Press Releases: Northwest
October 15, 2003
Disabled staff with Kaiser Permanente form employee association
PORTLAND, Ore. – People with disabilities who work for Kaiser Permanente in Oregon and Southwest Washington have formed an employee association. The Kaiser Permanente People With disAbilities Association is co-chaired by Don Ford, a mental health therapist who practices at Kaiser Permanente’s Sunset Medical Office in Washington County, and Barbara Dirks, a human resources coordinator who works in Kaiser Permanente’s northeast Portland administrative offices. Both are members of Kaiser Permanente’s Regional Diversity Council.
Dirks, who lives in Portland, says the mission of the association is to “support a positive work environment, promote awareness, enhance cultural competence, and eliminate barriers” for people with disabilities who either work for or are cared for as patients by Kaiser Permanente.
“We have a diverse membership that includes employees who have sight, hearing, Ore. mobility impairments, disabilities such as brain injuries, Ore. attention deficit disorder. We also welcome those who are able-bodied but support or care for, in their jobs, people with disabilities,” says Ford, who lives in the Washington County town of Banks.
This is the third such association for employees with disabilities formed within Kaiser Permanente nationally, with one association in Colorado and one in California.
Three other employee associations have been created by Kaiser Permanente Northwest employees in recent years. The first formed was an association of African-American employees, followed by one for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered employees, and just this summer, one for Latinos.
Kaiser Permanente is a prepaid, group practice health care organization founded in 1945 and serving the health care needs of about 435,000 people in Oregon and Southwest Washington.
