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FEBRUARY 07 | ISSUE No.12
FRONTLINE NEWS FOR KP WORKERS,
MANAGERS & PHYSICIANS
Dr. Smith
to
UBT
stat!
IN THIS ISSUE
Getting Technical: Rad Techs Fill the Gap
0-to-100 in a Day: SCAL Set to Launch UBTs
From the Desk of Henrietta: Tower of Babble
MLK Jr. Day: Still a Day On
Contract Specialist: Jack of All Trades
www.lmpartnership.org

EDITOR’S LETTER
Time to Do or Do Not
Published by Kaiser Permanente and
Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions
888 LMP AT KP (888-567-2857)
Communications Directors
Maureen Anderson
Michael Dowling
Co-Editors
Paul Cohen
Vince Golla
Contributors
Patty Allison, Janet Coffman,
Jennifer Gladwell, Kyra Kitlowski,
Julie Light, Chris Ponsano,
Neal Sacharow, Gwen E. Scott
Worksite Photos: Bob Gumpert
Graphic Design: Stoller Design Group
More than a month into 2007, one word’s on the minds of frontline staff and managers: Execution. People in the Partnership spent
2006 laying the groundwork for successes to come. They—and you—have invested fully. Now they—and you—want to see ROI.
Return On Investment. 2007 is the year when we should begin to see our investments yield such dividends as functioning unitbased
teams (UBTs), improvements in performance, gains in service quality, and increases in workplace quality. Central to this
theme is our cover story, “Dr. Smith to UBT—Stat!” You might wonder how Kaiser Permanente’s 12,000-plus doctors and dentists
fit into unit-based teams. The Permanente Medical Group’s leaders aren’t wondering about it—they’re pushing it and planning for
it, as you’ll see.
Speaking of return on investment, “Getting Technical” (page 6) puts a spotlight on workforce development success in Southern
California, in which KP, local unions, and the state of California joined forces to train current KP employees for increasingly
technical jobs that otherwise would be filled by people outside the organization.
Similarly, “Jack of All Trades” (page 8) shows how another key part of the 2005 National Agreement—creation of a contract
specialist position to free stewards for stronger contributions to UBTs—already has started to pay dividends in some regions.
Conversely, “MLK Jr. Day: Still a Day On” (page 9) notes that both sides of the Partnership have not yet reached agreement about
the creation of a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday throughout KP. That hasn’t stopped Partnership employees from serving their
communities on that day, though.
Finally, our columnist from the lucid fringe, Henrietta, wants to have a word with you (page 10) about communicating. Four,
actually: Say what you mean. It’s a message easily lost in a large health care organization.
Welcome to 2007. Let’s make things happen at KP this year. And say what you mean. Please.
What is Hank?
Hank is an award-winning journal
named in honor of Kaiser Permanente’s
visionary co-founder and innovator,
Henry J. Kaiser.
Hank’s mission: Highlight the successes
and struggles of Kaiser Permanente’s
Labor Management Partnership, which
has been recognized as a model
operating strategy for health care. Hank
is published six times a year for the
Partnership’s 120,000 workers, managers,
physicians, and dentists. All of them
are working to make KP the best place
to receive care and the best place to
work—and in the process are making
health care history. That’s what Henry
Kaiser had in mind from the start.
We always welcome feedback and
story ideas through this email address:
hank@kp.org.
CONTENTS
10
3 Cover story: Dr. Smith to UBT – Stat!
Wondering what roles KP physicians will fill in unit-based teams?
Permanente Medical Group leaders aren’t wondering—they’re planning
and, in some cases, already participating in UBTs.
5 0–to–100 in a Day: SCAL Goes UBT
The region is poised to launch 100 unit-based teams—several at every
medical center in the region—at the the end of February.
6 Getting Technical: Rad Techs Fill the Gap
The Partnership, plus a partnership with the state of California, helps KP
retain skilled technicians and train them for hard-to-fill jobs.
8 CONTRACT SPECIALIST: JACK OF ALL TRADES
The first employees to hold these new positions reflect on their work in
the past year.
9 MLK Jr. Day: Still a Day On
MLK Jr. Day not a holiday yet, but KP employees still serve.
10 From the Desk of Henrietta: Tower of Babble
As she emerges, machete in one hand and dictionary in the other, from
the impenetrable thicket that is KP bureaucratic gobbledygookspeak.
12 Hank Index, 2004-Present
“When was that story in Hank?” Those answers, and more, can be
found in this inaugural index of topics from all past editions of Hank.
Tear it out and post it for the next time you search through your back
issues for a story.
3
5
6
8
9
Hank February 2007 | No. 12
www.lmpartnership.org

Cover story
Dr. Lillian Coppola has 20 minutes to go
into a patient’s room and assess if his
chest pain is acid reflux, or a heart attack.
Does he need antacid—or a trip to the
emergency room?
Dr. Smith to UBT–STAT!
KP’s Physicians Eye Their Place in Unit-Based Teams
What is a unit-based
team (UBT)?
A group of frontline employees,
managers and physicians/dentists
in a natural work setting who will,
through consensus, be accountable
for the performance of the unit
and will determine the methods
and metrics of the outcomes. The
team’s purpose should be aligned
with the region’s business strategy
and desired outcomes related to
improved performance, service
quality, efficiency, and growth, and
drive toward these outcomes with
some level of consistency and
standardization.
It’s the National Agreement design
for how every KP work group will
operate by 2010.
“I don’t have eight hours to deliberate and go back to my office and do research,” says
Dr. Coppola, an internist in Denver. “We simply aren’t trained that way. You make a
decision and move on. Make a decision and move on.”
Dr. Coppola thinks this might be one reason it’s difficult for physicians to adapt easily to
LMP committees, which are notorious for holding lengthy meetings. She should know—
she sits on a number of committees in her region. She counted the hours she sits on
Partnership committees: Twenty hours. Each month.
“Sometimes we’ll be there for eight hours deliberating and there won’t be a result at the
end of the day,” she says. “Sure, it’s very frustrating, but I wouldn’t be a part of this if I
didn’t think there was some payoff in the end.”
Dr. Coppola was asked to consider unit-based teams and whether she thought that
many—if not all—physicians would take part in those someday.
“All physicians? No,” Dr. Coppola says matter of factly. “Are you going to take a neurosurgeon,
for example, one of the most expensive physicians we have, and put him in a room for
eight hours to be involved in an LMP committee? I don’t think so. It doesn’t make business
sense. In some of these cases, our use of physician time will have to be a lot more focused.”
TRANSFORMERS, ONE AND ALL
KP faces a greater need to change than ever before, which is why the creation of UBTs
is viewed as critical to KP’s long-term success. Frontline decision-making models will
transform KP—and health care—and provide KP with advantages that few can match.
To get there, LMP committees themselves will undergo transformation. Marty Gilbert, MD,
says UBTs will look nothing like the several-hour LMP committee meetings of today.
Dr. Gilbert, associate executive director of operations strategy for the Permanente Federation
and the federation’s lead executive engaged with the Labor Management Partnership,
has been getting the word out about the important roles doctors must play in UBTs.
“No one is going to be taking any time out of their day to be in a UBT,” Dr. Gilbert says,
adding there only will be time needed for training. “A UBT will become how people
perform work, and they will find time during the day to huddle and to work together as a
team to best perform.”
(continues on page 4)
www.lmpartnership.org
Hank February 2007 | No. 12

Dr. Smith to UBT–Stat! (continued from page 3)
In other words, the neurosurgeon Dr. Coppola
was referring to should be able to participate,
Dr. Gilbert says.
“There would be no reason to have a UBT if
it didn’t have the physicians participating,”
says Dr. Gilbert, who also serves as a medical
director for the Southern California Permanente
Medical Group. “Each person brings
their own role, level of importance, and level
of observation to the table.”
Huddles alone won’t get the job done, says
Mike Hurley, director of education for the
Union Coalition. The answer, he says, will be
in effective, efficient and integrated learning.
That means better use of meeting time, using
“just in time” training tools, online training
BUYING IN
Dr. Walton, the assistant chief of psychiatry at
Bellflower, doesn’t think all physicians would
buy into the idea of sitting on UBTs unless
they became the UBTs Dr. Gilbert envisions.
