NOVI, Mich. (WXYZ) — The DaVita Dialysis Center in Novi is set to reopen on Thursday after being closed for more than a week for a state investigation.
Watch our past coverage on the investigation below
Novi police began their investigation last week, but later concluded it finding no evidence of suspicious activity, foul play or criminal contact. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services then took over and was handling the matter as a public health investigation.
A 72-year-old woman from Livonia died after receiving treatment at the center earlier this month. Multiple others were hospitalized, including one patient who was in the intensive care unit.
In a statement Tuesday, the company said the Novi Dialysis Center would reopen to patients on Thursday, July 2 following the temporary closure.
"We are proud to serve the Novi community, and the safety and well-being of our patients remain our highest priority. During the temporary closure, multiple third-party entities conducted comprehensive evaluations of center operations, including biomedical equipment reviews and water quality testing. Those reviews are complete and found no issues with the center’s systems or operations. We are confident in the care provided at our center and in our ability to continue delivering safe, high-quality treatment," the statement said.
Watch our previous report about the death and illnesses below:
"Dialysis really is a complex system. It relies on not only industries, suppliers, the city, the individual center," Larry Greenberg, DO, a nephrologist who has treated patients with kidney disease for decades, said.
Alethea Walls, an advocate for those with kidney disease and the policy committee chair for Dialysis Patient Citizens, receives dialysis treatments at the Royal Oak DaVita location four times a week. She was receiving treatment during our interview and said her location has seen an influx of patients as those from the Novi center are redirected to other facilities.
"I definitely would like to know what happened. I'm extremely curious," Walls said. "It's a very concerning situation," she said.
DaVita is one of the largest U.S. providers of dialysis treatments, with over 2,600 centers nationwide. In 2018, the company was ordered to pay $383.5 million to the families of three patients who died after treatment. The company had no updates when reached Thursday except that the facility remains closed.
We have reached out to the state for a statement regarding the investigation.
