Davita Chairman is one of 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare

DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA), a leading provider of kidney care services for those diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD), today announced that Modern Healthcare Magazine, one of the nation's leading health care industry publications, named Kent Thiry, Chairman and CEO for DaVita(R), as one of the 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare in 2009.

Modern Healthcare's annual award recognizes the leaders and organizations that are considered among the most influential in the industry and aim to reshape our nation's health care system. The 100 winners were chosen by the readers of Modern Healthcare from among more than 25,700 nominations.

Thiry has ranked among the Modern Healthcare "Most Powerful" two years in a row and is the only kidney-care leader to make the list in 2009. Thiry leads more than 34,000 DaVita teammates (employees) nationwide, all working to provide superior patient care and exemplify the company's Mission and Core Values.

"This honor reflects the exceptional work that our teammates do every day to improve patients' lives," Thiry said. "Our teammates deliver ground-breaking innovative care through Village Health and DaVita Rx and are vocal advocates for kidney patients in Washington, DC, and in state capitols across the nation."

In addition to consistently setting industry benchmarks for clinical outcomes, DaVita is a pioneer in the area of corporate social responsibility. DaVita has developed more than 30 philanthropic, community and social programs to support the company's "Trilogy of Care" - caring for our patients, caring for our teammates, and caring for the world. DaVita launched its first annual Community Care report in June 2009 by hosting 10 community service projects across the country.

http://www.davita.com