“Overwhelmingly, being part of this UBT has
been a really positive experience,” she says.
“The UBT I’ve been a part of is tackling a
very challenging departmental issue—patient
access.” (For more about Bellflower’s UBT
initiative, visit the LMP website:
http://lmpartnership.org/news/
frontline/20060426_1653/index.html.)
Walton, as well as many other physicians,
have realized that understanding the
Partnership process takes time.
were feeling overwhelmed on a particular day
when the clinic was at its busiest. The team
met in a conference room and started to
come up with solutions.
“How can we help each other out?” Dr. Strub
asks her team. Hands start to raise.
“When I ask for help, they always say that
they’re busy, too,” one nurse says. “It’s feast
or famine,” comments another nurse.
“OK, let’s come up with some ideas,”
Dr. Strub responds, grabbing a marker and
writing a suggestion on the board.
For Dr. Strub, every department has
issues, and if you don’t work on them
as a team, it leads to more problems.
“Over the years we’ve had so many trainings. Is this really something
that we are going to be spending a lot of time and money on that
would be better spent on hiring more staff? Dr. Kandice Strako, San Francisco Medical Center
and “webinars,” and off-the-job training that
is better structured to meet the needs of the
work unit and the learner. “I am confident we
can provide the flexibility to deliver effective,
efficient, and integrated training within (KP),”
he says.
Where to find the time is a constant question
at the front line. David Zelen, a social worker
at Bellflower (California) Medical Center who’s
represented by SEIU United Healthcare
Workers-West, says he’s heard from several
physicians who feel left out when they aren’t
able to participate on UBTs.
“The decisions we make on our UBT affect
them as much as they affect us,” Zelen says.
“But it’s hard for them to find the time because
they are so busy taking care of patients that
often they aren’t included in the meetings.
They feel left out.”
His co-worker and fellow social worker, Rosie
Nunez, says the doctors serve as “ad hoc”
members. They come to the meetings when
the issue pertains to them.
“Of course, we wish we could have her there
the entire time if we could,” Nunez says,
referring to UBT member Lauren Walton,
MD. “I honestly can’t see that happening any
time soon, but maybe as UBTs evolve over
time. But right now, we have the best of both
worlds. It’s not perfect, but it works for us.”
“Then I finally understood that really a lot
of what we are doing is building trust with
one another and building relationships with
one another,” says Jeffrey Drobis, MD,
internist and physician director in KP’s Mid-
Atlantic region, and an LMP member at the
Kensington (Maryland) Medical Center.
Dr. Drobis says physicians play a very important
role and shouldn’t be left out.
“Especially if we’re talking about conflicts in
the workplace,” he says. “Physicians play a
critical role—in fact, physicians and clinicians
are living it much more than the managers
are. It’s a different relationship completely.”
Dr. Walton, from Bellflower, agrees.
“It does take time to build trust. People also
need to understand the process of a UBT,” she
says. “If they don’t understand the process,
they’ll be lost. You need to spend some time
and then people will start to buy in naturally.”
AN Rx FOR WORKPLACE ISSUES
Many physicians have seen how UBTs can
be crucial for helping departments tackle
issues big and small.
Peg Strub, MD, noted the importance of this
as she worked through an issue with her
staff in the Allergy Department at KP’s San
Francisco Medical Center. Some employees
“In medicine, we would refer to it as an
abscess. You need to cut it open and drain
out the pus. That’s how I see it with these
issues”, she says. “You can’t just put a Band-
Aid on it. You have to determine what it is and
how to deal with it.”
UBTs FOR ALL?
One challenging issue is how UBTs will
function given that some employees aren’t
part of the Partnership. Registered nurses
in Northern California, who are represented
by the California Nurses Association, aren’t
part of the Partnership. Pharmacists in the
Northwest region, and those in the Pharmacy
Guild in Northern California, are not in the
LMP, either.
The LMP’s leadership has determined
that the issue of non-Partnership unions’
participation in UBTs will be determined on a
region-by-region basis over time, but will not
hold up the launch of UBTs.
In the recent case with Dr. Strub and her team,
nurses pointed out to a Hank reporter they
were with CNA and that Dr. Strub’s meeting
could not be called a Partnership meeting.
“That is a difficult dilemma that I don’t think
has been fully resolved yet,” says John
Spallone, an optometrist, president of
International Federation of Professional and
Hank February 2007 | No. 12
www.lmpartnership.org

POINT OF VIEW
To what degree should KP
physicians participate in
Unit-Based Teams?
ANGELA CLARK
Medical Assistant, Adult Medicine
UFCW Local 1996
TownPark Medical Center
Kennesaw, Georgia
“I think in order to reach the
performance goals that are linked
to our region, you’d have to have provider participation
110 percent—because it’s all about how
best to serve our members. As far as getting the
greatest physician participation, you have to have
senior management involvement—that’s a given.
From there, of course, you would need to give the
providers the time to participate. Everyone needs
to understand that it’s a team effort and a new way
of doing things. ”
Technical Employees Local 20, and a labor “I hope it’s not just another training,” says Kandice
liaison. “For various reasons, CNA nurses
Strako, MD, at San Francisco Medical Center.
aren’t part of the Partnership, but there are “Over the years we’ve had so many trainings.
going to be many times when their input
Is this really something that we are going to be
is needed. We need to find a way in which spending a lot of time and money on that would
teams can meet that utilize the principles
be better spent on hiring more staff?”
of the Partnership, even if it’s not ‘officially’
Dr. Gilbert, from the Permanente Federation,
Labor Management Partnership.”
offers this response: “It will be up to the
Another challenge will be getting the word Partnership, and the launch of UBTs, to
out among physicians about the UBT model demonstrate that this is truly something
and its importance to KP.
different.”
0–TO–100 IN A DAY: SCAL GOES UBT
Elvis Presley said it all: “A little less conversation, a little more action, please.”
After months of talk, thought, and planning, new unit-based teams will take
their first action steps February 27-28.
That’s when two regions kick off unit-based teams as called for in the 2005
National Agreement.
In Southern California, physicians, managers, workers, and their sponsors are
gathering February 27 to launch 100 targeted UBTs—five to 10 teams in each of
the region’s 12 medical centers. The targeted teams in each facility will focus on
one of four strategic needs:
• Operating room throughput (1 team)
• Inpatient service and utilization (1 – 3 teams)
• Adult primary care service improvement (2 – 5 teams)
• A locally selected performance initiative, such as service quality (1 team)
These 100 pilot teams will lead the way for all natural work groups in the region to form targeted UBTs by 2010. While
many departments already work in teams, the UBTs will be different in at least two ways:
• UBTs will focus on performance improvement in key areas identified by their region.
• Team members will be measured against, and accountable for, common metrics.
“Launching these targeted UBTs represents the next step in unifying all of our efforts in Southern California in partnership,”
says Benjamin K. Chu, MD, Southern California president. “We see this as leading the way to having all of our 50,000
employees moving in the same direction and remaining aligned with the National Agreement.”
In the Northwest, more than 100 frontline workers, managers, and physicians are meeting February 27-28 to lay the
foundations for UBTs at Sunnyside Medical Center. They will begin training for team leadership, establish performance
metrics for the teams, and set timelines to bring UBTs to at least 15 percent of Partnership-covered staff by the end
of 2007.
PRAVIN SINGH
SEIU-UHW Representative Chair
Material Services
KP South Sacramento
“I think physicians should be
involved—very much involved.
They have a key role in how the
department runs and how it should function. If
they want something done a specific way they
can bring it to the UBT and present their ideas.”
SCHERY R. MITCHELL, MD
Pediatrics,
Elk Grove (Calif.) Medical Offices
“The doctors (here) are meeting
every week with their own medical
assistants. Our chief supports
this “huddle” before our first
patients. We look at and review schedules,
discuss patient appointment flow and service.
We learn from each other. We have a new staffing
model that was quite a change and it worked
out great since the MA staff had a great amount
of input. We now are learning to work through
issues and get to know our station staff on a
personal level so that when issues come up we
have a platform of trust and respect to allow for
concerns to be raised.”
SUSAN GUYETTE, RN
Manager, Surgical Specialties
MCA/Southwood Specialty Center
Jonesboro, Georgia
“Unit Based “Teams” says it all.
