2025 Integrated Care Experience Recap
Integrated Care in Action
How do you deliver high-quality, personalized care at scale? For global healthcare leaders, the May 2025 Integrated Care Experience in Southern California offered a deep dive into that question through immersive learning, cross-cultural exchange, and real-world application.
The Kaiser Permanente International (KPI) team recently hosted healthcare leaders from around the world for our May 2025 Integrated Care Experience program in Southern California. From May 4-7, participants from Australia, Chile, Germany, Japan, Nepal, Switzerland, Chile, Australia, Japan, Nepal, and the United States came together to explore KP’s approach to delivering high-quality, affordable, integrated care. Their diverse perspectives enriched discussions and created a collaborative learning environment that extended beyond formal sessions. The program provided a comprehensive view of Kaiser Permanente’s integrated care model through presentations, site visits, and interactive discussions – offering participants a chance to see our principles in action across multiple care settings.
“This is so valuable for people looking to learn more about Kaiser and how it has been so successful.” – May 2025 Integrated Care Experience participant
“Day 1 perfectly laid the foundation for the next two days. I was especially interested in KP’s emphasis on maternity care, building long-term relationships with members, and conducting real-time research using data,” one participant reflected.
Day 1: Foundations of Integrated Care
The program began at the Walnut Center in Pasadena with a welcome and enterprise overview by Karin Cooke, Director of Kaiser Permanente International. Lesley McKendrick, Chief Operating Officer, then provided context on KP’s Southern California market and its journey toward becoming a highly reliable organization.
Next, Vice President of Consumer Experience Erin Bilvado’s presentation underscored KP’s commitment to creating exceptional patient experiences and placing our members at the center of everything we do. Dr. Tim Ho, MD, and Huong Nguyen, Director, Health Services Research and Implementation Team, demonstrated how enterprise-wide tools like clinical guidance and digital access pathways make it easier for both clinicians and members to engage with high-quality care.
Khang Nguyen, MD shared Kaiser Permanente’s work in creating a digital ecosystem that helps patients connect to the right care. Participants appreciated seeing how KP’s digital front door seamlessly connects members to appropriate resources at the right time.
Day 2: Seeing the Model in Action
On the second day, we visited our cutting-edge Fontana Medical Center in the San Bernardino Service Area, where attendees explored the practical implementation of our care model. Timothy Jenkins, MD, Dianne Suess, and Georgina Garcia, the San Bernardino Medical Center leadership team, shared how Kaiser Permanente is addressing demographic changes, population growth, and developing healthcare workforce pipelines in the region.
The medical center tour offered an inside look at KP’s team-based care, featuring the simulation lab, Advanced Medical Care at Home program, specialty services, and leading-edge technologies. A tour of the cardiac catheterization lab left a lasting impression, illustrating the precision, collaboration, and innovation behind KP’s clinical excellence.
“Yesterday we learned about the care experience; today we saw it in action,” one participant noted. “You’re actually listening to people and asking, ‘What will help you feel well?’ That might mean being home with family or being here with professionals—it’s different for each member.
The day also showcased KP’s ability to personalize care at scale. The virtual cancer center was highlighted as a model where local oncologists collaborate with system-wide specialists to treat patients with rare cancers—eliminating the need for travel while maintaining expert care.
The day concluded at the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, where participants explored the flipped classroom model, in which students work with course material outside of class. Class time is then used for hands-on learning and collaboration. The group learned about KP’s commitment to training the next generation of healthcare leaders through community engagement.
Day 3: Community and the Future of Healthcare
After two days of learning about KP’s systems and care delivery, Day 3 shifted the focus to community engagement and social health—core elements of an integrated care model. The final day began at the historic Watts Counseling and Learning Center. John Yamamoto, Vice President of Community Health and Government Relations, shared KP’s Community and Social Health initiatives, followed by an overview from Maria Aguirre and Tanasa Davis, directors of the Watts Counseling and Learning Center, on the center’s profound impact in addressing social determinants of health beyond clinical settings.
“I will never forget the Watts experience and people. I left so optimistic for our future. Kaiser is truly making a difference,” shared one participant.
Back at the Walnut Center, John Martin, MD, presented a comprehensive diabetes case study, illustrating Kaiser Permanente’s data-driven, integrated approach to chronic disease management. The program concluded with the Future of Healthcare panel featuring Nolan Chang, MD, Regional Medical Director and Laura Johnson, Senior Vice President, Strategic Development and Technology who explored themes like artificial intelligence, precision medicine, new care settings, and behavior change. These discussions provided participants with a view of how Kaiser Permanente is approaching the future of integrated, value-based care. We are continually working to improve health outcomes while increasing the affordability of healthcare.
“It provided insights on the recognition that personalization and integration will be key drivers of healthcare transformation”, noted one attendee.
Looking Ahead
As the program concluded, participants reflected on how Kaiser Permanente’s approaches might translate to their own healthcare systems, despite different regulatory environments and funding models.
One participant noted: “In Germany, we have a very small part of virtual medicine possible because of data protection and payment issues… But a big dream starts always with the dreamer. I am very inspired to take this information back to Germany.”
Throughout the three days, we witnessed the power of bringing together healthcare leaders from diverse backgrounds. Participants valued not only learning from Kaiser Permanente but also from each other, sharing challenges and strategies for value-based care across different healthcare systems.
“The opportunity to mingle not only with KP staff but also with international participants is of incredible value for whoever wants to dig deeper into the subject of value-based care,” noted a participant.
As healthcare systems globally continue to evolve toward more integrated, value-based models, these exchanges of ideas and experiences become increasingly vital.
We thank all our presenters, hosts, and participants for making this program a success.
As one participant summarized: “Until now, there has been limited information available about Kaiser Permanente, so this program was the first time I was able to gain a proper understanding of what Value-Based Healthcare and Integrated Care truly mean.”
As Kaiser Permanente International looks ahead to its next Integrated Care Experience in November, the impact of these three days in Southern California will continue to resonate with participants as they apply insights to their own healthcare transformation journeys.
