Press Releases

New WellBound Self-Care Dialysis Center Opens in Evanston, Illinois

Satellite Healthcare, Inc. Continues Strategic Nationwide Expansion with First Free-Standing Home Dialysis Program in Illinois

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, October 16, 2007 – WellBound, the first company focused exclusively on providing pre-dialysis wellness education and supporting the full spectrum of self-care dialysis therapies, today announced the official opening of WellBound of Evanston, the company’s 12th specialized self-care dialysis center.   Located in Evanston, IL, this program is a partnership between WellBound and the nephrologists of the Evanston Northwestern Healthcare (ENH) Medical Group, all of whom serve on the faculty at Northwestern University.  The new “Center of Excellence” will support the ENH nephrologists, as well as other community nephrologists, in providing patients with innovative self-care dialysis therapies in combination with kidney disease education. 

“WellBound is working to expand its successful home dialysis programs throughout the country, and today we are delighted to open our first free-standing home dialysis center in the state of Illinois,” said Marc Branson, WellBound’s chief executive officer.  “We are excited to assist our physician partners in Evanston by extending their impressive chronic kidney disease (CKD) capabilities.  Together, we will deliver innovative self-care dialysis programs that further empower CKD patients to take control of their health and experience improved clinical and quality of life benefits.”
 
With its track-record of successfully developing self-care dialysis programs, WellBound is uniquely positioned to expand the adoption of home dialysis therapies in Evanston and the greater Chicago area.  This represents a significant need in light of the expanding body of scientific evidence that demonstrates that patients who receive more frequent and longer dialysis associated with self-care therapies achieve superior clinical outcomes and enhanced quality of life as compared to those that do not. 

WellBound of Evanston will provide patients in surrounding communities with access to the complete spectrum of self-care therapies including all forms of daily home hemodialysis (short daily and long nocturnal), continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), and continuous cycler peritoneal dialysis (CCPD).  Additionally, the company will offer patients individualized self-care therapy training programs, while also providing them with innovative CKD wellness classes on topics including controlling blood pressure, stress management, exercise, nutrition, decreasing risks of cardiovascular disease and diabetes care.

“We believe that the innovative home dialysis therapies and services delivered by WellBound, including their patient wellness education programs, are the ideal complement to the high-level of care we currently provide our patients,” said Kevin Nash, M.D., a member of the Division of Nephrology at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, and medical director of the new WellBound Evanston center.  “By teaming up with WellBound, we will offer our patients comprehensive CKD services unmatched in Northeast Chicago.”

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 demonstrates that more frequent, more consistent dialysis associated with home dialysis 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
WellBound a partner of Satellite Healthcare, an innovative leader in the dialysis community.  As the first company focused exclusively on the full continuum of self-care dialysis options, WellBound frees chronic kidney disease patients from in-center dialysis treatment regimens by offering multiple "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.

WellBound has established twelve "Centers of Excellence" and is actively engaged in expanding its network of self-care dialysis programs to deliver wellness education and the full spectrum of self-care dialysis options, including peritoneal dialysis and daily home hemodialysis. To learn more about WellBound, a partner of Satellite Healthcare, Inc., please visit www.satellitehealth.com/wellbound or contact the company directly at 1.800.476.5450.

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