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Effective October 9, KP Southern California Region retention rules will apply limits in Microsoft Outlook to your aging emails and calendar entries. Email in your inbox folder will be purged after 90 days, while email in folders outside the inbox, including the Sent and Deleted folders as well as any folders you create, will be retained for 4 years. For more details, and info about how to archive emails; extend the retention period; recover purged emails; and why KP is taking this action, click here ^[2].

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Effective October 9, KP Southern California Region retention rules will apply limits in Microsoft Outlook to your aging emails and calendar entries. Email in your inbox folder will be purged after 90 days, while email in folders outside the inbox, including the Sent and Deleted folders as well as any folders you create, will be retained for 4 years. You can also extend the retention for any email you need to keep for longer.

These retention rules help KP manage information and costs more responsibly, reduce risk, and better protect our brand and reputation.

What to expect

On October 9 and over the week that follows:

• All emails older than 90 days in your inbox, all emails older than 4 years in folders outside of your inbox, and calendar entries older than 4 years will be purged.

Note: If any emails get purged that you intended to keep, you can recover them within 30 days ^[3]. (We recommend you prepare your Outlook account in advance, so this step won’t be needed.)

• The performance of Outlook may be slightly slower on October 9 as the retention rules are being applied to your account.

Upcoming information sessions

Join an Outlook retention rules information session ^[4] to learn more. During these sessions, you’ll hear about the changes happening to your Outlook email and calendar as well as your options for saving emails longer, and you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions about the upcoming changes.

These 30-minute information sessions occur weekly on various days and times beginning September 3. Add the meeting details to your calendar and join whichever session works best for you.

To learn more, visit the Outlook retention rules page ^[5].

Kaiser Permanente launched a COVID-19 Home Prevention Support Program to help members who test positive for the virus. The national program, now rolling out in Southern California, provides information and resources on how to safely and effectively isolate and quarantine at home to prevent the spread of the virus.

During outreach at the time of diagnosis, care team members provide COVID-positive patients with the opportunity to talk with a trained representative who can help guide them on safe practices. If patients are interested, they voluntarily opt in to a phone coaching support program. They can call for information as often as desired during the course of their recovery, and they can also opt out of the program at any time.

If patients live in a multi-person household, they are informed of the additional opportunity to receive a free care kit. This generous supply of cleaning products, hand sanitizers, disposable masks, and other items will help prevent viral spread to other household members.

In addition to this national program, the Southern California region will soon roll out an optional supply purchasing program to support all members who test positive for COVID-19 or are being evaluated for the virus – including those who live in single-person households. They will have the opportunity to purchase essential household infection prevention products at a discounted rate from Cabinet, a direct-to-consumer health products company. Details coming soon.

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Kaiser Permanente Southern California members have completed more than 550,000 e-visits since January, 2020, marking a significant growth in patient utilization of virtual tools and visits.

E-visits provide treatment or clinical triage to members virtually, using symptom-based questionnaires. Kaiser Permanente members can access E-visits via kp.org or the KP mobile app.

Expanding E-visits to Meet Demand: a COVID-19 Silver Lining

Today, KPSC offers e-visits for common symptoms including sore throat, rash, and urinary tract infection. Our e-visit capacity was greatly expanded to meet the need for providing safe, effective care during the COVDI-19 pandemic. New types of e-visits were introduced for COVID-19 concerns, including guidance on antibody testing, limited diagnostic testing, and off work/school notes. This expansion is one of many “silver linings” that resulted when Kaiser Permanente pivoted to meet the challenges posed by the coronavirus surge. ^[10]

This virtual care tool replaces face-to-face appointments and improves the patient experience by providing more 24/7 virtual options, and greater care affordability.

Seven teams across KP – as well as the Ambulatory Care Re-Entry workstream from the “2-6-12: Our Path Forward” initiative – collaborated to build, launch, and expand our e-visit offerings.

As part of the multi-specialty work, sponsored by Ed Ellison, MD, executive medical director, SCPMG, the e-visits team is working with physicians across 11 different specialties to develop several new e-visits, focusing on mental health, women’s health, pediatrics, and much more.

For more information about e-visits, access the physician FAQs here ^[11], or schedule an e-visit via this link: kp.org/e-visits2 ^[12].

Kaiser Permanente launched a COVID-19 Home Prevention Support Program to help members who test positive for the virus. The national program, now rolling out in Southern California, provides information and resources on how to safely and effectively isolate and quarantine at home to prevent the spread of the virus. The program includes phone coaching support and, for those who quality, a free care kit with a generous supply of cleaning products, hand sanitizers, disposable masks, and other items, designed to help prevent viral spread to other household members. More details here.

Kaiser Permanente launched a COVID-19 Home Prevention Support Program to help members who test positive for the virus. The national program, now rolling out in Southern California, provides information and resources on how to safely and effectively isolate and quarantine at home to prevent the spread of the virus.

During outreach at the time of diagnosis, care team members provide COVID-positive patients with the opportunity to talk with a trained representative who can help guide them on safe practices. If patients are interested, they voluntarily opt in to a phone coaching support program. They can call for information as often as desired during the course of their recovery, and they can also opt out of the program at any time​.

