Job Posting: Kaiser Permanente San Diego

KP is hiring a full-time Health Care Ombuds/Mediator for its facility in San Diego, California. The Kaiser HCOM, "functions as a trained alternative dispute professional offering patients, family members, staff & providers a conflict management program to resolve patient/provider healthcare disputes early thereby improving patient safety & reducing the costs of health care dispute resolution."

People who have applied for these positions confirm that Kaiser generally seeks individuals with extensive clinical or health care management experience. No salary or closing date indicated. (Kaiser Permanente Careers, Ref. No.: 123071.)

Related post: Interview With Kaiser Permanente Health Care Ombuds.

Job Posting: Kaiser Permanente

KP is seeking applications for four, full-time Health Care Ombuds/Mediator positions in the Bay Area cities of San Francisco, South San Francisco, San Jose, and South Sacramento. Kaiser's HCOM functions as, "a trained alternative dispute professional offering patients, family members, staff & providers a conflict management program to resolve patient/provider healthcare disputes early thereby improving patient safety & reducing the costs of health care dispute resolution."

People who have applied for these positions confirm that Kaiser generally seeks individuals with extensive clinical or health care management experience. No salary or closing date indicated. (LinkedIn Jobs.)

Related post: Interview With Kaiser Permanente Health Care Ombuds.

Job Posting: Kaiser Permanente San Jose

KP is hiring a full-time Health Care Ombuds/Mediator for its facility in San Jose, CA. The Kaiser HCOM, "functions as a trained alternative dispute professional offering patients, family members, staff & providers a conflict management program to resolve patient/provider healthcare disputes early thereby improving patient safety & reducing the costs of health care dispute resolution."

People who have applied for these positions confirm that Kaiser generally seeks individuals with extensive clinical or health care management experience. No salary or closing date indicated. (Monster, Kaiser Ref. No.: 111855.)

Related post: Interview With Kaiser Permanente Health Care Ombuds.

Job Posting: Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco

KP is hiring a full-time Health Care Ombuds/Mediator for its facility in South San Francisco, CA. The Kaiser HCOM, "functions as a trained alternative dispute professional offering patients, family members, staff & providers a conflict management program to resolve patient/provider healthcare disputes early thereby improving patient safety & reducing the costs of health care dispute resolution."

People who have applied for these positions confirm that Kaiser generally seeks individuals with extensive clinical or health care management experience. No salary or closing date indicated. (Monster, Kaiser Ref. No.: 101211.)

Related post: Interview With Kaiser Permanente Health Care Ombuds; Four Ombuds will Speak at Southern California Mediation Conference.

Update: Four Ombuds will Speak at Southern California Mediation Conference

The 23rd  annual conference of the Southern California Mediation Association will feature a panel of four Ombuds discussing their work.  Joining Betsy Decyk, the Ombuds for Cal State Long Beach, and Tom Kosakowski, an Ombuds at UCLA will be David M. Richardson, Health Care Ombudsman-Mediator for Kaiser Permanente, and G. Michael Kilpatrick, Ombudsman for the California Pharmacist Association.

The program description reads:

Organizational ombudsmen serve as embedded conflict resolution experts and facilitate the informal resolution of concerns of stakeholders of the organization. In addition, Ombuds bring systemic concerns to the attention of the organization for resolution. Their work is characterized by confidentiality, independence, neutrality, and informality. This panel of practicing Ombuds will offer insights on their work in various fields.

The SCMA conference takes place November 4 and 5 in Los Angeles and Malibu.  (SCMA Conf. Info.)

Prior post: Southern California Mediation Conference Will Feature Ombuds Panel. 

Job Posting: Kaiser Permanente San Diego

KP is hiring a full-time Health Care Ombuds/Mediator for its facility in San Diego, CA. The Kaiser HCOM, "functions as a trained alternative dispute professional offering patients, family members, staff & providers a conflict management program to resolve patient/provider healthcare disputes early thereby improving patient safety & reducing the costs of health care dispute resolution."

People who have applied for these positions confirm that Kaiser generally seeks individuals with extensive clinical or health care management experience. No salary or closing date indicated. (Monster, Kaiser Ref. No.: 103821.)

Related post: Interview With Kaiser Permanente Health Care Ombuds.

Job Posting: Kaiser Permanente Hayward

KP is hiring a full-time Health Care Ombuds/Mediator for their facility in Hayward, CA. The Kaiser HCOM, "functions as a trained alternative dispute professional offering patients, family members, staff & providers a conflict management program to resolve patient/provider healthcare disputes early thereby improving patient safety & reducing the costs of health care dispute resolution."

People who have applied for these positions confirm that Kaiser generally seeks individuals with extensive clinical or health care management experience. No salary or closing date indicated. (Kaiser Permanent Careers, Job No.: 101098.)

Related post: Interview With Kaiser Permanente Health Care Ombuds.

Job Posting: Kaiser Permanente San Francisco

KP is hiring a full-time Health Care Ombuds/Mediator for their facility in San Francisco, CA. The Kaiser HCOM, "functions as a trained alternative dispute professional offering patients, family members, staff & providers a conflict management program to resolve patient/provider healthcare disputes early thereby improving patient safety & reducing the costs of health care dispute resolution."