Every member of a team—managers,
physicians and staff— must
be involved in enhancing workforce capabilities to
deliver quality care and service through consensus.
Setting clear expectations, developing metrics to
monitor outcomes and, ultimately, holding each
other accountable for performance for all team
members—including physicians—is key. Fortunately
for the Georgia region, we are already well
on our way to using the UBT approach.”
Each issue, we ask four people a top-of-mind
Partnership question. If you have an idea for a
question, or want to respond to this one,
email it to hank@kp.org.
www.lmpartnership.org
Hank February 2007 | No. 12

GETTING TECHNICAL:
Rad Techs Fill the Gap
Steve Kiyohara, radiologic tech,
picks up pointers from Sylvia Perez,
MRI and CT tech, at Los Angeles
Medical Center.
What do you do if your department is
understaffed, has dozens of hard-to-fill technical
positions, and few experienced candidates in the
pipeline? And how do you get qualified people to
work the least desirable shifts?
The traditional answer was to find people from outside—a long
and expensive process. However, Kaiser Permanente radiology
departments in Southern California have gone a different route, with
the help of OPEIU Local 30 in San Diego, SEIU United Healthcare
Workers-West, and United Steelworkers Local 7600 in Fontana. The
Southern California Permanente Medical Group is approaching X-ray
technologists who already are on the job and providing them with
intensive training for more advanced (and higher-paying) positions as
computer tomography and MRI technologists. In return, the newly
trained techs agree to work in a difficult-to-fill shift for at least a year.
Launched in June 2006, the program already is showing results.
“We had 24 to 30 positions that were open or were anticipated
needs for 2007,” says Albert Hermogeno, regional director
of diagnostic imaging services. “Historically, those positions
would have gone to outside people, either as new hires or from
registries. But we saw a way to train our own people, upgrade
their skills, and cover the shifts where we need the most help.”
He notes that 14 newly trained CT and MRI techs are on the
job. An additional 16 CT and MRI techs will attend two classes
planned for 2007.
The 10- to 12-week, full-time courses, taught by Kelly Angel from
KP’s School of Allied Health Sciences, cover physics, pathology,
anatomy, and clinical protocols. “The training is quick-paced and
very demanding—almost overwhelming,” says Arnel Ilagan, a CT
technologist and UHW member at Panorama City Medical Center
who graduated from the program in September. “But it has allowed
me to upgrade my skills and become more knowledgeable about a
technology that is changing all the time.”
The financial upgrades are significant, also. The MRI Tech salary
scale is 15.5 percent higher than the general rad tech scale; the
CT Tech salary scale is 18.5 percent higher than the general rad
tech scale.
The department also benefits from that training, notes Eli Moya,
assistant director for CT, MRI, and ultrasound imaging at LA Medical
Center. “It provides cross training and greater flexibility for the
department,” he says. “It’s helped everyone better understand the
Hank February 2007 | No. 12
www.lmpartnership.org

TOOLS FOR CHANGE
New Resources for Career Advancement
Union Coalition-represented workers, and departments throughout KP, have new ways to upgrade workforce
skills, increase flexibility, and expand access to training, thanks to the 2005 National Agreement. For the first
time, education leave may be used in combination with tuition reimbursement. In addition, tuition reimbursement
can be used to obtain or maintain licenses, degrees or certifications, as well as enhance basic skills.
Tuition reimbursement has “helped employees upgrade their skills to meet the changing needs of the company,
and helped us fill new jobs with people who are already employed here and are committed to KP,” says Angeline
Neal, workforce and special project manager for Health Information Management Services in the Mid-Atlantic region.
People across KP are seeing that firsthand. Amber Garside, a SEIU UHW member in Woodland Hills, California,
is training to become an LVN. “It wouldn’t be possible without tuition assistance”, she says.
“The program made a real difference to me,” says Maureen Wright, RN, at the Beaverton (Oregon) Medical
Office Building. The bachelor’s of science nursing degree she obtained in May 2005 enabled her to become a
patient care manager. “Without tuition assistance, it would have taken much longer to complete the course
work. I would have had to take fewer classes each semester or consider a second job.” As to the expanded
benefits now available under the 2005 Agreement, Wright probably speaks for many KP employees in saying:
“I had no idea that was available.”
For more info on the new tuition reimbursement program, contact the regional office below, your regional Workforce
Planning and Development Committee Chair, or your local Human Resources representative. This specific
program is available only to Coalition-represented workers. Some tuition reimbursement programs are available
for managers on a region-specific basis; the primary contacts for managers are the same as listed below.
Tuition Reimbursement Contacts
needs of the department and see that labor and management are
working together to create a better work environment.”
Northern and Southern California
Tuition Reimbursement Services
1-888-700-4139
Mid-Atlantic States
Employee Service Center
301-816-7101
Georgia
Melissa Cofino
Melissa.Cofino@kp.org
GRANT FROM THE STATE
One key to the program is a state of California employment
training grant that underwrites the Partnership’s workforce
development efforts in the region. That funding—about $1
million—covers about one-third of the total cost of training
Colorado
Beth Bershader
Beth.A.Bershader@kp.org
Bobby Kochakkan
Bobby.Kochakkan@kp.org
Northwest
Brandon Byars
Brandon.W.Byars@kp.org
Ohio
Timothy Alberts
Timothy.R.Alberts@kp.org
programs aimed at clerical staff, phlebotomists, respiratory
therapists, Emergency Department RNs, and others, as well as
rad techs. KP and the Union Coalition worked jointly to secure
the grant. “It’s a workforce development issue for KP and our
unions,” says Terry Bream, RN, manager for SCPMG nursing
administration. “The need for skilled technologists is huge, but it’s
just the tip of the iceberg. Education is really a recruitment and
retention issue.”
Employees agree. “A program like this encourages employees
to stay with the company,” says Steve Kiyohara, a radiologic
technologist and UHW member at LA Medical Center and a
recent graduate of the MRI training. “It’s very positive when they
see KP investing these kinds of resources in them.”
“KP is demonstrating its commitment to ‘growing our own’
and working toward the most skilled workforce possible,” says
Zeth Ajemian, workforce development labor lead for the region.
Since the launch, the program-development process has grown
to ensure full union involvement through the LMP Workforce
Development Committee, he adds. “Whenever labor and
management are engaged from the beginning and on the same
page in terms of identifying needs and implementing solutions, it
will make the project work better.”
Today, the graduates of the program are benefiting at many levels.
“In my case, it’s giving me a real grasp of MRI, which is not an easy
field to understand,” Kiyohara says. “Feeling confident about what
you’re doing and being able to apply what you’ve learned means
you’re going to be better able to work with your patients.”
www.lmpartnership.org
Hank February 2007 | No. 12

In his first week on the job as a
contract specialist, Jonathan May
of the Oregon Federation of Nurses
and Health Professionals fielded a
question about an employee’s
vacation request—from a manager.
JACK OF ALL TRADES:
Contract Specialists are Quickly Getting
Up to Frontline Speed
“I was ecstatic!,” May says of the fact that the manager
trusted him for advice. “The whole exchange happened
without dampening the employee’s work day.”
After reviewing the contract, May concluded that the
request did not interfere with staffing levels and was in line
with all other requirements and advised the manager to
grant the request.
“Of course he did double check with HR,” May says with a
laugh. “But managers are getting comfortable with contract
specialists (and trust them) to give the correct answer.”
How Do They Do What They Do?
The job has been described by those who do it as a “super
steward,” or “in between a business rep and a steward.”
Contract specialists fill in for stewards in such tough situations
as grievances or corrective actions. They answer questions
about the time-off program, retirement benefits, or the
Integrated Disability Management program. They mentor
stewards, are a resource for managers, and do just about
anything else necessary to carry out the 2005 National Agreement
and local contracts at the front line. The vision is that
contract specialists would partner with HR consultants and
jointly begin to provide consistent contract interpretations.
The National Agreement creates these new positions to
lighten the load that stewards carry and to “empower
stewards to fully assume their leadership roles in
Partnership activities.” Contract specialists are KP
employees who are paid their regular salaries. They are
chosen by their unions; KP has some involvement in the
process. They serve, as specified in the 2005 National
Agreement, for one year, with the idea that rotating the
positions would create more frontline expertise regarding
the contract. One contract specialist is budgeted for every
1,500 employees in each union local. They work closely
with their union leaders and shop stewards, and consult
with managers and KP Human Resources personnel.
