The 64-year-old Bonny Doon man decided last weekend that he needed to see a doctor. So he went online and made an appointment for Tuesday morning at the new Kaiser Permanent clinic in Scotts Valley, which was to open for the first time that day.
He had moved to the Santa Cruz Mountains five years ago. Now he, like thousands of others, was finally able to see a Kaiser physician without having to drive “over the hill.”
He was the second patient at the new clinic on Scotts Valley Drive. Dr. Tyler Hensel and his staff did a double take when they saw his name: Henry Kaiser III.
Kaiser said he is used to that. His grandfather, industrialist Henry Kaiser, in 1945 founded the health plan that became Kaiser Permanente, the $22 billion Oakland-based healthcare organization that was the model for health maintenance organizations (HMOs) nationwide.
“I had to apply just like anybody else,” he said later in the day. “It’s the best health care I can get for my money.”
New Kaiser Permanente clinics also opened Tuesday, Jan.3, in Santa Cruz and Watsonville, the health care provider’s first foray over the Santa Cruz Mountains.
The new medical offices offer healthcare consumers another set of options, and introduce a new competitor to providers Sutter Health and Dignity Health.
Henry Kaiser III has no connection to the healthcare giant, other than his name and his status as a patient and enrollee. He made the switch to his new doctor online, transferring from his previous Oakland-based Kaiser physician.
“I know how proud my grandfather and [co-founder] Sid Garfield would be today,” he said. “They would be amazed at the how their idea grew.”
Kaiser was born at the Kaiser hospital in Oakland, and would go on to an eclectic career mix of accomplished guitarist, film maker, and arctic/Antarctic deep-sea diver.
As a guitarist, he has recorded 280 albums, including television and movie soundtracks – one with renowned director Werner Herzog; Kaiser is a scientific diver with the U.S. Antarctic Program. His wife, Brandy Gale, is a painter.
Kaiser had first announced its expansion plans in April 2016, and the opening of the new offices in Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley and Watsonville was right on schedule. An open house for community leaders is scheduled for January 10.
Janet Liang, president of Kaiser Permanente Northern California, said in a statement released Tueday, “We are so pleased to begin providing our award-winning care and coverage in Santa Cruz County and look forward to being actively involved in these wonderful communities.”
Dr. Robert Pearl, executive director and CEO of The Permanente Medical Group, pledged that his physicians and staff “will provide superior quality and personalized service to their patients in Santa Cruz County.”
Kaiser Permanente’s new medical offices are located at 5615 Scotts Valley Drive in Scotts Valley; 115 Locust Street in downtown Santa Cruz; and at 1931 Main Street in Watsonville. Appointments are available from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Urgent care is available at the Scotts Valley office Monday through Friday from noon to 8 p.m., and on weekends from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
In addition to Kaiser’s only urgent care center in the county, the Scotts Valley office provides the most comprehensive services of the three sites, with a pharmacy, laboratory, X-ray/radiology and mammography services, plus on-site physicians in 21 primary and specialty care services.
The new offices’ exam rooms feature 40-inch screens to facilitate real-time video conferences with specialists, translation services, and health education.
The two-story, 20,000 square-foot Scotts Valley office features tree-top views through large windows.
