KR Wolfe
Integrating
Systems for Kaiser
Permanente
Garfield Speciality
Care Center
July 8, 2011
KR Wolfe worked
alongside Steris Corp
at the Kaiser Garfield
Specialty Care Center
installing and
integrating operating
room capitol
equipment, including
but not limited to;
surgical lights, medical
equipment booms,
monitors, and cabinet
warmers. KR Wolfe is
expected to play an
integral role in future
facilities mentioned
within the below
article…
KAISER’S HEALTH
PLAN
By Kelly Quigley
Kaiser Permanente
plans to officially open
its newest San Diego
medical center June 8
when patients are able
to receive care at the
just-completed surgical
suites of the $111
million Garfield
Specialty Care Center.
The Garfield center,
which has been
partially operational
since September when
some physicians
moved into the space,
is already a common
sight for many San
Diego drivers, whether
they know it or not.
The 100,000-square-
foot building is located
on a hill just south of
State Route 52 and
east of Interstate 805,
and has been branded
prominently with the
Kaiser Permanente
marquee.
But the new center in
the Clairemont area is
significant not just
because of its physical
presence or the fact
that it’s the first new
San Diego medical
facility that Kaiser has
opened in nearly a
decade, but also
because it’s the start
of a growth trend for
Kaiser that will span
the next 10 years and
include a brand-new
hospital, among many
other facilities.
“We haven’t opened a
building here in San
Diego for quite some
time,” said Mary Ann
Barnes, senior vice
president and
executive director of
Kaiser Permanente
San Diego.
That’s largely because
local health care
demand remained
constant for Kaiser in
the past 10 to 12
years, with
membership fluctuating
only slightly in San
Diego from around
480,000 to 490,000.
Until now, existing
buildings were
sufficient.
But starting about a
year ago, the Oakland-
based managed care
system began to see
“consistent,
sustainable”
membership growth in
San Diego, Kaiser
spokesman Rodger
Dougherty said. At the
end of April, the total
was at 505,640. And it’s
expected to grow
leading up to 2014.
Preparing for Health
Care Reform“We’re
looking at significant
expansion in San
Diego to be ready for
health care reforms to
take effect,” Barnes
said.
That’s not a bad idea,
said Steven Escoboza,
president and chief
executive officer of the
Hospital Association of
San Diego and
Imperial Counties, a
nonprofit trade group.
“Before health care
reform was signed into
law in March of last
year, I’d say that here
in San Diego we had a
sufficient number of
beds to handle the
number of people who
were insured,” he said.
Escoboza said it’s hard
to predict the exact
effect that health care
reform will have on
demand for medical
procedures in San
Diego, but he said that
analysis of the
population shows that
about 500,000 more
people will somehow
become insured as a
result of the reforms,
boosting the number of
insured local patients
to about 3 million from
the current 2.5 million.
“It doesn’t necessarily
mean that many
people will seek care,
but demand will
change radically,” he
said.
Babying Their Patients
The Garfield Specialty
Care Center, named
after Kaiser co-founder
Sidney Garfield, will
help meet demand for
outpatient surgeries,
urology, pain
management, and
other care. A total of
58 physicians will
practice there, along
with 200 support staff.
Many of these doctors
and workers are
relocating from Kaiser’
s San Diego Medical
Center at 4647 Zion
Ave.
“The Garfield center is
central to the county,
and we’re real pleased
with that,” Barnes said.
“We also like that it’s
giving us the
opportunity to move
doctors off of our only
doctors office campus
so we can refurbish
rooms for mom and
baby.”
Indeed, as surgical
specialists and other
physicians move to the
Garfield center, Kaiser
is using the space at
the Zion Avenue
medical center to
expand and improve its
facilities, notably for
maternity and child
care. Among the major
improvements will be
private rooms for
babies in the neonatal
intensive care unit,
Barnes said. The total
project cost for the
medical center
renovation is $150
million, Dougherty
said, and construction
will be ongoing for at
least the next 18
months.