May sees himself as a resource for stewards. He says he’s
the go-to guy for primers on “how to write a grievance,” or
“how to bring an issue to a manager, in a way that’s safe
for them and safe for me.”
What they’re not expected to be are substitutes for the
HR department, notes Bill Rector, senior labor relations
consultant in the Northwest. Contract specialists give a
union interpretation of a contract issue, he says.
“If a manager wants the employer perspective, they are
going to call HR,” Rector explains.
It takes time to build trust, but some managers have come
to see contract specialists as a resource. “In the last few
months, it has been helpful to have someone other than
an internal organizer to go to,” Rector says. Contract
specialists, Rector adds, often are more available than
Union Coalition and local union staff.
A Matter of Time
Like many first-time LMP initiatives, training contract
specialists on the job was not without snags. Contract
specialists hit the ground running in 2006, and for many
the learning curve was steep. Initially, Rector saw contract
specialists as “one more union voice in a meeting,” along
with stewards and local union staff, and that made some
managers feel ganged up on. That is changing, he says, as
contract specialists become more assured in their ability to
make on-the-spot decisions and not rely as much on
business reps.
Often, it boils down to who has the time to resolve an issue
more quickly.
“It is easier for me to be turned loose than it is for other
employees,” explains Louise Dempsey, a full-time contract
specialist in Georgia and former field rep for United Food
and Commercial Workers Local 1996. Dempsey, the only
contract specialist in her region, has the challenging task
of visiting all 15 facilities in Georgia and assisting stewards
and managers. She goes to new hire orientations and
explains the contract, is on the regional LMP steering
committee, and makes sure that all policies—seniority,
the new bereavement policy, step increases, PTO, and
corrective action, just to name a few—are followed.
She works closely with human resources.
“I’m like a liaison between the business agents and the
stewards,” she says. “But I’m more visible.”
Best Part of the Job is Mentoring
Contract specialists also, of course, work directly with
frontline employees represented by Coalition unions.
“The best and biggest part of my job is mentoring stewards
to become more knowledgeable about the contract—
empowering them and giving them more tools to work
with,” explains Jennifer Wittstruck, a contract specialist in
the Northwest region and a member of SEIU Local 49.
Wittstruck says that without the skills to advocate in
Partnership, it is a burden for members to take on union
or LMP responsibilities.
“One of the biggest challenges is to have members
become activists themselves. I am working with stewards
and union members to speak up for themselves.”
Since contract specialists serve one-year terms and most
were appointed in February 2006, most of them are about
to return to their regular jobs. That meant, for many, that
their first task in 2007 was to train their replacements.
Undraia Johnson of SEIU Local 49 in Portland says her
successor will need more than contract expertise and
familiarity with Partnership goals. Her advice:
“Take one day at a time and understand that you can’t
accomplish everything in one year. Map out your most
important goals, and stick to them.”
Hank February 2007 | No. 12
www.lmpartnership.org

MLK Jr. Day: Still a Day On
MLK Jr. Day Not a Holiday Yet, But KP Employees Still Serve
For the past two years, Earlene Person has spent Martin Luther
King Jr.’s birthday with a paintbrush in her hand. She spent
King’s birthday this year in much the same way, sprucing up
community facilities in Berkeley, California.
People who work for the federal government or many
private businesses may get the day as a paid holiday, but
as far as Person is concerned, there’s no better way to honor
the civil rights leader’s legacy than through a day spent in
community service.
“It’s a way to keep his dream alive,” says the Oakland-based
home health LVN.
For the third consecutive year, Kaiser Permanente offered
employees the option of observing King’s birthday by doing KPapproved
community service that day. In years past, thousands
of KP employees, physicians, and managers have spent MLK
Day fixing houses, painting nursery schools, rounding up
donations for local food banks, collecting coats for the needy,
offering health care to the homeless, and other activities.
Laudable as the program may be, Labor Management
Partnership leaders consider it a temporary way to observe the
day, as both sides continue to work toward a consistent,
programwide way of recognizing MLK Day, as required by the
2005 National Agreement. That goal is complicated because the
National Agreement ties implementation of the Martin Luther
King Jr. holiday to the introduction of a flexible benefits program.
The parties were supposed to resolve the two issues by 2007,
but negotiations are ongoing and were not completed at the
time this article was written.
“There is clearly a desire on both sides to move this ball
forward,” says Tony Wagner, who retired January 1 as vice
president of the Office of Labor Management Partnership.
“There are complex regional issues that we haven’t worked out
yet, but I have every hope that we will eventually achieve the
goal of celebrating this day as a holiday, as we do other holidays
that are recognized by the states and the federal government.”
Meanwhile, organizers across KP geared up to celebrate
another MLK Day with a host of volunteer activities. This idea for
observing the day came from the National Diversity Council, the
group of union and management leaders that oversees all
diversity-related activities at KP. Separate from the negotiators
working on the National Agreement, the Council several years
ago began exploring how to develop an organizationwide
response to MLK Day. On one hand, Council members felt that,
given KP’s strong commitment to service and social justice—
ideals King stood for—it only made sense to designate the day
a paid holiday. Yet, there also was concern that closing up shop
on a holiday, which could be used by members to see their
doctors, would undermine KP’s equally strong commitment to
maximizing access to health care.
“The compromise was to have an unrestricted day of
volunteerism,” says James Taylor, director of diversity strategy
implementation. Not a day off, but a “day on,” spent in service
to the community.
The idea proved popular from the onset. In 2005, the first
year, some 1,500 volunteers across nearly every region took
part in volunteer activities identified and organized by KP. That
number doubled in 2006, when more than 3,000 frontline staff,
physicians, and managers participated. Even in Georgia and
the Mid-Atlantic regions, where employees have the day off
as a paid holiday, people volunteered. Organizers hope that
10 percent of KP’s 150,000-plus employees eventually
will participate.
“We just had this overwhelming response,” says Rhonda Tribble,
diversity manager for the Southern California region, where
activities last year focused on collecting food and other supplies
for nonprofit agencies. More than 600 people took part. “We
actually had more volunteers than we had work to do,” Tribble
says. “So for (2007), we’re trying to plan a little bit bigger activity
so everyone who wants to volunteer can do so.”
Terry “Brad” Bradford, a mailroom clerk at Kaiser Northpoint in
Cleveland, spent last year’s “day on” cleaning and painting a
nursery school. He planned to take part again this year. “It really
felt good doing something and giving back,” he says.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the day is that it brings
together people from all walks of KP life, participants say. “We
had everyone from the head medical officer down to the people
from food services,” says Theophilus Harper, a counselor at KP
Interstate Medical Office East in Portland, Oregon, and labor
co-chair of the Northwest region MLK Day planning committee.
“Having people working together, getting to know one another,
finding out what it means to be in another person’s shoes—that
creates a sense of fellowship and belonging.”
Regardless of how the MLK Jr. Day issue is resolved,
organizers hope to continue the day of volunteerism in some
form. As Ron Knox, VP and chief diversity officer for KP, put it,
“It’s one of those events that is at once consistent with the
organization’s longstanding values around inclusion and equity
and community orientation and with the values that Dr. King
espoused and lived.”
www.lmpartnership.org
Hank February 2007 | No. 12

From the Desk of Henrietta: Tower of Babble
You will not throw up your hands in
surprise to read that corporate bad
language—the bane of cartoon character
Dilbert, the inspiration for Business
Buzzword Bingo and the source for an
online Corporate Gibberish Generator that
customizes business babble for your
employer, as in, “At Kaiser Permanente,
we understand how to integrate
proactively”—is nibbling aggressively at
the edges of decent communication at KP.
In the example that crossed my computer
most recently, the authors could have
used clearer language to identify what they
called an “Improvement Training Content
Feedback Survey” intended to figure out
training that would help KP frontline staff
work better in Partnership. How, I
wondered, could I rate training that let
“employee…describe difference between
outcome, process and balancing
measures” or let “employee…select
general ‘change concepts’ and how to
conduct rapid tests of change in a specific
setting,” for frontline staff and supervisors
when I didn’t even understand it myself?
