Kaiser Permanente Shares 70 Years Of Insights At A Special White House 'Summit On Worker Voice'

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Oct 07, 2015, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente will be a key participant at today's Summit on Worker Voice convened by President Obama at the White House.

The President first spoke of his intentions to hold the Summit in March, noting that even as the U.S. economy continues to recover, many working families are still finding it difficult to get ahead. The Summit will focus on how workers can make their voices heard in the workplace in ways that are good for both workers and businesses.

Gregory A. Adams, Kaiser Permanente executive vice president, group president and regional president of Northern California, was invited to take part in the event to speak about the success Kaiser Permanente has had making the worker voice heard at every level of the organization.

"Kaiser Permanente has a long and proud history with organized labor dating back to our founding in the Richmond, California shipyards," Adams said. "Collaborating with our partner unions is a 'win' for us as a business strategy, a 'win' for organized labor providing greater voice and job security for the workers they represent, and perhaps most importantly, a 'win' for the more than 10 million Kaiser Permanente members and patients we care for."

Kaiser Permanente has created the largest and longest-lasting labor-management partnerships of its kind in the nation. The partnership, established in 1997 by Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, covers more than 105,000 union-represented workers. Through the partnership, rank-and-file union members co-lead departments, identify opportunities to improve care and service to health plan members and patients, and create an exemplary work environment.

Now marking its 70th year, Kaiser Permanente has more than 180,000 employees in eight states and the District of Columbia. Kaiser Permanente's historic model of care—a unique system of high-quality, affordable care for working families—has served its members well since it opened to the public in 1945, and it continues to achieve some of the highest quality scores in the nation. In its 2015-16 ratings of more than 1,000 health-insurance plans around the country, the National Committee for Quality Assurance pegged Kaiser Permanente's commercial and Medicare plans as the highest-rated in all of the areas where they are offered. And in J.D. Power's most recent Member Health Plan Study, Kaiser Permanente was rated highest in consumer satisfaction in five different geographical regions of the United States.

Thanks to its highly engaged work force, Kaiser Permanente remains poised to adapt to a rapidly changing environment, requiring quick responses to competitive pressures, technological advances, changing regulations and evolving public policy.

Beginning on October 19, as part of Free Speech Week, the Kaiser Permanente's Labor Management Partnership will use the hashtag #FreeToSpeak on Twitter to share stories about the importance of workers' voices. For an example, visit www.LMPartnership.org/stories-videos/portraits-partnership-union-workers-point-view

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 more than 10 million members in eight 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: kp.org/share.

Contact:
Marc Brown, (510) 271-6328

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SOURCE Kaiser Permanente