Kaiser Permanente is realizing its founder's vision of being a game-changer in health care.
Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has been synonymous with integrated healthcare for nearly 80 years. The Kaiser model can be expressed in its one, well-known word: Thrive.
“The concept of thrive,” says Tarek Salaway, senior vice president and area manager in Sonoma-Marin, “is about people living their best lives.” Kaiser’s mission, like its history, is about providing high-quality healthcare services that are affordable and value-based, which will improve the health of all Kaiser members and communities. It’s been that way from the start. “Henry J. Kaiser had a vision for being a game changer in healthcare,” says Salaway. The far-thinking industrialist visualized a healthcare system that would be able to coordinate services and have things be ready for patients at all stages of whatever health or age that they may be at, so that they can trust in their healthcare and their healthcare provider over their lifetime.
“What excited me and drew me to Kaiser was this concept of our mission,” says Salaway, “and also about earning the trust of our patients over their lifetime and to stay with us as that trusted partner for both our healthcare and in the community.” Earning trust means being trustworthy and Kaiser is steeped in knowledge and experience, with a wealth of research data on a multitude of disease processes. Kaiser makes it easy for patients to be proactive and set up their screening and early detection so they can prevent disease or catch a condition early and avoid having it become more serious. “We know that [early detection] results in a better outcome,” he says.” And then we use our evidence-based medicine, evidence-based tools to deliver that best optimal outcome.” The result, for the patient, is a sense of confidence in their healthcare provider and empowerment in their own role in their healthcare team. With Kaiser, whatever their health situation is, at whatever time of life they’re in, they know they have the people and the team in place to anticipate, prevent or care for whatever health issues that might arise.
Communication is an essential part of all this. “We believe in keeping you as informed as possible,” says Salaway. Kaiser takes pride not only in direct, personal help from staff, but also now offering virtual access to information. The KP.org app is the new tool which Salaway calls “one of the best in the industry.” This app enables patients to know where all their health information is, what all their test results may look like, what drugs and or preventive therapies they may be on to prevent a heart attack or a stroke. It also offers reminders to make sure medications are refilled. By providing virtual access, once again, Kaiser is responding to the needs of the community, keeping in the forefront, and getting the right kind of healthcare to people who need it, when they need it, and empowering them to stay healthy. And that’s not all.
“One of the areas that I’m most honored to lead in here in the Santa Rosa North Bay,” says Salaway, “is what we do to ensure equity, what we do to ensure that we address disparities in healthcare; that we are deliberate about community-based efforts and partnerships to reach those most vulnerable, really standing alongside and being a backbone of this community, and we’re honored to serve in that way.”