What is the “Plan-Do-Study-Act” cycle,
or PDSA cycle, the authors of the
questionnaire report is a way to test
change on a small scale? What is change
on a small scale? Is it plant, animal or
mineral? Is it getting out of a bad
marriage, eating oatmeal rather than a
donut for breakfast, or finally throwing out
that holey Solidarity Day T-shirt I got at a
Washington, D.C., march in 1981?
We all know our Partnership ranks
important enough to the future of Kaiser
Permanente that we should talk about it in
clear, plain and thoughtful language that
everyone understands.
So let’s just ban the babble. Jargon used
to distinguish artisans from those in
training, but now terms such as “seagull
manager,” “information touchpoint,”
“holistic approach” and “core values”
reduce meaning, increase isolation and
cost big bucks. A recent annual survey of
shareholder letters found companies that what’s motivating fed-up journalists
scored high in corporate spin and jargon who reportedly screen incoming
generally posted declines in total net documents for jargon. Some of
A recent annual survey of shareholder letters
found companies scoring high in corporate spin
and jargon posted a decline in total net earnings.
earnings. Some analysts blame part of the the most impenetrable? “Solutions”
tech crash on buzzwords that supported and “provider.”
conformity, suspicious accounting
Several years ago, BusinessWeek online
methods and buying binges. Track the
suggested that one in five British workers
growth in jargon, they say, and you track
used jargon to get along in their workplaces,
while in the United States, critics
inflation of the tech bubble. Communications
is the currency of success, and
suggest it may be as high as three or four
it had better be easy and accessible
in five employees. Even New Zealanders
because it has to be fast.
are getting into the act. Readers of the
Corporate mumbo jumbo is so damaging website www.publicaddress.net recently
it has spawned an international buzzbuster voted “unbundled” the word of 2006,
industry, including Web sites such as followed by “emo” and “truthiness.”
weaselwords.com.au, which offers
Want the real lowdown? If you want to
confessions of weaselwordholics,
communicate so people understand
fightthebull.com, which allows you to
you, there’s no need to hire a consultant.
download Bullfighter software to eliminate
Just use everyday language. Say what
jargon in your papers, and buzzkiller.com,
you mean.
written by journalists with a passion
Next time: Getting married in
for clear language. But passion is not
PowerPoint.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letters to Hank
Hank welcomes your comments and
perspectives about the Partnership
and about stories in Hank:
Email: hank@kp.org
Interoffice:
Send to Hank in the
Office of Labor Management Partnership
1 Kaiser Plaza, 24 Lakeside
U.S. Mail:
Hank
Office of Labor Management Partnership
1 Kaiser Plaza, 24 Lakeside
Oakland, CA 94612
Fax: (510) 267-2154
Please include a daytime phone number
with your letter so we can reach you. Hank
reserves the right to edit letters for clarity,
style, and length. Unsigned letters cannot
be published.
Managers—and Henrietta—on the Line
Regarding the recent
Hank article,
“Managers on the
Line” (October 2006):
If the survey had a
10 percent return,
then I think it would
be honest to state
the actual percentage
of managers
rather than the
vastly inflated numbers that
were published—as if everyone had
responded.
I may not know algebra, but 70 percent of
10 percent is only 7 percent.
And as it regards the last of Honest
Henrietta’s five biggest lies about changing
the culture at KP (October 2006, page 12):
If “we can’t afford it” isn’t an issue, why
is my department’s budget being cut
this year?
STUART ORENSTEIN, MD
Psychiatry Department
Los Angeles Medical Center
Light Turbulence for Stewards
After reading “Light Turbulence for
Stewards” in your October issue, I was
quite upset with the overall description and
management view of the shop steward. It
was offensive to me and to the important
work that stewards do. However, I’m
happy to say that the December 2006
issue is a vast improvement. The article
“Stewards of Change,” and the “Tools for
Change” box that goes with it, provide
ideas that we can actually use at work.
I’m impressed. Keep up the good work.
DAVID KESSINGER
Courier
Senior Steward, OPEIU Local 30
Riverdale Medical Office Building
San Diego
10 Hank February 2007 | No. 12
www.lmpartnership.org

Hanks for the Memories: Article Index, 2004-2006 (continued from back cover)
S (continued from back cover)
Southwest Airlines (Dec. 2004) 6
staffing (Apr. 2005) concerns, 11, (March 2006) predictable,
2–3, (Aug. 2006) 4
stake holding, art of (Sept. 2005) 10
standard of care, quality of service (June 2005) 5, (Dec.
2005) 4
Stanford Graduate School of Business (Dec. 2004) 6
stewards (Dec. 2006) 6–7, stereotypes, 10, survey,
accentuating the positive, 11
stress, linked to health conditions (Dec. 2004) 3, 5, 8
stretch breaks (Feb. 2005) 9, (Dec. 2006) poster
demonstrating how to stretch, 12
strikes, labor (Feb. 2005) 10–11, (Sept. 2005) 6, (Aug. 2006)
1982, San Francisco, 6
success, measures of (Apr. 2005) 11, (Sept. 2005) 11, (Dec.
2005) employee satisfaction, 5, (Dec. 2006) great service, 3
T
technology (March 2006) ‘Blue Shirt’ mentors, 8
Texas A&M study (Dec. 2006) 3
Toyota Nummi auto plant (Dec. 2004) 6
two-tier wage system (Feb. 2005) as source of labor strife, 11
U
U.S. Labor Hall of Fame (Sept. 2005) 2
Union Steering Committee (June 2006) 9
unions (Apr. 2005) and management planning teams, 3, and
KP history, 9, Union Industries Trade Show (Dec. 2005)
avoidance consultant, 3, as marketing partner, 10–11
unit-based teams (Aug. 2006) 3–4, (Dec. 2006) 6
V
vacation hours (March 2006) 2
W
wages (June 2005) negotiations, 3, (Sept. 2005) 8, (Dec.
2005) KP, highest in California, 3, (June 2006) 3
work-life balance, personal days (June 2005) 5, (March
2006) 2, (Aug. 2006) 3–4
workers compensation (March 2006) 4, (June 2006) problem
billings, 10–11
workforce (June 2005) development, 5, 8, demoralized, 10,
(Sept. 2005) development, 9, (Dec. 2005) development fund,
3, (June 2006) development trust, 4, (Oct. 2006) healthy
workforce, 7
Organizations and Places
A
AFL-CIO (Feb. 2005) 11, (Dec. 2005) 2, 11, (June 2006)
labor management award, 2
AFT 5017, See Oregon Federation of Nurses and Healthcare
Professionals
American Federation of Nurses (Sept. 2005) SEIU 535, 2, 10,
(Dec. 2006) 4
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees (June 2006) 2
American Federation of Teachers (June 2006) 2
American Medical Association (Apr. 2005) 9
Antioch (Oct. 2006) 8
Aon Consulting (Dec. 2005) 4
Atlanta (March 2006) 9, (Dec. 2006) 3, 9
Aurora, CO (Aug. 2006) 6, (Dec. 2006) 4, pharmacy, 5, 9
B
Bakersfield, CA (Feb. 2005) 3
Baldwin Park Medical Center (June 2006) 11
Beaverton, OR (Dec. 2006) 8
Bellflower Medical Center (Feb. 2005) 12, (June 2005) 5,
(Dec. 2005) 5, (March 2006) 3, 11, 12, (Aug. 2006) 5, (Dec.
2006) 10
BellSouth (Dec. 2005) 11
Boston Partners Health Group (March 2006) 6
Brooklyn Heights, Ohio, Member Service Center (Feb. 2005)
12
C
California Hospital Association (June 2005) 9
California Nurses Association (June 2005) 9
Camp Springs, Maryland (March 2006) 9
Central Valley, CA (Sept. 2005) 5
CHA, See California Hospital Association
Clackamas, OR (Dec. 2005) 2
Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions (March 2006) 9 (Apr.
2005) 3, 8–9 (June 2005) 11, (Sept. 2005) 3, 10–11, (June
2006) 8, (Aug. 2006) 14, (Oct. 2006) 5, 7, See also Union
Coalition
Colorado Permanente Medical Group (Feb. 2005) 5
Colorado, KP (Dec. 2004) 8 (Feb. 2005) 10 (June 2005) 2, 9,
(Sept. 2005) across-the-board-raises, 8, (Aug. 2006) 6, (Oct.
