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KP Leadership Insights

Hello and Welcome

Please join us in exploring our Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit web site, “Toward Total Community Health.”

Why “Toward Total Community Health”? We know that our members, our neighbors, our employees, our physicians, our families, our friends cannot be healthy if they live in unhealthy community environments; and we know that this is true even when they receive exceptional health care in the examining room or the hospital.

The impetus toward total community health is deeply embedded in our 60-year history as a prevention-oriented health care organization. The origin reaches all the way back to the 1930s, when our founding physician, Dr. Sidney Garfield, cared for Kaiser Industries workers building the Colorado Aqueduct. As the lone physician providing workers’ care at the project site, he noticed that an inordinate number of workers were showing up at his small desert hospital with similar injuries. “Safety engineering in those days hadn't developed to the point it has now,” he said many years later, “So, we began doing our own safety engineering – tracing accidents to the source, eliminating hazards and avoiding recurrences.” Dr. Garfield understood the importance of the environment in protecting the health of the community he served.

The health challenges in our communities today are great. The cost of health insurance continues to rise, state governments are limited by shrinking budgets, the public health apparatus is strained, and more and more people are uninsured. Meanwhile, physical and social environments that promote poor nutrition, inactivity, obesity, and the upswing of chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes, compound health problems for our most vulnerable populations. All of these factors contribute to persistent racial and ethnic health disparities. The impacts reverberate throughout our communities. The need for a “total community” approach is more evident than ever.

While you will find a rich and diverse mix of community benefit initiatives, programs and resources reflected on this Web site, you will notice a set of four core areas of work reflected throughout. Kaiser Permanente has deliberately chosen to focus its Community Benefit services, partnerships, and funding on these four core areas because this is where we believe we can have the greatest impact moving our communities closer to total health.

Care and coverage for vulnerable populations and low-income families through our health care subsidy programs, charity care, and participation in government programs.
Partnering with the safety net organizations in our communities – community clinics, health departments, and public hospitals – sharing our services, technology, and funding, while exchanging information on best medical practices for the issues facing the people we serve.
Community health initiatives that focus on Healthy Eating, Active Living (HEAL). We join with diverse community partners and other major grantmakers to work on very specific and significant community health goals. The geographic area for each community health initiative collaboration is clearly defined and results are carefully measured. These are long-term commitments ranging from seven to 10 years. .
Developing and disseminating health knowledge. This includes research, consumer education and clinical education. Our eight research centers across the nation keep us at the forefront of new medical knowledge – applying the best science to determine the best approaches to getting the best health results. We share the results with our community partners and with state and federal leaders to help inform public policy. Through residency and other clinical training programs, we help develop a skilled work force. Our award-winning Educational Theatre Programs are an example of consumer education. Through live theatre we share information about nutrition, alternatives to violence and substance abuse, and many other critical health issues.

While we consider these key areas of work, we support that work, as always, with the traditional building blocks – grantmaking and volunteerism. Careful attention to two additional issues is woven throughout our work; we are deeply engaged in developing solutions to ethnic and racial disparities in healthcare, and we are committed to environmental stewardship.

In 2004, Kaiser Permanente proudly directed $825 million in health services, technology, and funding to Community Benefit – toward total community health.

Raymond J Baxter, PhD
Senior Vice President
Community Benefit