Kaiser Permanente Surgical Volunteers Celebrated by Operation Access

Article written by Gabby Areas, associate public affairs representative at Kaiser Permanente in the East Bay.

Photo caption: Operation Access CEO Jason Beers, Kaiser Permanente Richmond Medical Center Physician-in-Chief Dr. Judith Park, and Operation Access Program Manager Ali Balick. Photograph by Angela Jenkins.

If you could give a few hours of your Saturday to improve someone's life, would you? That is exactly what Kaiser Permanente staff and physicians who volunteer with Operation Access do to help improve the everyday lives of people who are uninsured or underinsured.

On February 3rd, Operation Access celebrated all its volunteers in the East Bay — including Kaiser Permanente staff and physicians — and highlighted their accomplishments in 2016.

Operation Access' mission is to enable Bay Area health care providers to donate vital surgical and specialty care for the underinsured and underserved.

Dr. Judy Park, Physician-in-Chief at Kaiser Permanente’s Richmond Medical Center, is one such volunteer. Involved with Operation Access since 2010, she spoke at the event about a successful surgery she performed on a patient and highlighted the necessity of having a great team around you to get work done.

"When I was younger, I went into medicine to help people. Then as a surgeon I realized you need a whole infrastructure and team to be able to do that," Dr. Park said. "You need a team. With Operation Access you have that in order to give and help the needy who have no other means of getting the care."

Dr. Aaron Baggs, who has participated in Operation Access for nearly 12 years, recalls having a patient who experienced extreme abdominal pain after eating. She visited the emergency department several times growing up, but never had surgery. After a local community clinic referred the patient to Operation Access, Dr. Baggs successfully removed her gallbladder, allowing her to return to an active pain-free life.

"Operation Access allows us to work with people who have no insurance coverage and are having difficulty with working or their daily lives because of hernias, gallstones or some kind of mass they are worried about," Dr. Baggs said.

Dr. Baggs said the program typically serves the working class, who can't afford insurance but don't qualify for state coverage. "We're going to be seeing a lot of people like that in the future," he said.

At Kaiser Permanente's Richmond Medical Center, surgeries happen three times a year and staff can do up to 18 procedures during the day by running two operating rooms. The most recent surgery day at the Oakland Medical Center occurred in December.

Employees throughout Kaiser Permanente volunteer their time for the surgeries, including pharmacists, cleaners, medical assistants, clerks, aides, technicians, anesthesiologists, nurses, and surgeons.

Registered Nurse Jackie Killeen has been involved with the program since 1994 and was the main driver behind launching the Richmond program years later.

"We have this set of skills that other people don't have and we can put them towards helping and healing people," Ms. Killeen says. "What a gift it is to give back to people who don’t have access to surgery and be able to improve their lives."

Ms. Killeen says the Kaiser Permanente employees who volunteer enjoy being able to give back, even when it means taking a few hours out of their day, to change people's lives for the better. Dr. Park agrees, saying it is a way for Kaiser Permanente employees to give back together.

"Instead of being divided — socially, politically — this is one way we can come together around a common purpose and mission," Dr. Park said. "This is the way we're going to be united and a healthier community of people."

Partnering with Operation Access is one of the many ways Kaiser Permanente shows its commitment to improving the lives and health of the communities it serves.

"This is part of KP's mission and it is wonderful for us to partner with other organizations who have the same mindset," Dr. Park said. "It's right in line with our mission and DNA."