Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States Ranks Number 1 in the Nation on Five HEDIS Measures

ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Yolanda "Lonny" Catalan is a breast cancer survivor. As a Kaiser Permanente member, Lonny has a physician who carefully tracks her preventive care including her breast cancer screenings. Lonny's lucky. Her doctor insisted she have her cancer screening, and her cancer was caught in time. But it's not just luck that saved Lonny's life. Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States is number 1 in the nation out of nearly 500 commercial health plans for breast cancer screening, according to the recently released 2013 National Committee for Quality Assurance's Quality Compass® data. This is the second year in a row that Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States was number 1 in the U.S. for breast cancer screening.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131022/DC02084-INFO)

The Quality Compass data assesses the performance of national health plans on 43 important clinical and service standards. The Quality Compass database includes scores from the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set, or HEDIS, a tool that is used by more than 90 percent of America's health plans to measure performance on important dimensions of care and service.  

"We know preventive medicine saves lives. In fact, if the rest of the country screened as well as Kaiser Permanente, there would be almost 12,000 fewer breast cancer deaths every year, reducing the annual mortality rate by nearly 30 percent," saidKim Horn, president, Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States. "HEDIS is the gold standard for measuring health care performance, and we're proud to be a national leader."

HEDIS results show that Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States is also number one in the nation for several other indicators:

• Comprehensive Diabetes Care - Eye Exams
• Comprehensive Diabetes Care - Medical Attention for Nephropathy
• Childhood Immunization Status - Combo 4
• Childhood Immunization Status - Hepatitis A

"It's not by chance that we lead the nation on these measures. Our physicians are among the highest rated doctors not only in the region, but also in the country," said Bernadette Loftus, MD, Associate Executive Director, The Permanente Medical Group. "Only the best physicians can become Kaiser Permanente doctors. That level of expertise, coupled with our smart use of electronic medical records, streamlines care and gives our members the best care experience possible – far better than what others provide." 

In March, Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States was ranked "Highest Member Satisfaction among Commercial Health Plans in the Mid-Atlantic Region," for the fifth year in a row by J.D. Power.*

Additionally, the 2013 Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey results showed that Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States' members rated both their primary care doctors and specialists higher than any other health plan in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. This survey has become the national standard for measuring and reporting on consumers' satisfaction with their health plans.

As a member, Lonny Catalan can attest to Kaiser Permanente's effective model of care.

"I will never forget the doctors at Kaiser. They all saved my life," said Catalan, a resident of Prince George's County, Maryland. "They all worked together. It was like the system was put together to assist me when I needed it most. So I was able to go through this experience with ease."

For more information about 2013 HEDIS scores, click here. For more information about Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States, visit kp.org/midatlantic.

Kaiser Permanente's Medicare Plans Are No. 1 Again

Kaiser Permanente Medicare plans hold top five spots in rankings; all Kaiser Permanente Medicare and Private plans are highest-ranked in the markets they serve

By Kaiser Permanente

OAKLAND, CALIF., SEPT. 19, 2013 — /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente Medicare plans continue to demonstrate that they are the best in the nation, ranking No. 1 in a published report by the National Committee for Quality Assurance for the third year in a row.

The "NCQA's Health Insurance Plan Rankings 2013–2014" report is published annually and ranks health plans — Medicare, Medicaid and Private (Commercial) — in three categories, including customer experience, prevention and treatment. For the third year in a row, a Kaiser Permanente Medicare health plan is No.1 in the nation: Kaiser Permanente Southern California, which has been the nation's top Medicare plan for two years running. In 2011, Kaiser Permanente Northern California was top-ranked.

In addition, Kaiser Permanente Medicare plans hold the top five spots in the 2013-2014 rankings; Kaiser Permanente Northern California was No. 2, followed by Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Kaiser Permanente Colorado, and Kaiser Permanente Hawaii. These five regions account for 8.2 million of Kaiser Permanente's more than 9.1 million members. All eight Kaiser Permanente Medicare plans were in the top 16, which means all eight Kaiser Permanente plans are in the top 4 percent out of the 405 plans that were ranked.

In the Commercial rankings, Kaiser Permanente has three plans among the top 10 nationally for the second year in a row, including the second-highest ranked plan in the U.S., Kaiser Permanente Northwest. Also in the Top 10 were Kaiser Permanente Northern California (No. 7) and Kaiser Permanente Ohio (No. 10). All eight Kaiser Permanente Commercial plans are among the top 25 plans and therefore among the top 6 percent of the 484 ranked national plans.

All Kaiser Permanente plans ranked highest in both Medicare and Commercial in the regions or states they serve.

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, for the third year in a row, retained its position as the No. 2-ranked Medicaid plan in the nation.