More Projects in the
Works
In addition to the new
Garfield Specialty Care
Center and upgrades
to the San Diego
Medical Center, Kaiser
has a few other big
plans brewing — two of
which are still pending
approval from the
board of directors.
One of the three
projects is the fourth
phase of its San
Marcos Medical Office
Campus. In July,
Kaiser is breaking
ground on a 71,200-
square-foot building at
400 Craven Road. It is
expected to be finished
in the fall of 2012,
housing 37 physicians
and 125 staff
members, with an
ambulatory surgery
center along with four
new operating rooms.
The project is
budgeted at $64
million.
Next on the lineup is a
new Carmel Valley
medical office near the
interchange of
Interstate 5 and the 56
freeway in North
County. If approved,
the primary care
center will encompass
about 36,000 square
feet, with 20 physicians
and about 100 staff
based there. A budget
hasn’t been
determined yet,
Dougherty said.
“This is an area where
we have a good
number of members
living in the general
vicinity,” he said. “It
would be wonderful to
provide easier access
to health care for
members in the North
County.”
And finally, Kaiser is in
the formative stages of
finding land to build at
least one new acute
care, inpatient hospital
in San Diego by 2020.
Location is currently
the biggest question.
“We’re looking in all
different areas of the
county — north, south,
east and central,”
Dougherty said. “We
still have a lot of
decisions to make.”
He couldn’t say whether
the new hospital would
eventually replace the
San Diego Medical
Center on Zion, or if the
plan would be to run
both. “That is still a
matter of discussion,”
he said. However, he
noted that the Zion
hospital meets all of the
state’s earthquake
safety requirements
until 2030.
“The bottom line is that
we see growth in our
future,” he said.
“Health care reform
has given Kaiser a
better stage to tell our
story. Consumers
haven’t paid much
attention to prevention
and wellness in the
past, but now they are.
Once people see what
we have to offer, it’s
compelling.”
Article courtesy of http:
//www.sdbj.com
Integrating
Systems for Kaiser
Permanente
Garfield Speciality
Care Center
July 8, 2011
KR Wolfe worked
alongside Steris Corp
at the Kaiser Garfield
Specialty Care Center
installing and
integrating operating
room capitol
equipment, including
but not limited to;
surgical lights, medical
equipment booms,
monitors, and cabinet
warmers. KR Wolfe is
expected to play an
integral role in future
facilities mentioned
within the below
article…
KAISER’S HEALTH
PLAN
By Kelly Quigley
Kaiser Permanente
plans to officially open
its newest San Diego
medical center June 8
when patients are able
to receive care at the
just-completed surgical
suites of the $111
million Garfield
Specialty Care Center.
The Garfield center,
which has been
partially operational
since September when
some physicians
moved into the space,
is already a common
sight for many San
Diego drivers, whether
they know it or not.
The 100,000-square-
foot building is located
on a hill just south of
State Route 52 and
east of Interstate 805,
and has been branded
prominently with the
Kaiser Permanente
marquee.
But the new center in
the Clairemont area is
significant not just
because of its physical
presence or the fact
that it’s the first new
San Diego medical
facility that Kaiser has
opened in nearly a
decade, but also
because it’s the start
of a growth trend for
Kaiser that will span
the next 10 years and
include a brand-new
hospital, among many
other facilities.
“We haven’t opened a
building here in San
Diego for quite some
time,” said Mary Ann
Barnes, senior vice
president and
executive director of
Kaiser Permanente
San Diego.
That’s largely because
local health care
demand remained
constant for Kaiser in
the past 10 to 12
years, with
membership fluctuating
only slightly in San
Diego from around
480,000 to 490,000.
Until now, existing
buildings were
sufficient.
But starting about a
year ago, the Oakland-
based managed care
system began to see
“consistent,
sustainable”
membership growth in
San Diego, Kaiser
spokesman Rodger
Dougherty said. At the
end of April, the total
was at 505,640. And it’s
expected to grow
leading up to 2014.
Preparing for Health
Care Reform“We’re
looking at significant
expansion in San
Diego to be ready for
health care reforms to
take effect,” Barnes
said.
