Kaiser health insurance is about more than just taking care of members when they get sick; it is about helping people live healthier lives and uplifting the communities where health plan members live. Kaiser Permanente Georgia, for example, presented a grant for $500,000 to the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine in October. This will support the development and implementation of a workforce leadership program aimed at reducing health disparities with a new integrated approach to primary care and mental health. Kaiser California is also joining hands with a South Los Angeles Community during the opening of their new medical offices there this month. With an approach to healthcare that includes the whole community, Kaiser believes everyone benefits.
The new Kaiser California medical offices in South Los Angeles are part of a $10 million dollar investment in the area, where more than 80,000 Kaiser Permanente members live. This new facility serves Kaiser health insurance members, but it is also the culmination of many years of work in the South Los Angeles area. Kaiser Permanente has provided $8 million in grants to South Los Angeles organizations including UMMA Community Clinic, Watts Healthy Farmers Market and St. John’s Well Child & Family Center, as well as local clinics, schools and grassroots organizations. The 15,000 square foot facility will provide primary care, rotating specialty care, X-rays, lab tests and members will be able to pick-up prescriptions, benefiting so many who have been left with few choices after many local health care facility closures and cut-backs.
This new facility was also constructed similarly to other facilities, such as a Kaiser Permanente Georgia facility built last year, with a unique new concept that recognizes the link between the health of the environment and the health of people. The construction of the new medical office will reduce the toxicity and volume of waste through product selection, increase the use of post-consumer recycled content, eliminate mercury content and target other toxins for elimination, and reduce water use with native plants in landscaping, automatic faucets and researching technologies such as low water urinals and dual flush toilets. Builders have also selected reusable and durable products, and Kaiser has implemented a comprehensive Environmental Preferable Purchasing policy that requires the disclosure of prioritized chemicals.
Kaiser health insurance is a leading health care provider in the U.S, but they strive to be much more than just a medical insurance company.