"We are proud to again have the highest-rated health plans in the markets that we serve," saidJed Weissberg, MD, senior vice president, Hospitals, Quality and Care Delivery Excellence, Kaiser Permanente. "Our consistently excellent performance in the rankings reflects Kaiser Permanente's commitment to helping our members get healthy and stay healthy. We have dedicated physicians and care teams who use best practices and cutting-edge tools to provide coordinated, compassionate care, creating a better, safer patient experience."

Kaiser Permanente's Commercial plans in Colorado and the Mid-Atlantic States and its Medicare plan in Colorado were also honored as "Best Value" plans, a new designation added to the rankings for the first time this year by NCQA. A "Best Value" plan, according to NCQA, is a plan that is "getting higher quality of care" and "avoiding costly care." Many health plans in the nation — including most from Kaiser Permanente — chose not to collect or report the necessary data that would determine whether they were a "Best Value" plan, and therefore were not eligible for that designation.  

Now in its eighth year, the "NCQA's Health Insurance Plan Rankings" is based on combined scores for health plans in Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set®, commonly called HEDIS; the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems®, or CAHPS; and NCQA Accreditation standards scores. Consumers and employers assess plans prior to annual enrollment periods.

In the Medicare category, with 405 plans nationally ranked, Kaiser Permanente had the following rankings:

• Kaiser Permanente Southern California — 1st
• Kaiser Permanente Northern California — 2nd
• Kaiser Permanente Northwest — 3rd
• Kaiser Permanente Colorado — 4th
• Kaiser Permanente Hawaii — 5th
• Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic States — 8th
• Kaiser Permanente Ohio — 11th
• Kaiser Permanente Georgia – 16th

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii was the only Kaiser Permanente plan eligible for the Medicaid rankings. The Hawaii plan ranked second in the nation out of 131 plans. Other Kaiser Permanente regions are not required to report data on the full set of measures used to calculate Medicaid rankings and were therefore unranked in this category.

Out of 484 nationally ranked Commercial plans, Kaiser Permanente had the following rankings:

• Kaiser Permanente Northwest — 2nd
• Kaiser Permanente Northern California — 7th
• Kaiser Permanente Ohio — 10th
• Kaiser Permanente Colorado — 13th
• Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic States — 16th
• Kaiser Permanente Southern California — 17th
• Kaiser Permanente Georgia — 20th
• Kaiser Permanente Hawaii — 25th

"Our high ratings recognize Kaiser Permanente's superb physicians and care providers," said Amy Compton-Phillips, MD, associate executive director for Quality at The Permanente Federation, the national umbrella organization of more than 17,000 physicians who provide care to Kaiser Permanente's more than 9.1 million members. "This recognition, however, is not merely about rankings. These scores demonstrate that at Kaiser Permanente improving the health of our members is our calling. We continuously strive to improve and provide better care to the more than 9.1 million Kaiser Permanente members we serve."

The rankings and methodology are posted on the NCQA's website at www.ncqa.org and on theConsumer Reports website. The rankings and an article about health plans will appear in the November issue of Consumer Reports magazine.

http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/09/19/5226568/kaiser-permanentes-medicare-plans.html

Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/09/19/5226568/kaiser-permanentes-medicare-plans.html#storylink=cpy

Innovation, Technology and Teamwork Lead to Early Opening of Kaiser Permanente’s New State-of-the-Art Hospital in Fontana

FONTANA, Calif. -- 

Patients are now receiving high-quality, affordable healthcare at a new state-of-the-art hospital for Kaiser Permanente in Fontana, Calif. Built by McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. and designed by HMC Architects, the new seven-level hospital boasts a technologically advanced patient-centered design. The project was completed four months ahead of schedule and opened on May 7, 2013.

Located on the southern end of the Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center site, the new 490,000-square-foot tower is one of the largest healthcare facilities in the Inland Empire. The new hospital was built to meet the latest, more rigorous seismic safety standards established by the state of California. It replaces the existing Kaiser Permanente Fontana Hospital tower, some of which will be converted for outpatient use.

Serving as general contractor, McCarthy’s contract entailed construction of a 314-bed hospital, a 50,000-square-foot hospital support building, and a 23,000-square-foot central utility plant. Prior to beginning construction of the hospital in May 2009, McCarthy built a new member and doctor parking lot and relocated utilities at the site.

“Building a major hospital facility on an extremely tight site surrounded by an operational medical center took a great deal of planning and coordination,” said McCarthy Senior Project Manager Lucy Villanueva.

