An additional Fresenius Kidney Care facility will be opening in the North Suffolk area.

Divaris Real Estate announced the signing of the lease in late September. Fresenius Kidney Care leased 11,684 square foot of retail space in the Riverfront Shoppes located at 5140 River Club Drive.

The center will be the second of its kind in Suffolk. The other facility is located on 1005 Commercial Lane off of Godwin Boulevard. Fresenius provides dialysis care for more than 180,000 patients nationwide, according to Katherine Sarisen, regional vice president of Fresenius’ East Virginia Region.

“We chose the location so that it is accessible to the community and has availability to public transportation,” Sarisen stated in an email.

The center comes at a time when the frequency of kidney cancers has been on the rise since the 1990s. Experts say the rise is due to new technologies such as CT scans, which have discovered cancers that couldn’t be detected in the past.

“The need for additional dialysis services has increased over the last few years, an average of five percent nationally,” Sarisen stated. “The newest clinic will be able to provide treatment options in outpatient and home dialysis.”

According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are more than 4.5 million adults diagnosed with kidney disease. There are about 468,000 patients on dialysis nationwide with about 11,850 in Virginia, according to the Mid-Atlantic Renal Coalition 2014 Annual Report.

The American Cancer Society predicts there will be 62,700 new cases of kidney cancer this year. In addition, there are expected to be more than 14,420 deaths from the disease.

Kidney cancer is among the 10 most common cancers in men and women, with risks higher in men.

Diabetes and high blood pressure are also contributors to kidney disease.

Due to its quality services and technologies, Fresenius has been recognized for reducing mortality and hospitalization rates for dialysis patients.

From 2005 to 2015, the provider has reduced rates of its permanent dialysis patients from 27 to 22 percent, according to the provider’s website.

“This group of talented and dedicated clinical leaders is fundamentally changing the way in which we are delivering care for chronically ill individuals,” Dr. Frank Maddux, chief medical officer and executive vice president of clinical and scientific affairs, stated in a press release. “As a result, we are better able to address our patients’ physical and psychological needs while being good stewards of health resources.”