EDITOR’S NOTE – Mary Jo Kerlin, PR & marketing coordinator for Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital provided us with this press release.
Lincoln City, OR – Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital and DaVita Inc. have entered into a joint venture to provide dialysis services in Lincoln City. The dialysis center is anticipated to open later this summer in an existing medical building located west of the hospital campus.
“This is a big milestone for our community,” said Lesley Ogden, MD, Chief Executive Officer of Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital and Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital. “I am thrilled beyond words that we are partnering with a company that has such an excellent reputation and has the means to ensure that dialysis can be a viable service here in Lincoln City.”
“This partnership is a momentous accomplishment. The new Lincoln City dialysis center will bring DaVita quality to an under-served area of the Oregon coast,” said Gerry Argue, Division Vice President at DaVita. “We are thrilled and honored to partner with Samaritan Health, an organization that is committed to enhancing care for both the chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease populations they serve.”
Dialysis is a life-sustaining treatment for people with end-stage kidney disease. A typical treatment involves spending three to five hours, three days a week, connected to a hemodialysis machine that filters toxins, waste and fluids from the patient’s body. Dialysis centers are located throughout the region, including Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital in Newport.
“Dialysis is a time-intense procedure – not only the time spent attached to the unit but the time spent driving to and from the treatment center,” Dr. Ogden explained. “Having dialysis locally will certainly be a blessing for so many in our community.”
Once the clinic becomes operational this summer, it will be the first time in eight years that dialysis has been available in Lincoln City. It will be located at 2817 NE West Devils Lake Road, which is the same location where previous dialysis centers have operated.
The location is “turn-key ready for operations,” Dr. Ogden said. After the Gresham-based Dialysis Centers of Oregon closed its Lincoln City site in June 2010, Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital continually maintained and monitored the building, its water supply and equipment to the highest federal certification standards.
As stipulated under the contracts, which were signed on Feb. 15, Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital will act as the landlord of the property while DaVita will oversee staffing and operations.
Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital is a critical access hospital serving the residents and visitors of north Lincoln County since 1968. It is affiliated with Samaritan Health Services, a not-for-profit regional health system of hospitals, physician clinics and health insurance plans covering the mid-Willamette Valley and central Oregon Coast. Visit samhealth.org for more information.
DaVita Kidney Care is a division of DaVita 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 Dec. 31, 2017, DaVita Kidney Care operated or provided administrative services at 2,510 outpatient dialysis centers located in the United States serving approximately 198,000 patients. The company also operated 237 outpatient dialysis centers located in 11 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, visit DaVita.com.
