Tour DaVita helps raise $0.9M to support 2012 Bridge of Life

DaVita®, a division of DaVita HealthCare Partners, Inc. (NYSE: DVA) and a leading provider of kidney care services announced that its annual charity bike ride, Tour DaVita®, raised $900,000 to support Bridge of Life—DaVita Medical Missions^TM in 2012.

The proceeds from Tour DaVita will help fund nine medical missions taking place in 2013 where Bridge of Life volunteers will be able to install or repair 112 dialysis machines. Through these missions, Bridge of Life will bring dialysis treatment to more than 600 people in communities that otherwise would not have access to this life-sustaining care.

"Tour DaVita participants collectively rode 70,000 miles, which means that for every four miles a rider completed Bridge of Life can provide a dialysis treatment to someone at one of our partnering clinics - someone's loved one will receive a second chance at life," said Lori Vaclavik, executive director for Bridge of Life—DaVita Medical Missions. "We are proud of all the riders and sponsors who made this gift possible. Because of them, people will live."

More than 470 participants each pedaled approximately 250 miles over the course of three days in Iowa Sept. 16-18. The ride kicked off in scenic Wilder Park in Allison, Iowa, continuing on through the rolling hills of the American Heartland - all in the effort to raise awareness and funds in the fight against CKD.

Since it started in 2007, Tour DaVita has helped raise nearly $5 million in the fight against kidney disease. Participants have collectively ridden 420,000 miles over the years, challenging themselves and their fellow riders to go as far as possible.

DaVita thanks the sponsors who made this gift of life possible, including ASD Healthcare, Cigna, Baxter, NxStage, Office Depot, Golden Construction, Henry Schein, Promotional Images, KPMG, Pentec Health, and Tata Consultancy Services.

Life-saving dialysis is not available in most of the developing world. Currently there are 112 countries that do not have resources for dialysis or kidney transplants, which directly results in the death of more than one million people a year from kidney failure. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognize CKD as a major public health problem that not only reduces the quality and length of life, but is also expensive to treat.