Kaiser Permanente Location In Southern California

Kaiser Permanente closing call center in Stockton

Simultaneously, Kaiser will create 170 new, higher-paying medical coding jobs at the Stockton location. Training will be provided.

Some displaced workers may go for the training to qualify for the new jobs, but other opportunities will be available, Kaiser spokeswoman Melanie Hatchel said.

The company is working with Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West to transition as many employees into new jobs as possible, Kaiser said in a statement.

Sixteen have already been placed in new jobs. Tuition assistance will be available for enrollment in the new Kaiser Permanente School of Allied Health Sciences Stockton campus to pursue careers in phlebotomy, radiography and sonography.

“The Kaiser contract says they’ll be protected and placed into an equal position within a year,” union spokeswoman Elizabeth Brennan said.

The Stockton call center has operated for about 15 years. Closure is part of a national call center consolidation into three states: California, Colorado and Maryland, in order to provide around-the-clock coverage across time zones.

California Health Care Personnel News Update for July 2011 ...

FROM THE FOUNDATION Career Opportunity

CHCF's Health Reform & Public Programs Initiative is searching for a program staff. Play a major role in the implementation and tracking of philanthropic strategies to support health reform and advance the effectiveness of California's public coverage programs.

New research finds that Medicaid coverage in Oregon increased individuals' health care access and use of services, lowered out-of-pocket costs and reduced medical debt, and improved self-reported health and well being.

Two new CHCF-supported reports present policy approaches for extending coverage and maintaining continuity of care for low-income Californians, including a potential Basic Health Program option within the ACA.

American Hospital Association

The American Hospital Association has elected Benjamin Chu -- group president of Southern California and Hawaii for Kaiser Foundation's Hospitals and Health Plan -- as chair-elect designate, Modern Healthcare reports (Zigmond, Modern Healthcare , 7/17).

The designation means that Chu will serve a one-year term as chair of AHA starting in 2013 ( Payers & Providers , 7/21). AHA represents more than 5,000 hospitals and health systems. In his current role, Chu manages 14 hospitals and 168 medical offices ( Modern Healthcare , 7/17).

California Department of Health Care Services

On July 27, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) appointed Kelly Green (D) as deputy director of legislative and governmental affairs for the state Department of Health Care Services.

Since 2009, Green has served as a regulatory policy specialist at the California Nurses Association.

Her new position does not require Senate confirmation, and her annual compensation is $105,528 ( Office of the Governor release , 7/27).

California Division of Workers' Compensation

Brown has appointed Rosa Moran (D) to head the California Division of Workers' Compensation, the Sacramento Business Journal reports. The division has a staff of about 1,200 and a budget of more than $135 million.

Moran has worked as a workers' compensation judge since 2005. From 1988 to 2005, she served as an attorney in private practice.

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