If patients live in a multi-person household, they are informed of the additional opportunity to receive a free care kit. This generous supply of cleaning products, hand sanitizers, disposable masks, and other items will help prevent viral spread to other household members.

In addition to this national program, the Southern California region will soon roll out an optional supply purchasing program to support all members who test positive for COVID-19 or are being evaluated for the virus – including those who live in single-person households. They will have the opportunity to purchase essential household infection prevention products at a discounted rate from Cabinet, a direct-to-consumer health products company.

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On Monday, August 3rd, Blanca Alban was conducting her daily routine checks of the restrooms before leaving for the day. It was about 3:50 pm when she entered the men’s restroom at the Chester Medical Offices (Kern County), and noticed a young man lying on the floor in one of the stalls.  His face was pale and he was nonresponsive. Read what happened next ^[14], and learn how Blanca’s quick thinking and calm demeanor may have saved this young man’s life.

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On Monday, August 3rd, Blanca Alban was conducting her daily routine checks of the restrooms before leaving for the day. It was about 3:50 pm when she entered the men’s restroom at the Chester Medical Offices, and noticed a young man lying on the floor in one of the stalls.  His face was pale and he was nonresponsive.

Quickly, Blanca ran to get some help. She saw Christina Ortega, medical office assistant and temperature screener. As they ran back to the restroom, Christina told Amie Garcia, customer service representative, to initiate the emergency response page, “Nurse STAT” and “Dial 911.”

Christina immediately crawled underneath the restroom stall door to unlock it. Blanca wasn’t frightened but remained calm and stayed with the young man until the STAT Team arrived.

Charge Nurse Ryan Greenleaf administered oxygen and an IV containing Narcan. The STAT Team took other appropriate interventions, and the patient stabilized and became responsive. It was later determined this incident was a result of a possible self-administered drug overdose.

A Different Outcome
As it was late in the day when Blanca discovered the young man, there was a strong likelihood that no one would have gone into the restroom until the night crew arrived hours later. In that case, the young man might have faced a different outcome.

Blanca works for ABM, a Kaiser Permanente environmental services contractor, but is “very happy” to be part of the team at the Chester Medical Offices. She has worked at this facility for over 2 years and is highly regarded by the staff and physicians. Ryan Greenleaf stated, “Day in and day out Blanca does a fantastic job and always has a smile on her face. During what has become to be known as the ‘COVID Apocalypse of 2020,’ we have developed an even greater appreciation for her. She keeps us, our patients, and this entire MOB safe. She’s always wiping down chairs, cleaning doorknobs, wiping the stairwell handles, and everything else in between.  Yesterday was just another example of how truly blessed we are to have Blanca as part of the Chester Team. On that day, she truly was that young man’s guardian angel.”

Chester MOB STAT Team Members Include:
Christina Ortega, medical office assistant
Angelina Bermudez, medical office assistant
Sheryl Gaona, medical office assistant
Kimi Brewer, RT
Phil Dang, MD
Richard Ferrell, RN (DA)
Amie Garcia, Service Representative
Ryan Greenleaf, RN (Charge Nurse)
Jill Adams, RN

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Kaiser Permanente Ergonomic Expert On Reducing Computer-Related Strain

According to Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Center ergonomic project manager Valentina Sendin, “Children now spend more than four hours a day on the computer,” (and in our home it’s more than that). “They experience back, neck, shoulder, wrist, thumb, hand and eye strain.” The key to avoiding computer- and phone-related injuries is in “proper furniture, better posture and good working habits” says Sendin, who offers 6 tips for healthier play and work while staying safer at home…including a great workaround for ill-fitting furniture. Read more in L.A. Parent ^[18].

We know the closure of schools and daycare centers, continue to create a scarcity in childcare resources. This situation places immense pressure on essential workers – like Kaiser Permanente employees and physicians – to find alternative childcare resources because they must continue reporting to work. Our Employee Assistance Program team has gathered a list of possible care referral sources ^[21] that may help our people.
 

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8 KPSC hospitals named best in state for overall care
32 KP hospitals identified as “high performing”

Kaiser Permanente hospitals are among the best in the nation for delivering high-quality care, according to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2020-2021 “Best Hospitals” rankings. In Southern California, 8 Kaiser Permanente  hospitals ranked among the best in the state for overall care: Anaheim, Baldwin Park, Fontana, Irvine, Los Angeles, Ontario, San Diego, and San Diego Zion.
“We’re proud that the U.S. News & World Report places us within the top tier of hospitals nationwide,” said Nancy Gin, MD, executive vice president and chief quality officer for The Permanente Federation and regional medical director of Quality & Clinical Analysis, SCPMG. “During this critical time in health care, our experienced and highly skilled front-line staff, nurses and physicians are committed to ensuring that our patients receive the quality care they deserve to get healthy and stay healthy.” Read the details and see which other KP hospitals across the organization  ranked in the top tiers. ^[23]