HOSPITAL / CLINIC UPDATE: Kaiser Permanente San Rafael

Gary Mizono, MD

Note: Each issue of Marin Medicine includes a self-reported update from one local hospital or clinic, on a rotating basis.

What a difference a year makes. Last time I wrote this update was in the fall of 2013, during the turbulence and growing pains of the Affordable Care Act. During its first open-enrollment period, more than 1.3 million Californians enrolled in health coverage through Covered California.

Kaiser Permanente was an active player in the health insurance exchanges, and the San Rafael Medical Center received its fair share of the newly insured. Our physicians and staff worked diligently to prepare for the opening of the state exchange and to meet the varied needs of our new and existing members.

Moving into 2015, we remain well positioned and competitively priced. I am optimistic that we will continue to grow within the exchanges and among our traditional commercial groups and Medicare.  

Growth and stability are great for our medical center, but only if they translate into maintaining our standards of quality care. I am gratified to share that over the course of 2014, Kaiser Permanente continued to demonstrate its national leadership in providing the best clinical results, safety ratings and member satisfaction scores in the nation.  

Leading the way in quality for the fourth year in a row, Kaiser Permanente health plans received top rankings in the 2014 annual report of the National Committee for Quality Assurance. The NCQA rated our Northern California commercial plan eighth in the nation and our Medicare plan second. We were also the only Medicare plan in California to receive the prestigious five-star quality rating. In fact, our Northern and Southern California plans were the only ones in the state to be ranked in the nation’s Top 20, and the only ones to achieve perfect scores for clinical quality in the latest California Office of the Patient Advocate’s Health Care Quality Report Card. According to that report, we were also the only plan in California and the only medical group in Marin County to earn a perfect four stars for providing the recommended care for our patients, including cancer screenings and care for asthma, diabetes, maternity and heart disease.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently announced that our Oakland and South Sacramento medical centers will be part of the nation’s Ebola preparedness and response plan. This recognition is a testament to our concerted organizational efforts to prepare for potential Ebola patients. All Kaiser Permanente emergency departments, hospitals and medical offices in Northern California—including the San Rafael Medical Center—are being trained and equipped to safely screen, identify and isolate patients at risk for Ebola.  

The expanded San Rafael emergency department will be particularly well equipped to handle Ebola and other emergencies. This spring, the department will nearly triple in size, from 6,000 to 17,500 square feet. In keeping with our rapid-care model, the expanded space will enhance the patient experience. We will focus on treating all patients in a timely and expeditious manner, and our goal will be “care without delay.”

Thanks to our integrated group practice and fully deployed electronic medical record, patients who may need to be admitted will be evaluated simultaneously by both our hospital and emergency department physician staff. For patients who present with communicable diseases, our medical team will be able to respond more effectively by using our new negative-pressure and isolation rooms.  

As part of our ongoing commitment to Emergency Medical Services, paramedics and EMTs will have a dedicated workstation and access to a shower, as well as an indoor hazmat shower for disaster preparedness. Because patients are at the center of everything we do, the new and enlarged waiting room lobby includes expansive windows, natural light and calming hillside views.

The emergency department is not the only new space planned for 2015. Our patients will also benefit from our new behavioral health offices at 111 Smith Ranch Road. The offices feature soothing interiors, remodeled rooms, and easier access and parking.

Looking forward, I continue to be honored to serve The Permanente Medical Group and to work side-by-side with the excellent physicians at the San Rafael Medical Center. Our brand recognition is strong because of their commitment to doing the right thing for our patients, every day and every time. Together we provide our members with the best possible care and outcomes, as shown year after year by our quality ratings.  

Still, no system is perfect, nor can Kaiser Permanente rest on its past laurels. What we will do is to continue building on our strong tradition of prevention and evidence-based medicine to provide high-quality care, whether our members are the picture of health or faced with a serious health concern.  

We look forward to caring for all our members, today and into the future.

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Dr. Mizono, an otolaryngologist, is physician-in-chief at Kaiser Permanente San Rafael.
Email: gary.mizono@kp.org