Kaiser Permanente has tapped its interim northwest regional president to fill the role full time.
The large health care and insurance provider announced this week that Jeff Collins will serve as president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest.
Collins has served as interim president since June 1, following former president Ruth Williams-Brinkley’s departure for a position with Kaiser on the East Coast.
Collins has worked with Kaiser for 12 years, most recently helping lead the company’s network of hospitals and medical offices in northern California. He has 35 years of experience in the health care industry, company officials said in a statement announcing his hire.
“We’re pleased to bring to the Northwest a proven leader of Jeff’s caliber as we continue to deliver on our mission of high-quality, affordable health care,” Kaiser Permanente Chairman and CEO Greg Adams said in the statement.
Kaiser officials declined to disclose Collins’ salary. Williams-Brinkley earned $926,000 in 2018, according to financial filings the organization is required to disclose as a nonprofit entity. She also received $377,000 in “other compensation from the organization and related organizations.”
Kaiser is Oregon’s largest commercial health insurer by enrollment, with more than 500,000 policyholders across the state. It also operates more than 100 clinics, urgent care centers and medical clinics throughout the Willamette Valley, according to its website.
Williams-Brinkley had served in the role since 2017.
Collins “stepped into his interim role during the throes of a worldwide pandemic,” said Kim Horn, executive vice president and group president of the company’s regional markets outside of California, where Kaiser Permanente is headquartered.
“He is effectively executing a reactivation plan providing members safe access to high-quality care, including dramatically increased access to telehealth and virtual services that enable members to receive care in the safety and comfort of their homes,” Horn said. “Under Jeff’s leadership, Northwest’s expansion of virtual care will be part of the new ways we are meeting members’ expectations for quality and convenience.”
You can reach Elon Glucklich at [email protected].
