Kim E. Kaiser named chief administrative officer, bringing decades of leadership to Downey Medical Center

Kim E. Kaiser

DOWNEY — Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center has a new serving chief administrative officer known for strengthening physician-staff alignment, improving patient care quality, and working closely with employees for the benefit of members and patients.

Kim E. Kaiser is an accomplished health care executive with more than two decades of leadership experience at Kaiser Permanente. She’s looking forward to working closely with physicians, health care staff and administrators to strengthen Downey Medical Center’s commitment to meeting the unique and complex needs of Kaiser Permanente members throughout the Downey Service Area.

“Through cooperation and collaboration with staff and other leaders, I will be working diligently to ensure that our care delivery is second to none,” Kaiser said. “I’m delighted to begin this new journey as a strong advocate of medical excellence and compassionate care for our community.”

Most recently, Kaiser served as regional quality administrator for Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Hawaii, overseeing regional laboratory services, research and evaluation activities and specialty programs across 13 service areas and medical offices. In this role, she led major quality, safety and access initiatives; served as administrative leader for Research and Evaluation, and managed quality for the Medi-Cal Direct Contract, serving more than 600,000 members, as well as the Dual Eligible Special Needs Program serving more than 62,000 members.

“We’re delighted to have Kim join our administrative team. Her extensive experience will help us continue delivering high-quality care and meeting the evolving needs of our members and patients in the Downey community,” said Mitch Winnik, senior vice president and area manager of Downey Medical Center.

Dr. Laurie Anne Chu, area medical director, noted: “Kim is a proven leader. I look forward to working closely with her and our physicians to make sure Downey Medical Center continues to be a leading provider of high-quality care where our members and patients can count on us.”

Kaiser holds a Doctor of Education advanced degree in Organizational Leadership, a master’s degree in health administration from the University of La Verne, as well as advanced executive training from Harvard Business School and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.

She also brings a structured, system-level approach to strategy execution, performance improvement, financial administration and workforce oversight. In her free time, Kaiser enjoys pickleball, golf and photography.