Awards

April 18, 2007

Kaiser Permanente Wins Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award

KP honored for its Labor Management Partnership, which has created "a management-union partnership based on mutual trust and respect."

Washington, D.C. - Kaiser Permanente was one of three recipients of the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award from American Rights at Work, an advocacy and public policy organization responsible for promoting and defending workers' rights since 2003.

Kaiser Permanente received the award April 18 for "creating a management-union partnership based on mutual trust and respect." Lon O'Neil, senior vice president and Chief Human Resources officer for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. and Hospitals, accepted the award on behalf of Kaiser Permanente at a ceremony held Wednesday, April 18, at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

KP Senior Vice President/Chief Human Resources Officer Lon O'Neil, center, chats with actor Bradley Whitford, left, and Asela Espiritu, RN, a nurse at KP Orange County Medical Center, at the ARAW awards ceremony. Photo courtesy American Rights at Work.

The ceremony was hosted by American Rights at Work board member and Emmy Award-winning actor Bradley Whitford (of NBC's The West Wing and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip).

"We are honored to be recognized for continuing to embody the principles Eleanor Roosevelt lived by-as a leader in preventive care, and an employer committed to the rights and working conditions of our employees," said O'Neil, in accepting the award. "Our commitment to workers has been fundamental to Kaiser Permanente from its earliest days—as an employer, and even more importantly as a provider of health care for workers and their families, which is not to be taken for granted in our country today."

The Labor Management Partnership has produced impressive results. Kaiser Permanente reports a 20 percent reduction in workplace injuries, an increase in patient satisfaction, impressive cost reductions while accelerating services, and improved job satisfaction and retention since the partnership began in 1997.

The two additional award recipients are international advocates Human Rights Watch and TV Judge Greg Mathis.

For more, read the news release about the award.