People who have applied for these positions confirm that Kaiser generally seeks individuals with extensive clinical or health care management experience. No salary or closing date indicated. (Kaiser Permanent Careers, Job No.: 093296.)

Related post: Interview With Kaiser Permanente Health Care Ombuds.

ACR Conference to Feature Several Ombuds

At the Association for Conflict Resolution tenth annual conference in San Diego, CA on October 12-15, 2011, several Organizational Ombuds will be speakers.  The preliminary session schedule includes the following presenters and topics:

 

• Deb Ledvina, Transportation Ombudsman, Minnesota Department of Transportation - "Mn/DOT’s Ombudsman Program Resolves Conflicts and Rebuilds Trust" (October 14);
• Michael A. Zeytoonian, Lawyer, Mediator and Ombudsman, Zeytoonian Center for Dispute Resolution - "When your favorite ADR process does not fit, you must not quit. It's time for Integrated Dispute Resolution, a.k.a. Dispute Resolution Unplugged" (October 15); and
• Maureen Whitmore, Mark Montijo and Dave St. Pierre, Healthcare Ombudsmen/Mediators, Kaiser Permanente, "A Tapestry of Healing: The Role of the Weaver" (October 15).

(ACR Draft Session Schedule; 2011 Conference Info.)

Related posts: 2009 ACR Conference Features Ombuds; Tenth ACR Conference Will Highlight Ombuds Issues; Save the Date for ACR Annual Conference in San Diego.

Job Posting: Kaiser Permanente Irvine

KP is hiring a full-time Health Care Ombuds/Mediator for their facility in Irvine, CA. The Kaiser HCOM "functions as a trained alternative dispute professional offering patients, family members, staff & providers a conflict management program to resolve patient/provider healthcare disputes early thereby improving patient safety & reducing the costs of health care dispute resolution."

People who have applied for these positions confirm that Kaiser generally seeks individuals with extensive clinical or health care management experience. No salary or closing date indicated. (Kaiser Permanent Careers, Job No.: 083104.)

Related post: Interview With Kaiser Permanente Health Care Ombuds.

Interview With Kaiser Permanente Health Care Ombuds

The Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog features an interview with David Richardson, PhD. Richardson introduces himself and gives an overview of his the role of the Ombuds within the sprawling Kaiser Permanente health care system. (Kaiser employs 28 HCOMs in California across 35 locations.) "The primary focus when the Ombudsman is involved is to achieve a resolution concerning patient-clinician issues at the earliest possible opportunity and lowest possible level, well before they are elevated to a legal claim," he said.

Before joining Kaiser as an Ombudsman, Richardson worked at The Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles as the Center Administrator for Behavioral Neuroscience Research Center and later as the Administrative Director for the College of Medicine. He earned his doctorate in Psychology and completed mediation training at the School of Law at Loyola Marymount University. He points out that he presently is the the only Certified Organizational Ombudsman Practitioner at Kaiser. The interview was conducted by Mathew Pauley, the Medical Bioethics Director at Kaiser's Fontana and Ontario Vineyard Medical Centers, and a Marquette Law School alumnus. (Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog.)

Related posts: CO-OP Board Announces First Class of Certified Ombuds; Tenth ACR Conference Will Highlight Ombuds Issues.

Tenth ACR Conference Will Highlight Ombuds Issues

The Association for Conflict Resolution's tenth annual conference will include several sessions that Organizational Ombuds will find relevant, including:

• Building a Conflict Competent Organization Phase II: What Practitioners, Organizations, and the Conflict Resolution Profession Can Learn and Apply in the Workplace (Session 4.13) -- How ConEdison built organizational conflict competence and provided conflict management services with input from the Ombudsman, HR, EEO, Labor Relations, Ethics, Security and Training.
• Sharing "Trade Secrets": Tips and Techniques from Cross-Section Colleagues for Expanding Your Practice (Session 5.15) -- A panel including Nick Diehl and Calio Azcarte will use the World Café process to explore key practices and tools used by practitioners in one area that might be adapted to enhance the effectiveness of others and how to grow the demand for constructive workplace conflict resolution practices via collaboration across practice areas.
• Transparency In Action: Surfacing and Resolving Conflicts - The Kaiser Permanente Health Care Ombudsman/Mediator Program (Session 6.12) -- Kaiser Ombuds will present an overview of the HCOM model including a historical perspective, the specific model, conflict resolution strategies, as well as types of cases and key learnings.
• Managing Your Energy in Mediation: How the Conflict Resolution Practitioner Can Thrive (Session 7.09) -- This interactive, skill building and practice enhancing workshop will highlight critical component of self care helping practitioners manage the personal energy required to perform their work based on the Kaiser Permanente Health Care Ombudsman/Mediator Program.

The ACR conference takes place at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, September 1-4, 2010. Priority registration ends August 2. It does not appear that there will be an Ombuds Section meeting as in years past. (ACR 2010 Conf. Info.)

Related post: 2009 ACR Conference Features Ombuds.

