients each day, but also a vehicle to raise awareness of kidney disease and funds for kidney disease programs,” said DaVita Chief Wisdom Officer Steve Priest, director of the event. “The ride continues to grow every year because of our teammates’ and sponsors’ dedication to the fight against kidney disease.”

Tour DaVita 2013 boasts the highest ever rider participation in the history of the event with more than 600 DaVita teammates, dialysis patients, physicians, sponsors, family members and friends of the company taking part. The event has the following itinerary for 2013:

Along the way, riders will pass through Brattonsville and McConnells on day one; Lockhart, Buffalo, West Springs and Enoree on day two; and Piedmont, Golden Grove, Pelzer and Pendleton on day three.

To participate in Tour DaVita, riders each raise a minimum of $750 to $2,000 in donations and pay their own travel expenses. Their individual fundraising combined with donations from DaVita and other corporate sponsorship is expected to contribute more than $700,000 to The Kidney TRUST™, a 501(c)(3) independent nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce the progression of chronic kidney disease through no-cost, rapid screening in non-medical settings.

More than 100 Tour DaVita participants have signed up to have their kidneys screened at no cost by The Kidney TRUST during this year’s event.

Tour DaVita, which is organized by Backroads, the “world’s #1 active travel company™”, has previously taken place in Tennessee/Alabama (2007), Wisconsin (2008), Michigan (2009),Washington State (2010), Connecticut/New York/Massachusetts (2011) and Iowa (2012).

To date, Tour DaVita has helped raise more than $4 million for nonprofits dedicated to raising awareness for kidney disease and expanding access to dialysis care in developing countries. Participants have collectively ridden more than 433,000 miles over the six years the ride has taken place, challenging themselves and their fellow riders to go as far as possible.

Corporate sponsors for this year’s Tour DaVita include Amgen, ASD Healthcare, Baxter International Inc., Golden Construction Development Company, Inc. and NxStage Medical, Inc.

For more information about the seventh annual Tour DaVita, please visit tourdavita.org. For more information about The Kidney TRUST, please visit kidneytrust.org. For more information on Backroads, please visit backroads.com.

DaVita and Tour DaVita are registered trademarks of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About DaVita

DaVita is the dialysis division of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., a Fortune 500® company that, through its operating divisions, provides a variety of health care services to patient populations throughout the United States and abroad. A leading provider of kidney care in the United States, DaVita delivers dialysis services to patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. DaVita strives to improve patients’ quality of life by innovating clinical care, and by offering integrated treatment plans, personalized care teams and convenient health-management services. As of June 30, 2013, DaVita operated or provided administrative services at 2,010 outpatient dialysis centers located in the United States serving approximately 159,000 patients. The company also operates 48outpatient dialysis centers located in ten countries outside the United States. DaVita supports numerous programs dedicated to creating positive, sustainable change in communities around the world. The company’s leadership development initiatives and social responsibility efforts have been recognized by Fortune, Modern Healthcare, Newsweek and WorldBlu. For more information, please visit DaVita.com.

About The Kidney TRUST

Founded in 2006, the Kidney TRUST is a national non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the human and economic cost of kidney disease. The Kidney TRUST is focused on increasing awareness of chronic kidney disease (CKD) through public education and early-detection testing programs so that progression of CKD to kidney failure can be delayed or prevented. The Kidney TRUST is also developing innovative solutions to address the critical unmet needs of people with CKD. Visitwww.kidneytrust.org for more information.

Source: DaVita

DaVita
Bianca Violante, 303-876-6614
bianca.violante@davita.com