That’s not a bad idea,
said Steven Escoboza,
president and chief
executive officer of the
Hospital Association of
San Diego and
Imperial Counties, a
nonprofit trade group.
“Before health care
reform was signed into
law in March of last
year, I’d say that here
in San Diego we had a
sufficient number of
beds to handle the
number of people who
were insured,” he said.
Escoboza said it’s hard
to predict the exact
effect that health care
reform will have on
demand for medical
procedures in San
Diego, but he said that
analysis of the
population shows that
about 500,000 more
people will somehow
become insured as a
result of the reforms,
boosting the number of
insured local patients
to about 3 million from
the current 2.5 million.
“It doesn’t necessarily
mean that many
people will seek care,
but demand will
change radically,” he
said.
Babying Their Patients
The Garfield Specialty
Care Center, named
after Kaiser co-founder
Sidney Garfield, will
help meet demand for
outpatient surgeries,
urology, pain
management, and
other care. A total of
58 physicians will
practice there, along
with 200 support staff.
Many of these doctors
and workers are
relocating from Kaiser’
s San Diego Medical
Center at 4647 Zion
Ave.
“The Garfield center is
central to the county,
and we’re real pleased
with that,” Barnes said.
“We also like that it’s
giving us the
opportunity to move
doctors off of our only
doctors office campus
so we can refurbish
rooms for mom and
baby.”
Indeed, as surgical
specialists and other
physicians move to the
Garfield center, Kaiser
is using the space at
the Zion Avenue
medical center to
expand and improve its
facilities, notably for
maternity and child
care. Among the major
improvements will be
private rooms for
babies in the neonatal
intensive care unit,
Barnes said. The total
project cost for the
medical center
renovation is $150
million, Dougherty
said, and construction
will be ongoing for at
least the next 18
months.
More Projects in the
Works
In addition to the new
Garfield Specialty Care
Center and upgrades
to the San Diego
Medical Center, Kaiser
has a few other big
plans brewing — two of
which are still pending
approval from the
board of directors.
One of the three
projects is the fourth
phase of its San
Marcos Medical Office
Campus. In July,
Kaiser is breaking
ground on a 71,200-
square-foot building at
400 Craven Road. It is
expected to be finished
in the fall of 2012,
housing 37 physicians
and 125 staff
members, with an
ambulatory surgery
center along with four
new operating rooms.
The project is
budgeted at $64
million.
Next on the lineup is a
new Carmel Valley
medical office near the
interchange of
Interstate 5 and the 56
freeway in North
County. If approved,
the primary care
center will encompass
about 36,000 square
feet, with 20 physicians
and about 100 staff
based there. A budget
hasn’t been
determined yet,
Dougherty said.
“This is an area where
we have a good
number of members
living in the general
vicinity,” he said. “It
would be wonderful to
provide easier access
to health care for
members in the North
County.”
And finally, Kaiser is in
the formative stages of
finding land to build at
least one new acute
care, inpatient hospital
in San Diego by 2020.
Location is currently
the biggest question.
“We’re looking in all
different areas of the
county — north, south,
east and central,”
Dougherty said. “We
still have a lot of
decisions to make.”
He couldn’t say whether
the new hospital would
eventually replace the
San Diego Medical
Center on Zion, or if the
plan would be to run
both. “That is still a
matter of discussion,”
he said. However, he
noted that the Zion
hospital meets all of the
state’s earthquake
safety requirements
until 2030.
“The bottom line is that
we see growth in our
future,” he said.
“Health care reform
has given Kaiser a
better stage to tell our
story. Consumers
haven’t paid much
attention to prevention
and wellness in the
past, but now they are.
Once people see what
we have to offer, it’s
compelling.”
