Press Releases: Mid-Atlantic States
January 10, 2011
Kaiser Permanente Honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Seventh Annual MLK Day of Volunteerism Reflects the Organization’s Longstanding Commitment to Service and Healthy Communities
ROCKVILLE, Md. — Monday, January 17, Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States employees, physicians and leadership will celebrate the humanitarian spirit and legacy of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the seventh annual MLK Day of Volunteerism.
Kaiser Permanente is making a commitment of time, talent and service to community organizations and underserved residents across the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. Instead of taking a “day off,” Kaiser Permanente employees and physicians are staying engaged with a “day on” of volunteering reminiscent of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life of service. Volunteer initiatives include helping prepare, serve and deliver nutritious meals, in addition to conducting health screenings and distributing health-education information at several sites across the Mid-Atlantic Region.
Kaiser Permanente will demonstrate its continued commitment to building healthy communities on MLK Day through two health-focused community events:
- The Kaiser Permanente Mobile Health Vehicle will be stationed at the Salvation Army’s Family Store in Hyattsville, Md., from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., where health care professionals will offer community members free blood pressure and body mass index screenings.
- Dr. Yael Varnado-Rhodes, a Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group anesthesiologist, will lead a team of volunteers at the United Community Ministries Health Fair in Alexandria, Va. To best serve the ethnically and culturally diverse community of Alexandria, translators will be on site with the Kaiser Permanente team distributing health literature in both English and Spanish. Dr. Varnado-Rhodes and her team of volunteers will screen for diabetes, cholesterol and HIV at no cost to attendees.
“Stewardship is a core value of Kaiser Permanente’s business. For more than 60 years, Kaiser Permanente has promoted a culture of caring which is fully embraced by our employees and physicians,” says Carrie Harris-Muller, chief administrative officer, Kaiser Permanente Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States Region. “This is a value kept alive by encouraging employee volunteerism and providing valuable assistance to the communities we serve throughout the region.”
Kaiser Permanente employees, physicians and executives will volunteer at service sites in communities throughout the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. Projects include:
- District of Columbia
- Washington Home & Community Hospices (NW)
- Food & Friends (NE)
- DC Central Kitchen (NW)
- Maryland
- The Salvation Army (Hyattsville)
- My Sister’s Place (Baltimore)
- Meals on Wheels (Silver Spring/Columbia)
- Virginia
- United Community Ministries Health Fair (Alexandria)
- Give Together: A Family Volunteer Day (Arlington)
- Fredericksburg Area Food Bank (Fredericksburg)
For more about Kaiser Permanente's efforts in the community year-round, visit: http://kp.org/communitybenefit.
About Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States
Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States region, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, provides and coordinates complete health care services for almost 500,000 members through 30 medical office buildings in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States, founded in 1980, is a total health organization composed of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States, Inc., and the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, P.C., an independent medical group that features approximately 1,000 physicians who provide or arrange care for patients throughout the area. Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States is considered one of Maryland’s “Top HMOs,” according to the Maryland Health Care Commission. The health plan was ranked in the nation’s 100 top commercial health plans and 15 top Medicare health plans — and the No. 1 Medicare plan for Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. — by the U.S. News & World Report/NCQA’s “America’s Best Health Insurance Plans 2009-10.” For more information about Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States, visit www.kp.org.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 8.6 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.
