Kaiser Permanente Names New National Compliance and Privacy Officer

OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Vanessa Benavides has been chosen to be the new senior vice president and Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer for Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc.

Benavides will oversee the organization's commitment to ethics and compliance that includes the safeguarding of personal and health information of Kaiser Permanente's more than 10 million members and approximately 180,000 employees. She will also be responsible for maintaining a culture within the organization in which employees do the right thing and feel comfortable speaking up when they encounter actions or activities that do not align with Kaiser Permanente's mission, principles or policies.

"The protection of sensitive and personal information, along with the compliance with government and industry standards of care and coverage, are the backbone of our integrity as a health care organization," said Bernard J. Tyson, chairman and CEO of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals, Inc. "We take this work very seriously, and we are confident that Ms. Benavides' experience and leadership will further strengthen our efforts in these critical areas."

In her new position, Benavides will direct planning, oversight and coordination of activities to ensure compliance with regulatory mandates, laws, accreditation and licensure requirements, as well as Kaiser Permanente policies. She also will provide key leadership in identifying, evaluating and prioritizing enterprise risks, and coordinating activities with other internal risk-management units.

Benavides currently works at Tenet Healthcare, where she serves as vice president and chief compliance officer and manages ethics and compliance programs across the company. Before joining Tenet, she served as legal counsel for Caremark Rx and was an associate attorney at Locke, Liddell & Sapp, LLP, where she specialized in health care, employee benefits and corporate law.

She holds a law degree from University of Iowa College of Law and a bachelor's degree in Spanish and Communication Studies from Vanderbilt University.

Benavides will officially join Kaiser Permanente on November 9. She will work in transition with Daniel P. Garcia, who will retire as chief compliance and privacy officer later this year.

About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 10 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/share.

Contact:
Marc Brown, 510-271-6328

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SOURCE Kaiser Permanente