Kaiser Permanente Promotes Janet Liang to COO for Northern California Region and Mary Ann Barnes to President of Hawaii Region

OAKLAND, Calif., March 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente announced today that Janet Liang, president of the organization's Hawaii Region, has been promoted to chief operating officer for the Northern California Region. Mary Ann Barnes, senior vice president and executive director for Kaiser Permanente's San Diego Service Area, has been promoted to regional president of Hawaii. The official transition begins immediately, with Liang and Barnes both moving into their new roles full time in June.

"Janet and Mary Ann embody the type of leadership we have at Kaiser Permanente, and they demonstrate their commitment and passion to our organization's mission of providing affordable, high-quality care and coverage to millions of Americans," said Bernard J. Tyson, chairman and chief executive officer for Kaiser Permanente. "I am extremely pleased we can provide our talented leaders with strategic opportunities within our organization so they can continue leading Kaiser Permanente in the 21^st century."

Liang joined Kaiser Permanente in 2007 as Hawaii's regional president. During her tenure she has successfully led several major initiatives that have enhanced the high-quality care and service Kaiser Permanente provides to its 230,000 members in Hawaii, including significant clinic and hospital upgrades, process improvements, and financial success in a challenging economic and regulatory environment. All this and more has turned the region toward positive growth and its highest quality and reputation scores.

Prior to joining Kaiser Permanente, Liang served in executive roles of increasing responsibility for Group Health Cooperative, based in Seattle, Wash., including executive vice president, Columbia Region, and vice president, community networks and clinical services.

"Janet's ability to build strong relationships and inspire her teams to achieve critical goals will be an asset to the Northern California Region," said Gregory A. Adams, executive vice president, group president and Northern California regional president. "Her experience in Hawaii has prepared her well to take on a senior leadership role in a larger, complex region with 3.4 million members."

Barnes has been with Kaiser Permanente for the past 30 years, serving in all parts of the organization. Since 2009, she has been responsible for the oversight of health care delivery, financial operations and health plan and hospital support functions in San Diego County, where Kaiser Permanente has more than 528,000 members, a new 414-bed acute care hospital and 24 medical offices. She is also the co-lead of Kaiser Permanente's National Hospital Council and National Hospital Executives Group.

Before that, Barnes was senior vice president and area manager of Kaiser Permanente's Santa Clara Service Area, leading health plan and hospital operations, including the opening of the new Santa Clara Medical Center in 2007. She has served as the medical group administrator for the Los Angeles Medical Center and associated medical offices in East Los Angeles, Glendale and Pasadena, as well as medical group administrator for the West Los Angeles Medical Center.

"Mary Ann's outstanding work in achieving higher levels of service quality for our members and patients has significantly strengthened Kaiser Permanente's position as the health care provider of choice for our San Diego service area. The extensive knowledge, skills and patient-centric focus that she brings to her new duties as regional president of Hawaii will help her greatly in building on the legacy of accomplishment produced by Janet Liang," said Benjamin K. Chu, MD, MPH, executive vice president, group president and Southern California regional president.

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is 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 and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve.  We currently serve approximately 9.1 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 medical teams are supported by industry-leading technology and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, care delivery and chronic disease management. For more information, go to: kp.org/share.

Contact:

Kate Wathen, [email protected] (510) 267-7647, (510) 421-8476 (mobile)

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SOURCE Kaiser Permanente