NEW HYDE PARK, N.Y., May 19, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Northwell Health (formerly North Shore-LIJ Health System) and DaVita Kidney Care, a division of DaVita HealthCare Partners (NYSE: DVA) today announced a new joint venture to serve thousands of patients in Queens and Long Island with integrated kidney care.

The joint venture between DaVita, which runs more than 2,300 outpatient dialysis centers in 11 countries, including the United States, and Northwell Health, New York state's largest health care provider and private employer, also includes plans for additional expansion in Staten Island over the coming years.

"Bringing together the resources of two high-quality health care providers like Northwell Health and DaVita will significantly enhance the services we'll be able to provide to kidney dialysis patients throughout the New York area," said Steven Fishbane, MD, chief of nephrology and vice president of dialysis services at Northwell Health, and medical director of the new dialysis network being established with DaVita. "It's a major development that will lead to new cutting-edge advancements in the delivery of nephrology services, including greater expansion of in-home dialysis services, which are currently limited to about 325 of the approximately 7,000 residents of Long Island and Queens receiving dialysis treatment."

"We have a shared vision for kidney care services that combines an exciting strategy, resources and cutting-edge services," said Javier Rodriguez, president and CEO of DaVita Kidney Care. "It will impact thousands of lives for years to come."

The joint venture will provide kidney care services in a multi-phased approach, including:

• Physician education and support
• Chronic kidney disease education
• Network of outpatient centers
• Hospital services             
• Vascular access
• Integrated care
• Clinical research
• Transplant services

As part of the first phase of the partnership, construction is ongoing on Nassau County's first freestanding home dialysis center at Cisney Avenue in Floral Park, which is scheduled to open later this year. Nurses at the new facility will instruct dialysis patients on how to use in-home dialysis equipment and also visit their homes regularly to ensure they are using it properly. It enables patients to care for themselves in the convenience and privacy of their own homes -- most patients require three weekly dialysis sessions. "Autonomy is important for our dialysis patients and greatly improves their quality of life," said Dr. Fishbane.

The new partnership between DaVita and Northwell will encourage more in-home treatment at the joint centers being opened throughout Long Island and Queens. DaVita and Northwell have already assumed joint ownership and operation of the DaVita Dialysis Center at 50 Seaview Blvd. in Port Washington. Later this year, two other existing DaVita facilities in Huntington Station and Syosset will also become part of the new joint venture. By year five, the joint venture should serve 1,200 patients in the area.

"This partnership with DaVita is the latest in a series of joint ventures that Northwell Health has signed to provide convenient, easy access to our continuum of care in communities throughout the metropolitan area, while leveraging the expertise of business partners like DaVita who have well-established reputations for their clinical leadership," said Michael Dowling, president and chief executive officer of Northwell Health.

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About Northwell Health
Northwell Health (formerly North Shore-LIJ Health System) is New York State's largest health care provider and private employer. With 21 hospitals and nearly 450 outpatient practices, we serve more than 1.8 million people annually in the metro New York area and beyond. Our 61,000 employees work to change health care for the better. We're making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institute. We're training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine and the School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. And we offer health insurance through CareConnect. For information on our services in more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu.

About DaVita Kidney Care
DaVita Kidney Care is a 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 dialysis services in the United States, DaVita Kidney Care treats patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. DaVita Kidney Care 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 March 31, 2016, DaVita Kidney Care operated or provided administrative services at 2,278 outpatient dialysis centers located in the United States serving approximately 180,000 patients. The company also operated 124 outpatient dialysis centers located in 10 countries outside the United States. DaVita Kidney Care 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.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. All statements that do not concern historical facts are forward-looking statements and include, among other things, statements about our expectations, beliefs, intentions and/or strategies for the future, including the prospective performance of or synergies created by the joint venture, anticipated and prospective growth of its business operations and the demand for its services, and the clinical outcomes that the joint venture and its partners might deliver. Factors which could impact future results include the risks and uncertainties associated with our ability to complete the formation of any joint venture that we might be considering or announce, or successfully operate or complete the development of any joint venture we may form or plan to grow, general economic and other local market conditions, competition, and the risk factors set forth in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, and subsequent quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements should be considered in light of these risks and uncertainties. We base our forward-looking statements on information currently available to us at the time of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of changes in underlying factors, new information, future events or otherwise.

Media Contacts: 
Terry Lynam/Northwell Health                                                                                              
516-321-6702/6701
tlynam@northwell.edu

Kevin Downey, DaVita
303-876-6600
kevin.downey@davita.com

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SOURCE DaVita HealthCare Partners