Article courtesy of http:
//www.sdbj.com
San Diego
Education Report
Education Report
People
Kaiser Permanente links
Diagnostic Imaging
Diagnosis
Medical Records
Other
Doctors
Kaiser Permanente Garfield Specialty Center
Is Kaiser Permanente violating the California Business
and Professions Code with false advertising about
digitized x-rays?
by Maura Larkins
Kaiser Permanente boasts about its new San Diego Garfield Specialty Center in its
October 2011 e-newsletter: "All our X-rays and imaging tests are digital and
become part of your electronic health record, which can help speed diagnosis
and treatment."
Kaiser Permanente told me that my x-rays taken on June 15, 2011 at the Garfield
Specialty Center were never digitized, and were saved only on thermal paper.
Obviously, both claims can not be true.
Kaiser tampered with medical records and created a bizarre series of paper images to
hide x-rays. Kaiser was determined to prove that the patient did not have the problem
she claimed to have. This plan was written down by the referring doctor in an email to
the Department Administrator before the procedure was done.
Garfield Specialty Center in full bloom
Partners in Health e-newsletter
Kaiser Permanente
October 2011
If you live near Central San Diego, you’ll be happy to hear that our Garfield Specialty
Center is now fully open for business.
Our Garfield Specialty Center “offers a convenient, central location for members to
receive same-day surgery and medical care from 58 specialty care providers,” says
Mary Ann Barnes, senior vice president and executive director of Kaiser Permanente in
San Diego.
The Ambulatory Surgery Center has four operating suites, six gastrointestinal
procedure suites, and pre- and post-operative patient care areas. Other services
available include:
orthopedics
podiatry
pain management
plastic surgery
general surgery
head and neck surgery
audiology
gastroenterology
urology
pharmacy
laboratory
radiology
All our X-rays and imaging tests are digital and become part of your electronic health
record, which can help speed diagnosis and treatment. In our laboratory, full-spin,
adjustable chairs enable technicians to draw blood from either arm. Exam rooms are
built for greater noise reduction and patient privacy.
“We’ve designed this building with a lot of windows and natural light,” says Barnes. “Our
designers paid close attention to creating a comfortable, healing environment for our
patients.”
The Garfield Specialty Center is at 5893 Copley Drive, about 8.5 miles from our San
Diego Medical Center.
and Professions Code with false advertising about
digitized x-rays?
by Maura Larkins
Kaiser Permanente boasts about its new San Diego Garfield Specialty Center in its
October 2011 e-newsletter: "All our X-rays and imaging tests are digital and
become part of your electronic health record, which can help speed diagnosis
and treatment."
Kaiser Permanente told me that my x-rays taken on June 15, 2011 at the Garfield
Specialty Center were never digitized, and were saved only on thermal paper.
Obviously, both claims can not be true.
Kaiser tampered with medical records and created a bizarre series of paper images to
hide x-rays. Kaiser was determined to prove that the patient did not have the problem
she claimed to have. This plan was written down by the referring doctor in an email to
the Department Administrator before the procedure was done.
Garfield Specialty Center in full bloom
Partners in Health e-newsletter
Kaiser Permanente
October 2011
If you live near Central San Diego, you’ll be happy to hear that our Garfield Specialty
Center is now fully open for business.
Our Garfield Specialty Center “offers a convenient, central location for members to
receive same-day surgery and medical care from 58 specialty care providers,” says
Mary Ann Barnes, senior vice president and executive director of Kaiser Permanente in
San Diego.
The Ambulatory Surgery Center has four operating suites, six gastrointestinal
procedure suites, and pre- and post-operative patient care areas. Other services
available include:
orthopedics
podiatry
pain management
plastic surgery
general surgery
head and neck surgery
audiology
gastroenterology
urology
pharmacy
laboratory
radiology
All our X-rays and imaging tests are digital and become part of your electronic health
record, which can help speed diagnosis and treatment. In our laboratory, full-spin,
adjustable chairs enable technicians to draw blood from either arm. Exam rooms are
built for greater noise reduction and patient privacy.
“We’ve designed this building with a lot of windows and natural light,” says Barnes. “Our
designers paid close attention to creating a comfortable, healing environment for our
patients.”
The Garfield Specialty Center is at 5893 Copley Drive, about 8.5 miles from our San
Diego Medical Center.