“Kaiser strives to be the trusted community partner, not just for healthcare, but as a community partner in every way,” – Tarek Salaway, senior vice president, area manager for Marin-Sonoma service area
Kaiser Permanente wants to serve their patients, in body and mind, and to deliver the best health care possible in a way that earns their patients’ trust for a lifetime. The Kaiser Permanente goal is to take care of you now, anticipate your needs in the future, and be with you through the arc of your natural life and the lives of your family. Tarek Salaway, senior vice president and area manager for the Marin-Sonoma service area explains what it means to be voted best health care by NorthBay biz readers.
“It’s all about the health and well-being of our patients and members,” he says. “We believe in earning that trust over their lifetime so patients come back to us no matter what stage in life.” Creating that trust is the work of a two-way relationship, a partnership as Kaiser calls it, between patient and physician. “One of the ways we’ve continued to evolve as an organization is to be patient-centered and taking the feedback of patients in how we create health-care solutions,” he says. Kaiser works to maintain that trust not only with attending to the immediate need, but anticipating patients’ upcoming or future needs, reminding them when it’s time to get their mammogram or to make sure their children get their immunizations on time, or, as with the pandemic, seeing that patients get screened, tested and vaccinated as timely and appropriately.
When the pandemic caused people to self-quarantine or shelter at home, Kaiser’s telehealth program enabled physicians to continue consulting with patients as necessary–online. “This telehealth platform was used to deliver our mission with strength, timeliness, and innovation, throughout the pandemic,” says Salaway. Kaiser also provided video consults with mental health providers, psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers. Kaiser’s healthcare mission delves into mental health issues as well with mental health challenges directly relating to the virus increase. “Mental health needs of our patients have skyrocketed during the pandemic,” says Salaway. “So using telehealth for mental health wellness visits has been positive. Using that technology to get access to health care in a timely way is important.” Telehealth does not preclude in-office visits, when necessary, but is a convenient way to take care of some issues while allowing a physician or provider to determine when an in-office visit may be necessary. This means patients can have more meaningful time with the doctor and can get the time they need more quickly.
“We’ve got a digital pharmacy strategy, too,” says Salaway. “Patients get their pharmaceutical therapies from us–that way we ensure the quality of the drug and treatment regimen together. We also ensure the drug or medication is part of our therapeutic formulary plan, which our physicians and pharmacists keep up to date constantly based on outcomes and new therapies.” They can also have the prescription medications delivered by mail order and in some cases, by same-day delivery. “Or, you can pick it up in the pharmacy. We do a great job of coordinating those types of things simultaneously.”
“Kaiser strives to be the trusted community partner, not just for healthcare, but as a community partner in every way,” says Salaway. The community partnership concept is integral to Kaiser’s mission. “The community has weathered so much together,” he says, referring to the fires, outages and floods. “We’ve done that as a community, with dignity and grace. As your provider, we are there for you for your mental and physical health but we’re also your partner in rebuilding our community. We are really vested in the concept of being the community’s trusted partner in every sense of the word.”
Photos courtesy of Kaiser Permanente
