Northwest Kidney Centers plans to build an outpatient dialysis clinic in Kent’s Panther Lake area.

The new clinic will be constructed on vacant property at 108th Avenue Southeast and Southeast 204th Street in Kent, according to a July 28 news release from Seattle-based Northwest Kidney Center, a community-based nonprofit. The clinic is expected to open in 2022, serving patients from Kent, Maple Valley and Covington.

The clinic will accommodate 66 patients to visit three times a week for blood-cleansing treatments that take about four hours each time, according to the news release. For people with chronic kidney failure, survival is possible only with regular dialysis or a kidney transplant.

“This clinic will increase our ability to serve people in south King County, where community need for kidney treatment is high,” said Rebecca Fox, president and CEO of Northwest Kidney Centers. “We’re proud to give area residents more access to high-quality services and treatment alternatives.”

The clinic will be designed by Mahlum Architects, of Seattle and Portland. General contractor Aldrich + Associates, of Bothell, will complete construction. Dr. Daniel Hu has been named medical director.

Northwest Kidney Centers operates 19 clinics in King, Pierce and Clallam counties, including facilities in Kent at 25316 74th Ave. S., and in Auburn at 1501 West Valley Highway North.

Northwest Kidney Centers is the nation’s eighth largest dialysis provider, and it ranks at the top of the industry in Medicare quality ratings for its services. Founded in Seattle in 1962, it was the world’s first dialysis organization.

For more information, go to nwkidney.org.