Davita Dialysis Deaths Update

LUFKIN - A federal health department that analyzed the blood work of Davita dialysis patients, who may have been exposed to bleach at the center last year, has refused to release the number of patients it tested.

The Lufkin Daily News submitted a public information request back in July 2008.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently denied that request.

A state health survey report conducted while the facility was closed last year showed 19 patient deaths occurred at the facility in a five-month period before the center closed.