Kaiser Permanente Continues Large-Scale Expansion Across the Mid-Atlantic

One of the Nation's Top Health Providers Redefines Care Delivery with Multi-Specialty Facilities and Expanded Services

ROCKVILLE, Md., Feb. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente, a leading not-for-profit health plan and care provider recognized for its outstanding quality and convenient access by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, is expanding the services it provides to members in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., with several new multi-specialty facilities and expanded medical centers opening over the next two years. 

This robust expansion of two existing medical centers and the construction of four new facilities will provide superior care to approximately 500,000 Kaiser Permanente members in the Mid-Atlantic region.  New locations in Baltimore County, Md., Montgomery County, Md., Fairfax County, Va., and Washington, D.C., will offer members more access to care from the regions best physicians and more medical services conveniently located under one roof within Kaiser Permanente medical centers.  

"Improving the care experience for our members is at the heart of the significant enhancements coming to Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States over the next few years," said Marilyn Kawamura, president, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States, Inc.  "Our new facilities are located in key locations convenient to our members, further demonstrating the power and efficiency of Kaiser Permanente's integrated care delivery system."

Kaiser Permanente's new state-of-the-art, multi-specialty facilities will house an unparalleled array of primary and specialty medical care services, including 24 hour urgent care, 23-hour-stay clinical observation units, and 24 hour pharmacy, laboratory and x-ray – all under one roof. 

"Our Mid-Atlantic Permanente physicians helped design these buildings to ensure they house all the technology and equipment our physicians need to quickly and easily provide total care, at any time of the day or night," noted Bernadette Loftus, M.D., The Permanente Medical Group associate executive director for the Mid-Atlantic States.  "A broad array of Permanente specialists, primary care providers, along with lab, pharmacy and imaging – and the supporting equipment – are all co-located in a single building, which is a boon for the health care quality and convenience we can provide."

Kaiser Permanente's expert physicians and health care teams are supported and empowered by Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect ®, an advanced electronic medical record system that helps clinicians provide outstanding quality, assists patients in making certain they have received the preventive care they require, and maximizes patient safety by identifying risks to patients, such as potentially harmful drug combinations.  Patients also have the added convenience of being able to access their medical records, schedule appointments, send secure e-mail to their physicians, and order prescription refills online, through My Health Manager at kp.org.  Kaiser Permanente recently released a new app for Android and iPhone devices that gives members access to their own medical information anywhere in the world with the mobile-optimized version of kp.org.

"The opening of this next group of Kaiser Permanente Medical Centers is another step forward to Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States solidifying our position as a leading provider of 21st century health care on the East Coast," said Robert Pearl, M.D., president and CEO, Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group.  "These new facilities embody Kaiser Permanente's commitment to providing exceptional quality in the most effective and convenient ways possible. Combined with our comprehensive electronic medical record and the Internet based tools that patients can use to schedule an appointment, review their laboratory results and send a secure e-mail to their physicians, these next generation facilities will provide a level of unmatched access and convenience for patients and their families."

Kaiser Permanente's new facilities provide members with greater access to high quality health care.  Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States is recognized both locally and nationally as one of the top health plans for achieving superior clinical outcomes that help members maximize their total health. 

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) recognized Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States as the highest-rated Medicare health plan in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., No. 17 Medicare plan and No. 33 Commercial health plan in the nation in 'NCQA's Health Insurance Plan Rankings 2011-2012.'  In addition, Kaiser Permanente was the highest scoring health maintenance organization in the Maryland Health Care Commission's 2011 Health Benefit Plan Performance Report: Measuring the Quality of Maryland Commercial Health Benefit Plans.

Kaiser Permanente expands to meet the needs of a growing population in the Mid-Atlantic and contributes to the vitality of communities across the region, investing in workforce development, job creation, and purchasing local goods and services.  In 2011, Kaiser Permanente awarded over $7 million to more than 190 organizations located throughout Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.  Kaiser Permanente has a long history of making total health a reality for everyone and creating healthy communities through grants, volunteerism, supporting healthy eating and active living initiatives, and partnerships.  To learn more about Kaiser Permanente's community initiatives, visit www.kp.org/communitybenefit.

Find out more about Kaiser Permanente's new facilities below, or visit www.kp.org/midatlantic. 

MARYLAND

NEW Gaithersburg Medical Center
655 Watkins Mill Road, Gaithersburg, Maryland

• Opening March 2012
• 175,000 square feet
• Full-service facility
• Services include: ambulatory surgery, cardiology, neurology, pulmonary, pharmacy, 24/7 urgent care, laboratory, extensive imaging services, and a 23-hour-stay clinical observation unit, among many other services

Largo Medical Center
Expansion and renovation
1221 Mercantile Lane, Largo, Maryland

• Expansion set to be complete 2013
• 237,000 square feet
• Full-service facility
• Services include: 23-hour-stay clinical observation unit, urgent care, ambulatory surgery, bone density, interventional radiology, nuclear cardiology, and more

NEW South Baltimore Medical Center
1701 Twin Springs Road, Baltimore, Maryland

• Opening spring 2013
• 130,000 square feet
• Full-service facility
• Services include: 24/7 urgent care, ambulatory surgery, primary care, pharmacy, advanced imaging services, a wide array of specialty care services, and more

VIRGINIA

Ashburn Medical Center
Expansion and renovation
43480 Yukon Drive, Suite 100, Ashburn, Virginia

• Opening summer 2012; Loudoun Medical Center will close and services will relocate to the Ashburn Medical Center
• 29,000 square feet
• Services include: expanded obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, and adult medicine, and onsite pharmacy, laboratory, radiology and more

NEW Tysons Corner Medical Center
8008 West Park Drive, McLean, Virginia

• Opening Summer 2012
• 200,000 Square Feet
• Full-service Facility
• Services Include: Primary Care, 24/7 Urgent Care, Outpatient Procedures, Podiatry, Orthopedics, General Surgery, 23-hour-stay Clinical Observation Unit, Among Many Other Services

WASHINGTON, D.C.

NEW Northwest D.C. Medical Center
2301 M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.

• Opening fall 2012; West End Medical Center will close and all service will relocate to the Northwest D.C. Medical Center
• 42,000 square feet
• Service include: adult primary care, pharmacy, enhanced behavioral health services, radiology, laboratory, and obstetrics and gynecology

About Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States
Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States region, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, provides and coordinates complete health care services for almost 500,000 members through 30 medical centers in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.  Founded in 1980, Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States is a total health organization comprised of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States, Inc., and the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, P.C., an independent medical group that features approximately 900 physicians who provide or arrange care for patients throughout the area.  Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States is considered one of Maryland's "Top HMOs," according to the Maryland Health Care Commission.  The health plan was ranked in the nation's 50 top commercial health plans and 20 top Medicare health plans – and the #1 Medicare plan for Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. – by "NCQA Health Insurance Plan Rankings 2011-2012 Private."  For more information about Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States, visit http://www.kp.org/ or follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/KPMidAtlantic.

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States