PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Vernon Hills, Ill. (June 25, 2007) – RMS Disease Management (the business name of RMS DM, LLC), the nation’s leading provider of kidney disease management services, announced today they became VillageHealth Disease Management (with a corresponding entity name change to VillageHealth DM, LLC), a name that highlights the organization’s team approach – creating a village of physicians, clinicians, and other health care teammates working together to enhance the care of patients with kidney disease.

“We remain committed to improving clinical outcomes and reducing medical expenses for patients with kidney disease, and our new name reflects our team approach to caring for patients,” said Andrew Hayek, President of VillageHealth Disease Management.

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) affects an estimated 20 million Americans, including more than 350,000 who have End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).  Patients with ESRD have an average of 14 hospital days per year, and while ESRD patients account for less than one percent of Medicare patients overall, they consume more than six percent of Medicare’s medical expenses.  The number of people with ESRD who are on dialysis in the United States is predicted to almost double by 2010. 

The VillageHealth Disease Management system of care – which provides care management for more than 5,000 kidney disease patients in 22 states – is designed to improve clinical outcomes and reduce medical expenses by ensuring a proactive management of the most common complications of kidney disease patients, including vascular access issues, infections, and fluid management. 

Care management has been proven to improve clinical outcomes, which in turn leads to below-average numbers of hospital admissions and hospital days for patients.  VillageHealth is committed to the highest levels of clinical quality and was the first renal disease management organization to achieve full accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

RMS DM, LLC was founded in 1996 to provide better coordination of care for patients with CKD. VillageHealth Disease Management is owned by DaVita Inc., the nation’s leading independent provider of kidney dialysis services.