Richard S. Isaacs, MD, FACS, named to Modern Healthcare’s ‘100 Most Influential People’ for 2021

Dr. Isaacs named to prestigious list of influential health care leaders for second consecutive year

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Permanente Federation today announced that Richard S. Isaacs, MD, FACS — CEO and executive director of The Permanente Medical Group, the largest medical group in the country; president and CEO of Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group; and co-CEO of The Permanente Federation — was named to Modern Healthcare’s list of this year’s “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare.” This is the second consecutive year that Dr. Isaacs was named to the prestigious list.

The Modern Healthcare recognition program honors individuals who are deemed by their peers, national leaders, and the magazine’s senior editors to be the most influential in demonstrating leadership and impact in the health care arena. Honorees on this year’s list were recognized for their ability to lead their organizations through transformative changes in a world rocked by a global pandemic.

“This honor pays tribute to our tremendous physicians, nurses, and staff who continue to drive change to advance health care during these challenging times, and most importantly continue to keep our patients and communities safe,” said Dr. Isaacs (who was 33rd on the list, next to President Biden at 34th). “The resilience and adaptability of our people, combined with the advantages of our coordinated and integrated health care system, have enabled us to respond to the ongoing challenges posed by the pandemic while also ensuring that we persevere and deliver high-quality and accessible care. I greatly appreciate the extraordinarily hard work and sacrifice of everyone during this extremely difficult time in health care.”

The Permanente Medical Group and Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group are 2 of the most distinguished medical groups in the country, and their more than 11,000 physicians and 40,000 staff care for approximately 5.2 million Kaiser Permanente members in Northern California, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. The Permanente Federation is the national leadership and consulting organization for the 8 Permanente Medical Groups, which care for more than 12.5 million Kaiser Permanente members across the country.

The physicians, nurses, and staff of the 2 medical groups modeled Dr. Isaacs’ philosophy to continually think about what’s possible in care delivery during the pandemic by maximizing the organization’s systemwide integration to work across departments, teams, and medical centers, and reimagine and redesign care delivery in a crisis — all while keeping patients safe and delivering exceptional care. For example, The Permanente Medical Group and Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group:

• Continually rose to the occasion when faced with a series of COVID-19 surges that led to dramatic increases in cases and hospitalizations, with physicians stepping up to lead and playing critical roles in responding to the demands of this crisis.
• Ramped up an innovative COVID-19 home care program in which population health teams connect with COVID-positive outpatients. More than 270,000 patients have been followed by the COVID home care team, with more than 1 million case reviews, outreach efforts and contacts.
• Initiated a strategic partnership between Kaiser Permanente, Mayo Clinic, and Medically Home to build a national model for the Acute Care at Home program, with the goal of transforming the delivery of acute-level care for patients with serious or complex illnesses.
• Successfully implemented a comprehensive and equitable COVID-19 vaccination effort, within Kaiser Permanente and throughout the communities that the 2 medical groups serve. As part of this effort, both organizations created vaccine acceptance materials in multiple languages, and they continue to conduct extensive outreach to urban and rural areas in partnership with community health systems and faith-based organizations.

Also named to the 2021 “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” list is Greg A. Adams (No. 12), chair and CEO of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals.

To view the complete list of honorees, visit the Modern Healthcare website.

About the Permanente Medical Groups

The Permanente Medical Groups are self-governed, physician-led, prepaid, multispecialty medical groups composed of more than 23,000 physicians. We are dedicated to the mission of improving the health of our patients and communities. Together with the Kaiser Foundation Health Plans and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, we are Kaiser Permanente — an award-winning health care system that delivers Permanente Medicine to more than 12.5 million Kaiser Permanente members. We work collaboratively, enabled by state-of-the-art facilities and technology, to provide preventive and world-class complex care in eight states — from Hawaii to Maryland — and the District of Columbia.

About The Permanente Federation

The Permanente Federation LLC (the Federation) is the national leadership and consulting organization for the eight Permanente Medical Groups (PMGs), which, together with the Kaiser Foundation Health Plans and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, comprise Kaiser Permanente. The Federation works on behalf of the PMGs to optimize care delivery and spread Permanente Medicine — medicine that is person- and family-centered, compassionate, evidence-based, technology-enabled, culturally responsive, team-delivered, and physician-led. The Federation, based in Oakland, California, fosters an open learning environment and accelerates research, innovation, and performance improvements across the PMGs to expand the reach of Kaiser Permanente’s integrated care delivery model and to lead the nation in transforming care delivery.