Did you know how good we are?

18 ways that KP’s frontline managers, workers and physicians have been recognized by outside experts

FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2010

If you doubt that the everyday work of unit-based teams is making a difference to Kaiser Permanente and our members and patients, consider this: Since the beginning of 2009, KP has racked up major awards and recognitions from 18 quality-rating organizations, industry associations, and consumer and business publications.

These accolades recognize the unique contributions of KP’s model of care, workforce and technology, and they center on three of the four points of the KP Value Compass—best quality, best service and best place to work. (The fourth goal, affordability, is rewarded by the marketplace and the members and families we serve.)

Unit-based teams in every KP region are contributing to these goals: In Southern California, UBTs helped implement the region’s life-saving Proactive Office Encounter. UBTs in Colorado and the Northwest are improving member satisfaction, along with staff satisfaction and capacity. Hundreds of such examples can be found across the 2,600 UBTs in every KP region.

“Kaiser Permanente’s empowerment of unit-based teams to be part of the solution for health care is right on track,” says Alide Chase, senior vice president, Quality and Service. “We do so many things well and we are already a national leader in several areas. Unleashing the power of our frontline workers, managers and physicians will take us even further.”

Kaiser Permanente awards, January 2009 – April 2010

	We ranked as the top Medicare plan in all but one of our geographies and top commercial health plan in most regions.		U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s first-ever Weight of the Nation Award in recognition of our comprehensive obesity prevention efforts
	Best health plan in California, Colorado, Mid-Atlantic and Northwest, each achieving significantly higher scores in 2009 than in 2008. KP also recognized as the top mail-order pharmacy in the nation.		One of the Most Innovative Companies in Health Care as listed by FastCompany magazine
	Cancer Prevention Excellence Award received for our achievements in colorectal and tobacco screening and our robust reminder system.		Ranked #4 of Top 50 Companies for diversity
	Top marks in eight quality measures including childhood immunization status, breast cancer screening, antidepressant medication management and blood pressure control for diabetics.		12 of the 15 Stage 7 Awards to U.S. hospitals for reaching the highest level of electronic medical record implementation
	First-ever perfect score achieved by Southern California in state HMO rankings. Northern California and Southern California were the only plans in the state to receive top marks for meeting national standards of quality care.		1 of 20 organizations participating in the FDA Sentinel Initiative, conducting research in the safety of drugs and medical devices through our recently launched inter-regional Center for Effectiveness and Safety Research (CESR).
	2009 Best Place to Work in the Bay Area: #1 health care, #4 overall for large employers		2009 Company of the Year by LATINA Style magazine
	Colorado was chosen among hundreds of businesses for the Partner in Philanthropy Award in recognition of its commitment to community service		Population Health Improvement Leadership Award for our Collaborative Cardiac Care Service, which effectively utilizes our electronic health record system to manage coronary artery disease.
	Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems Award rewarded for our technology-supported patient care successfully improving patient care through programs such as the total joint replacement registry		Only health care provider and 1 of 16 recipients to receive the Continuity Availability Award for achieving 100% absolute and complete uptime, without any planned or unplanned outages, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
	System for Change Award earned for our leadership in improving environmental performance in the health care sector for second year in a row		The Strategic Health Care Marketing publication awarded kp.org two Gold Awards for Best Care / Disease Management Site and Best Health / Healthcare Content.