2006) strategic management consulting, 5, (Dec. 2006)
service steering committee, 5, budget trimming, 9
Consolidated Services Center (Aug. 2006) Texas
administrative services for Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii,
Northwest, Ohio, 12, (Oct. 2006) CSC, San Diego, 4
D
Diablo Service Area, N. Cal. (Apr. 2005) 9, (Dec. 2005) 5,
(Dec. 2006) 5
F
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (June 2005) 3
Fontana Medical Center (S. CA) (Sept. 2005) medical office
records, 11, (Dec. 2006) 4, 9
Fort Worth (Aug. 2006) Consolidated Services Center, 12
Franklin Medical Offices, Denver (June 2005) 2
Fremont (Sept. 2005) 4–5, Fremont Medical Center
(Dec. 2005) 8
Fresno (CA) Emergency Department (Apr. 2005) 6–7
G
Georgia (Sept. 2005) across-the-board-raises, 8, (Dec. 2005)
joint marketing, 10, 11, (March 2006) 8, 9, ETO/PTO 3,
(June 2006) scope of practice team, 4, (Aug. 2006) 12, (Oct.
2006) 7
Glenlake Medical Center, Atlanta (Dec. 2006) 3
Grand Coulee Dam (Apr. 2005) 9, (June 2005) 12
H
Hawaii (June 2005) 2, (Aug. 2006) Large Group, 12
Hayward Medical Center (Sept. 2005) 4
I
IAM, See International Association of Machinists
IFPTE 20 (Oct. 2006) 6
International Association of Machinists (IAM) (June 2005) 9,
(March 2006) 9
International Federation of Professional and Technical
Engineers, See IFPTE
Irvine (Oct. 2006) 8
K
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan/Hospitals’ Boards of Directors
(Apr. 2005) 9, (June 2005) 3, 5, 10, (Sept. 2005) 2, 8–9,
(March 2006) 5, (June 2006) 4, 9
Kaiser Permanente (Dec. 2004) 6, (Feb. 2005) financial
losses, 11, (June 2005) history, 12
Kaiser Permanente Partnership Group (Apr. 2005) 9, (Sept.
2005) 8–9
Kaiser Permanente Sidney R. Garfield Center for Health Care
(Oct. 2006) San Leandro, 8
K-P co-founder, 12, (Dec. 2005) inductee, U.S. Labor Hall of
Fame, 2
Kensington Clinic (March 2006) 8
Kern County (Feb. 2005) 3
KP HealthConnect (Apr. 2005) 3, 9, (June 2005) 6–7, (Sept.
2005) electronic records management, 3, 5, 11, (Dec. 2005)
3, 4, (March 2006) 8–9, (June 2006) 5, (Aug. 2006) 6, 14
KP School of Allied Health Sciences (Apr. 2005) 10
KPnet (Dec. 2004) 2
L
Los Angeles Medical Center (Dec. 2004) 3, (Apr. 2005) 3,
(June 2005) 5, (Dec. 2006) 4
Los Angeles, West (Feb. 2005) 5, (June 2006) 9
M
Marlow Heights, MD (March 2006) 8–9
Maryland (March 2006) 8–9
Massachusetts (Sept. 2005) across-the-board-raises, 8
Mayo Clinic (Dec. 2006) 3
McKinsey & Co. (Oct. 2006) 5
Mid-Atlantic Region (June 2005) 5, (March 2006) 8, (Oct.
2006) 7
Modesto (Oct. 2006) 8
Moreno Valley (CA) Medical Offices (June 2005) 2
Mother Joseph Plaza Medical Offices (Dec. 2006) 8
N
North Capital Medical Center (June 2005) 4
North Valley Medical Center, Washington, D.C. (Dec. 2004)
5, (June 2006) 9
Northern California, KP (Dec. 2004) 3, 8, (Feb. 2005) 10,
(Apr. 2005) Diablo Service Area, 9, (Sept. 2005) Hayward, 4,
across-the-board-raises, 8, (Dec. 2005) regional president,
3, Diablo Service Area, 5, Greater Southern Alameda Area, 8,
(June 2006) Roseville, 2, labor liaison, 4, (Aug. 2006)
medical group operations, 5, Santa Rosa, 7, optical services,
8–9, consolidated administrative services, 12, (Oct. 2006) 4–
5, 6, 9, 11, (Dec. 2006) Diablo, 5, 6–7
Northwest Permanente Medical Group (Apr. 2005) 5
Northwest region, KP (Dec. 2004) 3, 8, (Feb. 2005) 10–11,
(June 2005) safety, 8, (Sept. 2005) across-the-board-raises,
8, labor relations director, 9, unions, 10, (Dec. 2005)
Regional Breast Imaging, 2, (June 2006) 2, (Aug. 2006) 3–4,
12–13, (Oct. 2006) 6, 7, 8, 9, (Dec. 2006) 6–7, 10
Northwest Regional Partnership Steering Committee (Apr.
2005) 5
Nurse Anesthetist Association (June 2005) 4
O
Oakland Medical Center (Dec. 2004) 4, (Feb. 2005) 5, 11,
(June 2005) 5, (March 2006) 11, (June 2006) radiology, 5,
(Oct. 2006) 6
Oakland Optical Services (Aug. 2006) 10
Office and Professional Employees International Union, (June
2006) 2, See also OPEIU
Office of Labor Management Partnership (Dec. 2004) 7, 8
Ohio Nurses Association (June 2006) 2
Ohio, KP (Dec. 2004) 8, (Feb. 2005) 4, 5, 10, Northern,
Member Service Center, 12, (Sept. 2005) across-the-boardraises,
8, (March 2006) 3, (June 2006) 5, (Aug. 2006) 12,
(Oct. 2006) 7–9
OPEIU (June 2006) registered nurses, 2
OPEIU 17 (Feb. 2005) 12, (June 2005) 4, (March 2006) 3, 7
OPEIU 277 (Aug. 2006) 12–13
OPEIU 30 (Dec. 2005) 11, (June 2006) 11, (Dec. 2006) 6–7,
10
Orange County, CA (Apr. 2005) 4, 5
Oregon AFL-CIO convention (Dec. 2005) 11
Oregon Federation of Nurses and Healthcare Professionals,
5017 (Dec. 2004) AFT 5017, 3, (Apr. 2005) 11
Oregon Public Employees Benefit Board (Dec. 2005) 4
P
Pacific Business Group on Health (Dec. 2005) 4
Panorama City Medical Center (June 2005) 4
PeoplePulse study 2003–04 (Feb. 2005) 5, 9, 12, (Dec.
2005) 11, (March 2006) Ohio, 10, (Dec. 2006) 3
Permanente Medical Group(s) (Feb. 2005) 4, (Apr. 2005) 2,
(June 2005) 3, San Francisco 4, (June 2006) employees, 5,
(Aug. 2006) 6, (Oct. 2006) Southern California, 8
PMO, See Project Management Office
Point Loma Medical Center, SO CA (June 2006) 9
Portland (Dec. 2004) 3, (Oct. 2006) 8
PriceWaterhouseCoopers (June 2006) 10
Project Management Office (March 2006) 5
R
Redwood City Medical Center (June 2006) 2, (Oct. 2006) 4,
6, (Dec. 2006) 7
Richmond Medical Center (Feb. 2005) 2, 12, (March 2006) 3
Riverside Medical Center (Dec. 2004) 3, (Feb. 2005) nursing,
6–8
Roseville Medical Center (Apr. 2005) 4, (June 2006) 2,
(Aug. 2006) optician, 11, (Oct. 2006) 10
S
Sacramento Medical Center (Dec. 2004) 4–5, 7,
(June 2005) 4
Sacramento North Valley LMP (Dec. 2004) 5, 7
Salmon Creek Medical Office (Dec. 2006) 8
San Bernardino (Dec. 2006) psychiatry unit, 4
San Diego Medical Center (Feb. 2005) 2, (June 2005) 4,
(Sept. 2005) 11, (Dec. 2005) 4, 11, (March 2006) 6–7,
(Oct. 2006) 4, (Dec. 2006) customer service center, 6–7,
San Francisco Medical Center (March 2006) 7, (June 2006)
4, (Aug. 2006) 1982 strike, 6, (Oct. 2006) 4, 5
French Campus, 10
San Jose, CA (Feb. 2005) 9
San Leandro (Oct. 2006) 8
Santa Rosa Medical Center (June 2005) 6–7, (Aug. 2006) 7,
(Dec. 2006) 6
Santa Teresa Medical Center, San Jose, CA (Feb. 2005) 9,
letter, 10
SEIU (March 2006) 3, 11, (June 2006) health systems, 9
SEIU 105 (Dec. 2005) 3, 11
SEIU 20 (Oct. 2006) 10
SEIU 250 (Dec. 2004) 3, 4, 5, 7, (Feb. 2005) 9
SEIU 399 (Feb. 2005) 12, (Apr. 2005) 9, (June 2005) 9,
(Sept. 2005) 2, (March 2006) 11, (June 2006) 11, (Aug.