One of the most challenging aspects of the project was the proximity of the new hospital to existing structures, located only 25 feet away from an operational medical office building and 70 feet away from other medical facilities. McCarthy conducted tie-ins to two existing medical office buildings at a second-story pedestrian bridge and an underground pedestrian tunnel as well as various utility tie-ins, all while ensuring operation of existing facilities.

Villanueva says that close collaborating with hospital administration and project subcontractors and suppliers was required to minimize disruption to neighboring facilities. McCarthy also utilized ‘just-in-time delivery,’ staged materials off-site and shuttled construction workers in from a remote parking area.

The new Fontana hospital is based on Kaiser Permanente’s innovative template design that allows for enhanced flexibility to accommodate changing practices and technologies. Kaiser Permanente’s electronic medical record system, sophisticated imaging systems, wall-to-wall wireless computer network and free Wi-Fi for members are some of the technological features in the new hospital. More than 20 specialty services are available in the new tower, including a Cardiac Catheterization Lab, Labor & Delivery and Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units. Cardiac Surgery Services will be added in 2014. The hospital features: all private patient rooms; a 24-hour, 51-bed emergency department; 24-hour pharmacy; a healing garden and mediation room as well as a cafe. The hospital support building is attached to the new hospital and includes medical offices, radiology, a pharmacy and a specialty clinic.

“The patient-centered design at Fontana is focused on a continuum path to healing throughout three stages of the patient experience: anticipation, transition and healing,” notes John Kouletsis, VP of Facilities Planning & Design at Kaiser Permanente. The facility boasts large windows providing an abundance of natural light to help ease stress and contribute to patient healing. “Warm colors are used throughout the facility to activate the space and presents a more welcoming patient experience,” adds Kouletsis. Each floor features its own accent color that is visible through the main tower to aid in wayfinding. All patient rooms have an acoustic design reducing noise, and the hospital’s labor and delivery suites feature a home-like setting to comfort expectant and new mothers.

The facility also incorporates numerous sustainable design solutions including: energy efficient lighting, electrical, air conditioning and plumbing systems; use of reclaimed water for cooling towers; site bio-retention basins; light colored sustainable roofing; dual pane exterior window glazing and natural day lighting.

Likewise, McCarthy used sustainable building methods such as recycling building materials, minimizing unrecyclable construction waste and maintaining proper indoor air quality. In an effort to streamline the submittal process, as well as dramatically reduce the amount of paper used on the project, McCarthy utilized the Submittal Exchange online service to electronically process over 95% of all submittals.

“According to Submittal Exchange, the use of this software on the Kaiser Permanente Fontana project has saved more than 130 trees,” said Villanueva.

Additionally, a Digital Plan Room with two large monitors for viewing the drawings electronically was used to replace the stacks and rolls of paper drawings. This not only saved space, but significantly reduced the reproduction costs and use of paper for printing the large quantity of drawings required for the project. To encourage the subcontractors to do the same, McCarthy distributed all drawing updates electronically.

A key aspect to delivering this complex healthcare project early and within budget was the design-assist delivery method. “This early collaborative approach among the design engineer and the trade contractor helped reduce costly and time intensive changes during construction,” said Villanueva.

Helping to further the design-assist effort, the project team utilized Building Information Modeling (BIM) coordination technology to manage the hospital facility’s complex structural, architectural, and mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems.

“The project was fully coordinated utilizing Navisworks^TM and its clash detection capabilities. All overhead utilities were completely modeled to assist the project team in efficiently coordinating the extremely complex systems designed for this project,” explained Villanueva. “The ability to resolve design and constructability issues effectively and early in the process, directly attributed to significant cost savings in the field and allowed for a faster, more efficient installation. The largest benefit to the modeling process was the ability to prefabricate the majority of the plumbing, HVAC piping, ductwork and electrical systems. Over 60% of these systems were prefabricated in off-site facilities and shipped to the project just-in-time for installation, helping reduce the project duration and improve quality,” added Villanueva.

Theresa Ashby, transition director, Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center said, “The efficiencies and workflow innovations we were able to leverage during construction of the Fontana Replacement Hospital have allowed us to provide cutting-edge healthcare to the residents of the Inland Empire much sooner than we had initially anticipated.”

About McCarthy

Recognized as one of the nation’s few true builders, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is the largesthealthcare facilities builder in California (ENR California, July 2012) and the largest general building contractor in California (ENR California, July 2012). The company is committed to the construction of high performance green buildings; progressive jobsite technology; and safer, faster and more cost-effective execution. More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com.

To download high resolution images, please visit: http://www.mccarthy.com/kaiser-permanente-fontana

http://www.fortmilltimes.com/2013/07/17/2827360/innovation-technology-and-teamwork.html