Leadership LETTER

A central part of our mission takes on even greater importance.

Dear friends and Neighbors:

The mission of Kaiser Permanente is to provide affordable, high-quality health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve.

Community Benefit is a central part of our mission. In 2009, it became even more compelling to serve our communities. As the recession worsened, millions lost their jobs and their health insurance. This placed increased demands for service on thousands of community-based organizations that care for low-income people and improve community health. At the same time, these same organizations faced budget cuts caused by shrinking charitable donations and reduced state and local revenues.

We faced economic uncertainties ourselves, but rather than scale back our efforts, we increased the scope of our activities. We were able to expand our care and coverage for the uninsured, increase our support for safety net organizations, elevate our work to promote community health and protect the environment, and increase our activities to develop and share new health knowledge.

As has been noted before, the worst of times often brings out the best in people. With that in mind, we would like to thank our physicians, our employees, our philanthropic partners, and our partner community organizations that did so much to help mitigate the effects of the recession. Together, we were able to make a real difference.

We hope this report will help you learn more about our programs, the impact they had on our communities last year, and our continued efforts as we move forward.

Sincerely,

Cynthia A. Telles, PhD Chair, Community Benefit Committee Board of Directors Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals
Raymond J. Baxter, PhD Senior Vice President, Community Benefit, Research and Health Policy Kaiser Permanente