Why Miami's Health District Has Big Mo

MIAMI—Major health care companies are filling in Miami's growing Health District. DaVita is the latest to ink a lease at the University of Miami Life Science & Technology Park (UMLSTP).

DaVita, a Fortune 500 company, will occupy 20,000 square feet of office and clinical space within the fifth floor of UMLSTP. In doing so, the national dialysis provider is strengthening its ties with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine's Division of Interventional Nephrology.

DaVita execs point to number of factors that led it to choose UMLSTP for its next South Florida center. These include the park's location within the Health District and close proximity to downtown Miami, its modern design and amenities, LEED Gold status, and access to public transportation.

“Our alignment with the University of Miami represents a critical link between a major clinical provider serving patients on a daily basis and the medical professionals engaged in advancing science," says Bryan Davis, regional operations director for DaVita. “This is an exciting opportunity to expand our access to patients, strengthen our relationships with the hospitals and providers in the Miami Health District within a world-class biotech building in the heart of Miami.”

DaVita's lease brings the park's first building to 75% occupancy. The building offers
wet and dry labs, office space, and development suites. DaVita joins a growing roster of national and international science, healthcare and technology companies that call the park home. These include Advanced Pharma CR, LLC, Community Blood Centers of South Florida, the University of Miami Tissue Bank, Binder Biomedical, Glycom, Cirle, and Specialty Telehealth Services.

“The Miller School of Medicine, a pioneer of academic interventional nephrology in the United States and worldwide, will be providing vascular access care to the dialysis patients that DaVita serves,” says Dr. Loay Salman, director of Interventional Nephrology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine's Division of Nephrology and Hypertension. Through DaVita's alliance with the University of Miami, members of the school's Division of Interventional Nephrology will be on hand to collect and analyze patient data that will contribute to ongoing studies related to kidney disease and other related ailments.

DaVita currently operates 44 facilities in South Florida and is continuously expanding its services to meet the needs of the region's patient population. Nationally, the company serves approximately 153,000 patients at 1,954 outpatient centers.