Job Posting: Kaiser Permanente

KP is hiring a Health Care Ombuds/Mediator for their facility in Fresno, CA. The Kaiser HCOM "functions as a trained alternative dispute professional offering patients, family members, staff & providers a conflict management program to resolve patient/provider healthcare disputes early thereby improving patient safety & reducing the costs of health care dispute resolution."

People who have applied for these positions confirm that Kaiser requires extensive clinical or health care management experience. No salary or closing date indicated. (Kaiser Permanent Careers, Job No.: 035622.)

Job Posting: Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara

KP is hiring a Health Care Ombuds/Mediator for Homestead Hospital in Santa Clara, CA. The Kaiser HCOM "functions as a trained alternative dispute professional offering patients, family members, staff & providers a conflict management program to resolve patient/provider healthcare disputes early thereby improving patient safety & reducing the costs of health care dispute resolution."

People who have applied for these positions confirm that Kaiser requires extensive clinical or health care management experience. No salary or closing date indicated. (Kaiser Permanent Careers, Job No.: 020481.)

CO-OP Board Announces First Class of Certified Ombuds

The Board of Certification for Certified Organizational Ombudsman Practitioners has announced the names of the first Ombuds to become certified. Nineteen individuals from 12 different organizations have now passed the examination and have demonstrated they have at least a year of experience and practice to the IOA Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

• Evan R. Arrowsmith, Eaton Corporation
• Thomas W. Barnette, American Express
• Carol L. Breslin, Chevron Corporation
• Victoria Brown, University of Central Florida
• Ilene Butensky Brehm, Eaton Corporation
• Mary Chavez Rudolph, University of Colorado Denver
• Melissa Connell, University of Colorado Denver
• Joan Elaine Engel, Career Concepts, Inc.
• Sylvia L. Powlis Garvin, Career Concepts, Inc.
• Sharon Lanier, Munroe Regional Medical Center
• Bathabile K. S. Mthombeni, Columbia University
• Lisa M. Neale, University of Colorado Denver
• David Richardson, Kaiser Permanente
• Janis Schonauer, AllianceBernstein
• John A. Simonetti, Eaton Corporation
• Albin W. Swenson, Chevron Corporation
• Marc Vaucher, United Nations
• Richard G. Wall, Chevron Corporation
• Theodore R. Williamson III, The Coca-Cola Company

The next CO-OP examination will be offered during the IOA annual conference in New Orleans, April 8, 2010. (CO-OP Directory of Practitioners.)

Update 3/14/10: One Name Added to the List of First Certified Ombuds.

Related posts: IOA Unveils Certification Program for Organizational Ombuds; First Ombuds Certification Exam: 96% Pass Rate.

Job Posting: Kaiser Permanente San Francisco

Kaiser is accepting applications for a HealthCare Ombudsman/Mediator in San Francisco. Last summer, Kaiser was looking for a part-time HCOM at this location. No indication whether this is the same or additional position. Extensive clinical health care experience (10+ years) and Ombuds training or experience is required. No closing date or salary indicated. Job ID: 008848. (Yahoo HotJobs; Hire Diversity.)

Prior: Job Posting.

Job Posting: Kaiser Permanente Oakland

Kaiser is accepting applications for a full-time HealthCare Ombudsman/Mediator in its administrative office in Oakland, California. Extensive clinical health care experience (10+ years) and Ombuds training or experience is desired. No closing date or salary indicated, which is typical for Kaiser postings. (KP Careers, Job ID: OA.0900643.)

Job Posting: Kaiser Permanente San Jose

Kaiser is accepting applications for a full-time HealthCare Ombudsman/Mediator in San Jose, California. Extensive clinical health care experience (10+ years) and Ombuds training or experience is required. No closing date or salary indicated, which is typical for Kaiser postings. (Yahoo HotJobs, Job ID: ST.0900273.)

Job Posting: Kaiser Permanente San Francisco

Kaiser is accepting applications for a HealthCare Ombudsman/Mediator in San Francisco. This is a part-time position, 32 hours/week, day shift. Extensive clinical health care experience (10+ years) and Ombuds training or experience is required. No closing date or salary indicated. (KP Careers.)

Kaiser Ombuds was Victim of Chatsworth Train Crash

One of the victims of the Metrolink accident in Southern California was Beverly Mosely, an HealthCare Ombuds Mediator with Kaiser Permanente. According to an email from Dr. Benjamin K. Chu, president of Kaiser Permanente Southern California:

Beverly Mosely, ombudsman for Panorama City Medical Center, was killed in the accident. Beverly, who worked for Kaiser Permanente for more than 20 years in a variety of roles, is survived by her mother, two adult daughters - Nicki and Tina - and a two-month old grandson, Kingston. She enjoyed music, especially jazz, and had a beautiful singing voice. She also liked to travel and golf.

* * *

When her colleagues speak about Beverly and her work, they mention her compassion and her knack for knowing when someone needed a hug. They say she had an ability to connect with people and a smile that would light up a room. She was known as a "guardian angel" to our patients and their families during some of the most challenging times in their lives.

(Jillen's LiveJournal; Downtown News.)

9/18/08 Update: LA Times.