Denver-based DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. plans to expand its kidney care and integrated health care services to Brazil, officials announced Wednesday.
As a result of the move, DaVita’s global presence grows to 11 countries. DaVita first expanded outside the United States in 2011 via a management contract in Singapore.
“We are hoping to build a multibillion-dollar international business in the years to come,” said Kent Thiry, CEO of the Fortune 500 company that operates dialysis centers and manages physicians networks.
More than 110,000 Brazilians are on dialysis, and that number is on the rise, according to DaVita.
Thiry did not have a timeline for when DaVita would have centers up and running in Brazil. The first steps, he said, include contacting the local nephrology industry, hospitals, government agencies and insurance companies.
DaVita has been in steady expansion mode. The company recently announced plans to acquire dialysis services company for $415 million and establish a specialty . Last week, DaVita’s medical network division HealthCare Partners announced the planned , a physicians group that operates in 20 sites and serves 315,000 people in the Seattle area.
“We think health care service is going to consolidate globally as it is (consolidating) domestically, and we’re eager to be a part of that,” Thiry said.
Alicia Wallace: 303-954-1939, awallace@denverpost.com or @aliciawallace