2006) 5, See also SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West
SEIU 49 (Dec. 2004) 3, (Feb. 2005) 10, (June 2005) 8,
(Sept. 2005) 10, (June 2006) 9, (Dec. 2006) 6
SEIU 535 (Dec. 2004) 3, (Feb. 2005) 11, (June 2005) 5,
(Dec. 2005) optical workers, 5, shop steward, 9, (June 2006)
mental health providers, 9, (Aug. 2006) shop steward,
chapter president, 9–10, (Dec. 2006) medical social workers,
3, steward, 4
SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West (Feb. 2005) 2, 4, (Apr.
2005) 3–4, 6, 10, 11, (Sept. 2005) 4, (Dec. 2005) 9, (March
2006) 3, 11, (June 2006) 3, 5, 6, UHW, 11, (Aug. 2006) 6,
(Oct. 2006) 6, 9,10, (Dec. 2006) 5, letter, 10, See also
SEIU 399
Service Employees International Union, See SEIU
Shirley Ware Education Center (Apr. 2005) 10
South Bay, S. CA (June 2006) 2
South Sacramento (June 2006) 2, (Oct. 2006) clinical
scientist, 10, (Dec. 2006) materials handlers, 3, uniforms, 5
South San Francisco Medical Center (Feb. 2005) and Daly
City, 5, (June 2006) 5
Southern California Permanente Medical Group (Dec. 2005)
5, (Dec. 2006) 4
Southern California, KP (Dec. 2004) 8 (Feb. 2005) 3, 6, 10–
11, (Apr. 2005) 5, 9, 10, region, 11, (Sept. 2005) Woodland
Hills Medical Center, 6, across-the-board-raises, 8, 11, (Dec.
2005) 5, joint marketing, 10, region, 11, (March 2006) 4,
(June 2006) 2, attendance, 3, care management, 4, 9, 10,
cancer registry, 11, fee-for-service billings, 11, chief
operating officer, 11, (Oct. 2006) 6, (Dec. 2006) nursing and
psychiatry, 3, 4, budget pruning, 9, 10
Stationary Engineers 39 (Oct. 2006) 4
Stockton Medical Center (Feb. 2005) 2, (Oct. 2006) member
services call center, 6, social worker in oncology, 10
Sunnyside Medical Center, Clackamas, OR (June 2005) 8,
(Sept. 2005) 10, (Oct. 2006) 8
Sunset Medical Center, Los Angeles (Apr. 2005) 11,
(March 2006) 4
U
UFCW (Sept. 2005) Professional and Health Care Division,
9, (March 2006) 8, 9, (Oct. 2006) 7, (Dec. 2006) 5
UFCW 1036 (Feb. 2005) 12
UFCW 135 (Sept. 2005) 11
UFCW 1996 (Dec. 2005) 11, (March 2006) 9, (Dec. 2006) 9
UFCW 400 (June 2005) 4, (June 2006) 9
UFCW 555 (Feb. 2005) 10, (June 2005) 8, (Sept. 2005) 10,
(Dec. 2005) 2
UFCW 7 (Dec. 2005) 11, (Aug. 2006) optometrist, 6
UHW, See SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West
UNAC, See United Nurses Associations of California/Union
Health Care Professionals
Union Bargaining Council (Apr. 2005) 8, 9
Union City (Sept. 2005) 4
Union Coalition (Apr. 2005) 10, (June 2005) 3, 4, 10, (Dec.
2005) 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, (March 2006) 4, 5, 8, (June 2006) 4, 5,
executive director, 8–9, national coordinator, 9, 11, billing
steering committee, 11, (Aug. 2006) 3–4, 5, (Dec. 2006) 3,
6–7, See also Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions
United Food and Commercial Workers, See UFCW
United Nurses Associations of California/Union Health Care
Professionals (June 2005) 2, 9, (Sept. 2005) 9, (Oct. 2006) 6
United Steelworkers 7600 (Sept. 2005) 11, (June 2006) 11,
(Dec. 2006) 4
V
Vallejo, N. CA (Aug. 2006) 6
Vancouver, Washington (Dec. 2006) 8
W
Walnut Creek (Apr. 2005) data center, 4
Washington, D.C. (June 2005) 4, (June 2006) 9
Woodland Hills Medical Center (Sept. 2005) 6, (June 2006)
6–7, (Oct. 2006) 3–4
Z
Zion, S. CA (June 2006) 2
Hank February 2007 | No. 12
11

December 04 February 05 April 05 June 05 September 05 December 05
March 06 June 06 August 06 October 06 December 06
Hanks for the Memories:
Article Index, 2004-2006
If you’ve ever wondered, as we
have, exactly what and when
Hank has covered in its first two
years of life, this will help. The
index breaks out articles in all
issues published from December
2004 through December 2006,
by topic, location, and
organization. Each entry identifies
the issue date (in parentheses)
followed by the page number.
Tear out this index (which
continues on page 11) and use it
to find topics and organizations
covered in Hank!
Hank issues are available online
at www.LMPartnership.org under
“Read All About It.” A complete
index, with the additional listing of
all people mentioned in our first
12 issues, will be available online
this spring.
Topics
A
absenteeism (Feb. 2005) cost of, 3, lessening, 9, factors in,
12, (Dec. 2005) 4 (March 2006) excessive, 3, and work place
injuries, 2, (Aug. 2006) 4, 13
Accelerated Nursing School Preparation Program (Apr. 2005) 10
action teams, union-management (March 2006) 5
Ambassador Program, marketing KP (March 2006) 9, 11
Ask Henrietta (Aug. 2006) Hank column, 2, 7, (Oct. 2006) 10,
(Dec. 2006) 10
attendance and backfill (Feb. 2005) 3, 5, (June 2005) task
group, 5, (Sept. 2005) 9, (March 2006) sick days, annual,
and time off, 2–4, 11, (June 2006) 3, 4, and take home pay,
11, (Aug. 2006) 3–4
B
bargaining (Feb. 2005) 3, (Apr. 2005) task groups, 9, (June
2005) collective agreement, 2, 3, 5, 9, 10, (March 2006)
local, 2, (June 2006) 4, 5, sick and personal days, 11
benefits (June 2005) 5, (Sept. 2005) 8, (June 2006) 3
Blue Shirts (March 2006) technology mentors, 8
BTG, Bargaining Task Groups, See bargaining
business transformation (Apr. 2005) 10
C
call center (March 2006) 4
chief executive officer, Kaiser Permanente (June 2005) 5,
(June 2006) 10
CIC, See Common Issues Committee
coaching to remove barriers (Dec. 2006) 5
coders, certified medical (June 2006) 10–11
collective bargaining (June 2005) 10, (Oct. 2006) 7
Common Issues Committee (Apr. 2005) 9, (June 2005) 3, 4,
10, (Sept. 2005) 8–9, (June 2006) action team, 9
communications and external relations (Aug. 2006) 14
community benefit (Aug. 2006) 5
computer connectivity (Aug. 2006) 15
CAHPS (Dec. 2006) 3
continuing care (Aug. 2006) 7
Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence (Oct. 2006) 9
corrective action (Sept. 2005) five steps, 5, letter, 10
cost reduction targets (Dec. 2006) 8
cultural shift, work place (Feb. 2005) 11
D
disability leave (March 2006) 4
doctors (Feb. 2005) participation in partnership, 4, (June
2005) negative stereotypes of, 2
domestic violence reduction (Dec. 2005) 9, (Oct. 2006) 9
E
education trust (March 2006) 5
employee assistance program (Oct. 2006) 9
employees in home health, palliative and hospice programs
(Aug. 2006) 7
employer-union trusts (Dec. 2005) 10
employment and income security (Feb. 2005) 11, (Apr. 2005)
agreement, 3, (Sept. 2005) 4, (June 2006) 11
environmental services (Sept. 2005) 6, (Aug. 2006) 6
Executive Leadership Forum (Dec. 2005) 6
F
facilities services (Dec. 2006) 6
family medical leave (March 2006) 2, 4
family services (Dec. 2006) 6
family violence prevention (Oct. 2006) 9
fee-for-service (June 2006) billings, 11
financial stability (Feb. 2005) KP returns to, 11, (Dec. 2006)
boosting efficiency, cutting costs, 8
G
government programs and Medicare (Aug. 2006) 13
grievance rates (Sept. 2005) falling, 11
H
health plan administration (Aug. 2006) 12
health plan and hospital operations (June 2006) 5, 8–9, (Oct.
