DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DaVita®, a division of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. (NYSE: DVA) and a leading provider of kidney care services, today announced a collaboration in the Yangpu District of Shanghai, China, with the aim of improving dialysis patients’ quality of life while controlling or minimizing medical expenses. With the support of the district government and approval of the health bureau, DaVita and Shanghai Yangpu Antu Hospital are establishing a Renal Dialysis Technology Collaboration Base at the 400-bed hospital.

Under the agreement, DaVita will provide consultation services to the public hospital on advanced management processes for its renal outpatient visits and dialysis treatments. Additionally, DaVita and the hospital will upgrade clinic technology, expand the number of dialysis stations, and bring its industry-leading quality of care and resulting clinical outcomes to the hospital.

“In support of Chinese health care reform, DaVita’s objective is to pilot a sustainable, cost-effective and high-quality renal care and dialysis network with Antu Hospital and within the Yangpu District,” said Atul Mathur, president of DaVita’s Asia-Pacific operations. “We anticipate this collaboration will serve as a model for other communities in China.”

The arrangement provides DaVita a platform for research aimed at improving patient health outcomes and maximizing cost effectiveness for the Chinese health care system.

“The end stage renal disease population in China is the ultimate beneficiary of this collaboration,” said Dennis Kogod, DaVita’s chief operating officer. “Not only does it promote health care quality improvement, safety and therapeutic effectiveness, we believe it will minimize medical expenses and lead to overall quality of life improvement for patients.”

Last year DaVita entered China with a joint venture deal with 3sBio Inc., a leading Chinese biotechnology developer of biopharmaceutical products, providing dialysis treatments in northeastern China.

DaVita and DaVita HealthCare Partners are trademarks or 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 September 30, 2013, DaVita operated or provided administrative services at 2,042 outpatient dialysis centers located in the United States serving approximately 166,000 patients. The company also operated 66 outpatient 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.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements related to anticipated and prospective growth of certain of our international ventures and the clinical outcomes that they will deliver. Factors which could impact future results include the risks and uncertainties associated with expansion of our operations and services to markets outside the United States, including local governmental regulations, general economic and other market conditions, competition, and the other applicable risk factors set forth in our SEC filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, 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.