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Permanente
in the News
A compilation
of news, significant awards, and accomplishments about Permanente physicians
and the Permanente Medical Groups.
KP
News Roundup |
to pdf >>
By
Barbara
Caruso, BA
KP's
National Transplant Network Honored by US Senate and Local Governments
The
US Senate, the City of Oakland, and Alameda County in California all proclaimed
April 28, 2005, National Transplant Network Day in celebration of the
tenth anniversary of Kaiser Permanente's (KP) National Transplant Network
(NTN).
The NTN provides
KP members with access to a network of solid and bone marrow transplant
programs located at "Centers of Excellence"--medical facilities
outside the KP system that meet or exceed the NTN's stringent site selection
criteria and that are known nationally for their transplant programs.
In 2004, the NTN managed 563 transplants for KP members.
In addition
to managing transplants for KP members, the NTN also promotes and encourages
communitywide awareness of organ donation. To learn more, visit KP's National
Transplant and Contracting Services Intranet site: http://scm.kp.org/scm/ntacs
or http://ncap.kp.org/scm/ntacs/index.cfm.
KP
Honored for Contributions to Minority Access to Health Care
KP
received the 2005 Mary Eliza Mahoney Award, presented each year by the
National Minority Health Month Foundation to an individual or organization
for outstanding contributions toward ensuring that minority communities
have the best possible access to health care. The foundation's board was
particularly impressed by the Care Management Institute's work on a diabetes
study conducted with the foundation. The board cited KP's genuine commitment
to exploring new avenues to ensure better health outcomes for minority
patients.
Born in 1852,
Mary Eliza Mahoney was America's first African-American professional nurse.
Since its inception in 1999, the National Minority Health Month Foundation
has promoted the building of coalitions and evidence-based solutions designed
to eliminate health care disparities.
Southern
California Permanente Medical Group (SCPMG)
Benjamin
K Chu, MD, Named President of the KP Southern California Region
Benjamin
K Chu, MD, was named President of the KP Southern California Region
earlier this year. Dr Chu brings more than 25 years' experience to KP.
He comes to KP from the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation
(HHC), where he served as President of the $4.2 billion organization with
11 acute care hospitals, 40,000 employees, and 7000 contract physicians.
Under his leadership, HHC implemented clinical information systems throughout
the organization, initiated systemwide process redesign initiatives in
ambulatory care, oversaw a $1.2 billion capital rebuilding program, developed
communitywide cardiovascular and cancer screening programs, and spearheaded
the growth of HHC's managed care plan to cover more than 220,000 plan
members.
Physician
Receives Community Service Sabbatical Award
The
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals Board of Directors has selected
Altaf Kazi, MD, a pediatrician at KP's West Los Angeles medical
facility, as the recipient of the 2005 David M Lawrence, MD, Community
Service Sabbatical Award.
The sabbatical
award is named for former Chairman and CEO David M Lawrence, MD,
and was created to honor a KP physician or employee who has made an outstanding
contribution to the health of a specific KP community. The award includes
a fully paid sabbatical of up to three months and a $10,000 contribution
to the recipient's community service project.
Dr Kazi has
volunteered more than 350 hours each year since he became involved in
community service more than ten years ago. He is chairman of the University
Muslim Medical Association (UMMA) board of directors and continues to
see patients at the clinic, which provides medical care for more than
12,000 underserved residents of South Central Los Angeles. In addition
to his work with UMMA, Dr Kazi helps coordinate an annual health fair
for the homeless in downtown Los Angeles, provides free sports physical
exams for underserved children at an annual football camp, volunteers
monthly as a pediatric attending in the resident clinic at Children's
Hospital Los Angeles, and serves as a "community-based" preceptor
for University of Southern California medical students during their pediatric
clerkships.
Physician
Committed to Training Others on Innovative Procedure
Seth
Kivnick, MD, was selected an Everyday Hero and is featured in the
Everyday Heroes Gallery at the Walnut Center for his work establishing
a surgical team to implement laparoscopic hysterectomies at the West Los
Angeles Medical Center. He took the initiative to learn about the procedure
from two physicians, John Kennedy, MD, and Clem Hoffman, MD,
both of the KP San Diego Medical Center, and then led training for the
OB/GYN staff. The new laparoscopic procedure is now performed on an outpatient
basis and reduces pain, minimizes scarring, and requires a much shorter
recovery time.
Colorado
Permanente Medical Group (CPMG)
KP
Colorado Pediatrician Honored for Dedication to Early Childhood Intervention
Al
Mehl, MD, a pediatrician at KP Colorado's Rock Creek Medical Offices,
received the Frances Owens Communities Helping Young Children Award for
his dedication to early childhood intervention causes. Dr Mehl was one
of the first pediatricians in Colorado to embrace a statewide initiative
for newborn hearing screenings. Based on his work, both the Joint Committee
on Infant Hearing and the Academy of Pediatrics adopted a recommendation
for universal newborn hearing screening, prompt diagnosis, and early intervention.
Donna
Lynne Named President of the KP Colorado Region
Donna
Lynne, BS, MPA, PhD, was named President of the KP Colorado Region,
bringing more than 20 years' experience to KP. She comes to the organization
after serving for seven years as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating
Officer of Group Health Incorporated (GHI), a not-for-profit health insurance
company with $2.5 billion in revenues and 2300 employees providing health
insurance and related services to more than 2.5 million members in New
York State. Dr Lynne had also assumed the additional role as President/CEO
of GHI's newly acquired for-profit HMO.
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Northwest
Permanente (NWP)
Andrew
Lum, MD, nominated as Regional Medical Director
The
Northwest Permanente Board of Directors has unanimously nominated Andrew
Lum, MD, as Regional Medical Director. Dr Lum joins KP Northwest from
the KP Colorado Region, where he served as Associate Medical Director
for Primary Care and Service. He was instrumental in implementing the
KP Colorado Region's award-winning clinical information system.
Board-certified
in Internal Medicine, Dr Lum has been a Permanente physician since 1989.
He served as Physician-in-Charge of the Santa Clarita medical facility,
SCPMG, before moving to Colorado in 1994.
The
Southeast Permanente Medical Group (TSPMG)
Georgia's
Provider Web Site Launched
The
Georgia Region has launched a new provider Web site, which was developed
for anyone who does business with KP and TSPMG. This includes TSPMG practitioners,
associate providers, community providers, affiliated hospitals, ancillary
health care providers, and administrative staff who work for KP network
providers. The provider site has the same consistent look and structure
as the national Web site, http://providers.kp.org/ga.
TSPMG
Announces Leadership Changes to the Associate Medical Director Team
To
prepare for the strategic work required for the KP HealthConnect implementation
and other projects, a number of leadership changes were announced by Bruce
Perry, MD, Medical Director of TSPMG. William Boddie, MD, will
assume the role of Associate Medical Director for Professional Development
and Human Resources. Lee Jacobs, MD, will assist Dr Perry on special
projects as he shifts to a larger clinical practice and focuses more time
on his humanitarian efforts. Robert Schreiner, MD, will assume
the position of Associate Medical Director for Specialty, Hospital and
Ancillary Care. In addition, Robert van der Meer, MD, was named
Assistant to the Medical Director for Risk Management.
Barbara
Caruso
compiled this material from California Wire,
Partner News, and other PMG newsletters and sources. To submit news
of physician or PMG awards and recognitions, contact Ms Caruso at barbara.caruso@kp.org.
To
full contents list >>
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