DECATUR, Ga., June 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- DeKalb Medical and Kaiser Permanente of Georgia have signed a contract giving the health plan's members a broader choice for hospital services and primary care and specialty physicians.
Under the terms of the three-year contract, which goes into effect on Friday, June 15, 2007, Kaiser Permanente members can receive hospital and ambulatory diagnostic services at DeKalb Medical's main campus on North Decatur Road, the Hillandale campus in Lithonia and the downtown Decatur campus.
The contract also gives some Kaiser Permanente members access to an additional network of more than 300 specialists, sub-specialists and primary care physicians through the DeKalb Physician Hospital Organization (DPHO), beginning July 1, 2007.
"The Kaiser Permanente partnership is consistent with our long range objective of expanding healthcare access and improving services to the community. DeKalb residents with Kaiser Permanente coverage will now be able to access DeKalb Medical's hospitals and physicians," said DeKalb Medical President and Chief Executive Officer Eric Norwood.
"DeKalb Medical shares our commitment to patient service and quality medicine and we look forward to collaborating with them to care for our members," said Bruce Perry, MD, Kaiser Permanente's medical director. Carolyn Kenny, president of Kaiser Permanente added, "We are always looking for opportunities to increase access and convenience for our members and are delighted to welcome this well-established medical system into our network."
Serving the community since 1961, DeKalb Medical is a not-for-profit hospital system that includes the 451-bed DeKalb Medical on North Decatur Road in Decatur, the 76-bed DeKalb Medical at Decatur in downtown Decatur and the 100-bed DeKalb Medical at Hillandale in Lithonia. A leader in progressive medical technology delivered by a highly qualified and caring staff, the hospital system serves approximately 500,000 patients annually and offers a variety of community outreach programs.
Kaiser Permanente of Georgia has served the Atlanta community for more than 21 years, providing health care to approximately 281,000 Georgians. The health plan operates 13 medical offices throughout metro Atlanta, including two in DeKalb County: the Kaiser Permanente Crescent Centre and the Kaiser Permanente Panola Medical Center. Kaiser Permanente will open a medical office near Stonecrest Mall during fourth quarter of this year. Nationally, Kaiser Permanente has about 8 million members in eight markets -- Georgia, California, Oregon, Colorado, Hawaii, Ohio and the Mid-Atlantic States.
Kaiser Permanente of Georgia
CONTACT: Earnestine Perry, PR, Manager of Kaiser Permanente,
Earnestine.perry@kp.org, +1-404-364-4754; or Mike Tu, Media Relations
Coordinator of DeKalb Medical, Tu_Mike@DKMC.Org, +1-404-501-2885
