Portland, Ore., September 1, 2015 – The Board of Directors of Northwest Permanente, the physicians group that provides medical care to Kaiser Permanente members, has unanimously selected Imelda Dacones, MD, as its next president and executive medical director.
Dr. Dacones will take up the role of leading the 1,300-physician medical group in January, replacing Jeffrey Weisz, MD, who is completing a four-year contract.
“Throughout her career, Imelda has demonstrated the ability to both produce results and effectively engage and collaborate with others. We are thrilled for our medical group and congratulate Dr. Imelda Dacones,” the board stated in a message to physicians this week.
Dr. Dacones is chief of staff of Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center in Hillsboro. She joined Kaiser Permanente Northwest in 1999 after completing a residency in internal medicine from the University of Chicago Hospitals. She began her career as a full-time internist in primary care.
In 2002, Dr. Dacones became a full-time hospitalist of Northwest Permanente, based at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. In 2006, she assumed the role of Northwest Permanente lead hospitalist at St. Vincent. In 2011, Dr. Dacones was asked to lead the opening of Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center. During this process, she was promoted to chief medical officer and then chief of staff. She was honored with the Distinguished Physician Award in 2012.
“For me, it begins and ends with the patient care experience,” Dr. Dacones said. “It is a privilege to be allowed into people's lives to care for them when they are most vulnerable. As physicians we all share a sacred bond with our patients. I am incredibly proud to be a physician, a colleague and a member of this medical group.”
Dr. Dacones will partner with Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plan to provide quality care to more than 520,000 members. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest is the top-ranked private health insurance plan in Oregon and Washington, and ranks fifth in the nation, according to the National Committee for Quality Assurance’s Private Health Insurance Plan Rankings for 2014–2015.*
“Dr. Dacones brings a clear vision and passion to achieve our mission and business goals to her work every day,” said Kaiser Permanente Regional President Andrew McCulloch. “I look forward to partnering with her in her new role.”
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and nonprofit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve approximately 10 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia, including more than 520,000 medical and 240,000 dental members in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/share.
*NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA’s HEDIS® reporting system (Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. HEDIS® is a registered trademark of NCQA.
