In the Community

December 23, 2008

Ray Baxter Talks About Being a 'Health Activist' on KGO TV Channel 7

How Kaiser Permanente helps people be their own "health activists" – and improve the health and well-being of their communities – was the topic of "The View from the Bay" Dec. 19 on KGO-TV Channel 7 in San Francisco.

Ray Baxter, Kaiser Permanente's senior vice president for community benefit, research, and health policy, appeared on "The View from the Bay" and talked about some of the ways Kaiser Permanente has empowered community members to improve their neighborhoods. Baxter shared one success story in which children were given video cameras to record unsafe conditions on their path from home to school. The video galvanized the community and helped bring about change.

"The parents and the school got together, and they met with public officials to make it a safe route to school," Baxter said. "Now those kids are walking to school instead of riding to school.

"Be aware. Work with other people. Make your voice heard about health," Baxter said.

Baxter added that activists don't work alone, but rather work together in communities to bring about healthy changes.

For more, view the entire segment with Ray Baxter on "The View from the Bay."