2006) 6
holidays, designated (March 2006) 2
human resources (Dec. 2005) 6, HR contacts, time-off
program (March 2006) 2, 5, (June 2006) 5
I
integrated disability management (March 2006) 2
interest-based activities (Feb. 2005) problem-solving, 11,
(June 2005) negotiations, 3, 4, 10
issue resolution and corrective action (Dec. 2004) 3, 5, 7
(Apr. 2005) 5, (June 2005) 9, (Sept. 2005) 11, (March 2006)
5, (Aug. 2006) 14, (Oct. 2006) 6, (Dec. 2006) 7, 9
J
job security (Apr. 2005) 11, (June 2006) 5
joint governance structure (Feb. 2005) 11
joint marketing (Dec. 2005) 10, (March 2006) 9
K
Kroger (Dec. 2005) 11, (March 2006) 8
L
Labor Management Partnership (Dec. 2004) 3, 7, (Feb. 2005)
2, 4, 5, 9, 10–12, (Apr. 2005) 2, 4, (June 2005) 2, 4, 6, 9, 10,
(Sept. 2005) Employment and Income Security Agreement, 3,
myths and realities of, 4, cost of, 5, 10–11, (Dec. 2005) 3, 4,
office of, 6, S. CA regional co-leads, 11, performance, 12,
(March 2006) 2, 4, 5, 10, (June 2006) 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9,
national coordinator, 10, (Aug. 2006) 6, 7, 9, 12–13, web
tools, 14, (Oct. 2006) 6, 7, 8, 11, mailing list, 12, (Dec.
2006) 6, 8, 10
Labor Management Physician Partnership, Ohio (Feb. 2005)
5, (Apr. 2005) 4, history of, 11, (June 2005) 2, (Dec. 2006) 8
labor relations (Feb. 2005) bad old days, 10, (Sept. 2005) no
involuntary, uncompensated separation, 3, director of, 11
Lawrence Patient Safety Award (March 2006) 6
leadership (Dec. 2004) 4, (March 2006) regional leaders, 5,
(June 2006) 4
Liberty Ships, WW II (June 2005) 12
LMP, See Labor Management Partnership
LMPP, See Labor Management Physician Partnership, Ohio
Lockheed Martin (Dec. 2005) 11
M
Macy’s (Oct. 2006) 9
manager-steward relationships (Dec. 2005) 9, (Oct. 2006) 10
managers (Feb. 2005) changing role of, 6 , 9, (Dec. 2004)
concerns of, 5, 7, (Apr. 2005) recognition, supervisory
support of, 11, (Dec. 2005) influence of, 8, (Oct. 2006) as
mentors and partners, accountability, 3–4, survey, 11
marketing KP (Dec. 2004) Thrive ad campaign, 2, 3, (Apr.
2005) 11, (Dec. 2005) 10–11, (March 2006) joint marketing,
Georgia, 9, (June 2006) action team, 4, 9
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Sept. 2005) 9
materials management (June 2006) 5
medical group administration (Dec. 2006) 9
medical/surgical (June 2005) 9
morale (Aug. 2006) 4
N
national agreement, See National Labor Agreement
National Committee For Quality Assurance (Feb. 2005) 10
national facilities services, (Oct. 2006) 8
National Labor Agreement (Feb. 2005) 11, (Apr. 2005) 8,
(Sept. 2005) 8–9, (Dec. 2005) 3, 4, 5, implementation, 6,
news coverage of, 7, joint marketing, 10, (March 2006) 2, 4,
5, (June 2006) 3, initiative and return on investment, 4, web
download availability of agreement, 5, 7, 8, top 10 reasons
to care about, 12, (Aug. 2006) 11, (Oct. 2006) 4, 7,
(Dec. 2006) 3, 6
National Patient Safety Awareness Week (March 2006) 7
Northridge earthquake (Sept. 2005) 7
nursing staff (June 2005) RN-LVN tension, 7, smart teams,
6–7, nurse-to-patient ratios, 9, (Sept. 2005) 2, RN special
wage adjustments, 8, (Dec. 2006) quality improvement, 4
O
occupational medicine and employee health (Oct. 2006) 3–4
optical services manager (Aug. 2006) and technician, 10–11
organizational research (Dec. 2006) 3
outpatient services (Sept. 2005) 4
P
paperwork (Apr. 2005) 11
partnership, labor-management (Dec. 2004) 3, 5, 6 (Feb.
2005) implementation survey, 4, (Apr. 2005) in action, 5,
(Sept. 2005) 5, 6–7, (Dec. 2005) 2, (March 2006) extent of,
letter, 11, (Aug. 2006) 3–4, 7, 11, 12–13, (Oct. 2006)
partnership behavior, 6, (Dec. 2006) 4
patient care (June 2005) services and operations, 5, 9,
(March 2006) heavy lifting, mobile lifts, 6–8, safety
walkarounds. 6–7
patient lifting, peer training group (June 2005) 8
patient mortality, cardiac (Sept. 2005) lower in union shops,
2
pension (March 2006) and sick leave, 2–3, (Aug. 2006) and
productivity standards, 9
performance (Dec. 2004) 6, 8, (June 2005) task group, 4,
and pay 5, (Sept. 2005) sharing, 8, (June 2006) 5,
committee, 7, 10, (Oct. 2006) 5, performance sharing
program, 6, 7, (Dec. 2006) sharing plan, 4
personal days (Sept. 2005) flexible, 9, (March 2006) worklife
balance, 2, leave, 4, (June 2005) 5, (June 2006) 11
print operations (Aug. 2006) 7
problem solving, joint (June 2006) 10
Project Looking Glass (Dec. 2006) 3
psych access (Dec. 2006) 4
Q
quality of service, standard of care (June 2005) 5,
(Sept. 2005) clinical, 9, (Dec. 2005) 4, (Dec. 2006)
quality director, 5
R
R.J. Erickson Diversity Achievement Award (Oct. 2006) 9
radiology (Oct. 2006) 6
record-keeping, (March 2006) electronic, 9
respiratory care (Oct. 2006) 5
right-to-work law (Aug. 2006) 12
risk management and patient safety (March 2006) 7,
(June 2006) 10
S
safety (June 2005) 5, heavy lifting and mobile lifts, 8, (Sept.
2005) systems, 6, (Dec. 2005) 9, (March 2006) 6–7, (June
2006) 7, and risk management, 10, (Oct. 2006) by design, 8
satisfaction, customer and staff (Dec. 2004) 3, (Dec. 2005) 5
scope of practice (June 2005) 5, (June 2006) 4
service quality (Dec. 2006) 3, tips, 9
shared goals, workers and management (Apr. 2005) 11, (Feb.
2005) shared interests, 11
sick leave (Feb. 2005) calling in sick, 3, (Sept. 2005) annual,
banked, 9, (March 2006) annual, banked, cashing out
unused at year’s end, pension calculation, retirement credit,
2, (June 2006) 11
Silent Witness, domestic violence reduction (Dec. 2005) 9,
(Oct. 2006) 9
socialized medicine (June 2005) attacks on KP, 12
(continues on page 11)