Press Releases

WellBound Opens New Self-Care Dialysis Facility in Northern California

Santa Rosa Unit is Company’s Fifth Self-Care Center of Excellence

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, March 7, 2006 – WellBound, the first company focused exclusively on supporting the full spectrum of self-care dialysis therapies, today announced the official opening of its fifth and latest specialized self-care dialysis facility.   Located in Santa Rosa, CA, this “Center of Excellence” will support nephrologists from surrounding communities in providing patients with kidney disease education along with innovative self-care dialysis therapies.
 
“We are very excited to bring this new home dialysis facility to the community,” said Marc Branson, WellBound’s chief executive officer.  “Together with our physician partners, we are striving to empower patients with kidney disease to take control of their health in order to achieve the benefits associated with self-care dialysis.”

There is an expanding body of scientific evidence that demonstrates that patients who receive more frequent and longer dialysis achieve superior clinical outcomes and enhanced quality of life as compared to those that do not.  WellBound’s patient-friendly centers ensure optimal patient care by combining a focus on wellness and education with innovative self-care therapies that provide more frequent dialysis. 

“Every day, we see patients experiencing the dramatic quality of life benefits associated with the combination of proactive wellness education and self-care dialysis,” stated Mr. Branson.  “These outcomes are made possible not only through the education programs we provide and the innovative therapies we support, but also the robust support services that we offer to nephrologists and their patients.”

WellBound provides its physician partners with a high degree of clinical support. These comprehensive support services are provided by WellBound's dedicated team of self-care dialysis medical professionals and include:

1. Early education programs addressing kidney transplantation, dialysis therapy options, and vascular access planning
2. Patient wellness programs focused on high blood pressure, stress management, exercise, nutrition and diabetes care
3. Training programs for all forms of self-care dialysis
4. Clinical care coordination services delivered by certified nephrology nurses
5. 24/7 patient care telephone support

“Nephrology Associates partnered with Wellbound because their comprehensive approach enables us to provide better care for our patients,” said Benjamin Fritz, M.D., medical director of the new WellBound Santa Rosa center.  “Wellbound offers our kidney disease patients greatly expanded educational programs in wellness and dialysis options, as well as personalized training in home dialysis therapies.”

About Self-Care Dialysis
The term self-care dialysis refers to those dialysis therapies which patients are able to self-administer outside the confines of hemodialysis centers, including peritoneal dialysis and all types of home hemodialysis.  A growing collection of clinical research clearly demonstrates that the more frequent, more consistent dialysis associated with self-care provides patients with improved health outcomes such as improved mortality rates and reduced hospitalizations.  Home dialysis also offers significant quality of life advantages including greater convenience, more flexible schedules, and fewer fluid and dietary restrictions.

About WellBound
Founded in 2003, WellBound is an affiliate of dialysis industry leader Satellite Healthcare.  As the first company focused exclusively on the full continuum of self-care dialysis options, WellBound frees chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients from in-center dialysis treatment regimens by offering multiple, state-of-the-art "self-care" treatment options. The company's unique expertise in personalized self-care training and patient wellness facilitates a higher quality of life and improved clinical outcomes for CKD patients, while enabling physicians to offer a new, superior level of care.

The company has established five operational self-care dialysis facilities and is actively engaged in launching a network of WellBound "Centers of Excellence" designed to deliver the full spectrum of self-care dialysis options, including peritoneal dialysis and daily home hemodialysis. To learn more about WellBound, please visit www.wellbound.com or contact the company directly at 1.800.476.5450.

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Contacts:
WellBound
Marc Branson
(650) 404-3613

Vida Communication
Stephanie Diaz
(415) 675-7400
Tim Brons (media)
(415) 675-7402