Our History

PSKC Founding Physician, Dr. Christian Schmitt

Puget Sound Kidney Centers began with one man’s vision for better care for his patients. In the late 1970s, Dr. Christian Schmitt wanted to ensure his Everett patients had access to local kidney dialysis care and support. At the time, there were no dialysis treatment centers between Seattle and the Canadian border, and patients would often fall ill from long travel days to and from a Seattle dialysis treatment center. Dr. Schmitt reached out to community leaders, most notably the late Senator Henry Jackson, to launch a campaign to establish a community-based nonprofit dialysis center that would deliver the very best in care and compassion to patients in need in Snohomish County.  Puget Sound Kidney Centers opened its doors in Everett on April 15, 1981.

At the same time on the other side of the Puget Sound, Dr. Ken Cogen and leaders in the Bremerton community formed the Olympic Peninsula Kidney Centers.  The first center was opened in early 1980 and grew to four centers on the Kitsap & Olympic Peninsula’s.  That organization merged into PSKC in July of 2021.

Today, more than 4 decades later, the combined organization now provides 120,000 dialysis treatments a year to more than 900 patients in 12 centers, at home and in local hospitals. In addition to dialysis treatment, we also educate the community about kidney health.  Our PSKC Foundation does community outreach and fundraising year-round for additional patient support programs.

We celebrate Dr. Schmitt and Dr. Cogen for their unwavering commitment to patients. What started as just a vision continues to make a great difference in the lives of many kidney patients in our community.