Julie Miller-Phipps, president of Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Hawaii, plans to retire in July this year, the company said.
Miller-Phipps has served as President of Kaiser Permanente Southern California since 2016 and as President of the Hawaii Region since 2020. After serving as senior vice president of Orange County’s Southern California service area, she served as president of Kaiser Permanente Georgia from 2014-2016. where she began her career at Kaiser 45 years ago.
Miller-Phipps leadership has driven many innovations and improvements in the care and services offered to Kaiser members. She has championed public health efforts and helped build strong community partnerships to improve the economic, social and environmental conditions that affect health and to promote health equity.
She also helped navigate the organization through three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the greatest public health challenges in the country’s history. Under her leadership, Kaiser Permanente established mass vaccination centers, expanded testing sites for members and the public, and deployed mobile health resources to increase access to health care.
During the COVID-19 waves of the winters of 2020 and 2021, the healthcare system was able to quadruple its inpatient capacity, allowing clinical teams to meet critical care needs.
During Miller-Phipps’ time in Southern California, where Kaiser Permanente serves approximately 4.8 million members, the region has received a long list of accolades. They include:
- Miller-Phipps continued the region’s 15-year unbroken record by achieving the Office of the Patient Advocate’s top mark for “quality of care” (2008-2022).
- For 11 consecutive years, including six under Miller Phipps’ leadership, the region has received five stars out of five, the highest overall rating for quality and service from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
- Kaiser Permanente Southern California has six hospitals that have received Magnet status from the American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet Recognition Program, which sets the standard for excellence in nursing care.
- Southern California membership increased by nearly 532,000 members from 2016 to 2022.
- During Miller-Phipps’ tenure, Kaiser Permanente opened or developed two hospitals in San Diego: the San Diego Medical Center, which opened in April 2017, and the San Marcos Medical Center, which will open in August 2023.
- Since 2016, Kaiser Permanente Southern California has added approximately 49 facilities to serve members and patients.
Miller-Phipps’ successor has not been announced.