Q2/Q3-2020 | ISSUE 55 FRONTLINE NEWS FOR KP WORKERS, MANAGERS AND PHYSICIANS IN THIS ISSUE TRANSFORMING CARE — A QUEST FOR LEARNING — EXPANDING HORIZONS2 HANK Q2/Q3-2020 • ISSUE 55 What is Hank ? Hank is an award-winning journal named in honor of Kaiser Permanente’s visionary co-founder and innovator, Henry J. Kaiser. HANK’S MISSION: Highlight the successes and struggles of the Labor Management Partnership, which is jointly led by Kaiser Permanente and the Partnership unions and recognized as a model operating strategy for health care. Hank is published a few times a year for the Partnership’s 160,000+ workers, managers, physicians and dentists. All of them are working to make Kaiser Permanente the best place to receive care and the best place to work — and in the process are making health care history. For a list of unions belonging to the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, please visit UnionCoalition.org . For a list of unions belonging to the Alliance of Health Care Unions, please visit AHCUnions.org . For information about the management and union co-leads advancing partnership in your region, please visit LMPartnership.org . ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Published by Kaiser Permanente, the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions and the Alliance of Health Care Unions. COMMUNICATIONS CO-LEADS Tyra Ferlatte Lara L. Manzione Brenda Rodriguez EDITOR Alec Rosenberg GRAPHIC DESIGN Travis Retter Stoller Design Group CONTRIBUTORS Guy Ashley, Jennifer Bellisario, Sherry Crosby, Renata Gonzales, Laureen Lazarovici, Laurie Lezin- Schmidt, Tracy Lee Silveria, Beverly White Photos contributed by individual team members, except where credited. COPY EDITOR Colleen O’Neill Email feedback to hank@kp.org.HANK Q2/Q3-2020 • ISSUE 55 3 COVER STORY: STRENGTH IN PARTNERSHIP Labor and management collaborate to address pandemic. Transforming Care With Partnership Tools Behavioral Health teams pivot to virtual house calls. A Quest for Learning Building skills helps employees adjust to changes. Expanding Horizons Video: Apprenticeship program grows careers. Contents OTHER FEATURES 4 Editor’s Letter 12 The Basics The building blocks of partnership. 20 Centerfold: This Is Partnership 28 Joy in Work The antidote to job burnout. 32 SuperScrubs Comic 34 Back Cover Poster: Free to Speak 6 1622264 HANK Q2/Q3-2020 • ISSUE 55 A New Day Dawns WELCOME TO E-HANK! The national Labor Management Partnership communications team is pleased to serve you in this new format, and we’re grateful to those of you who’ve reached out and said you miss the print editions of Hank. But until the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, an electronic communication seems best. This issue looks at how our Partnership — which now includes 2 union federations, with separate National Agreements — helped Kaiser Permanente meet the extraordinary challenges that a worldwide pandemic brought to our doors. We’ve never been tested like this before. And how we’ve responded in the last several months provides a look at how we will respond and grow and adapt to future challenges. EDITOR’S LETTERHANK Q2/Q3-2020 • ISSUE 55 5 TAKE ACTION: NATIONAL AGREEMENTS Both the Alliance of Health Care Unions and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions negotiated separate National Agreements with Kaiser Permanente. Both agreements include wage increases and a set of industry-leading employee health and retirement benefits, along with additional provisions to strengthen the Partnership. The 2018 KP-Alliance National Agreement went into effect October 1, 2018, and expires September 30, 2021. It includes improvements to the Performance Sharing Program, a new KP-Alliance Partnership Trust Fund and enhanced education trust benefits. The 2019 KP-Coalition National Agreement began October 1, 2019, and expires September 30, 2023. Highlights include incentives to use mail-order prescription services, a pathway for advancement by eliminating experience requirements, and creation of a program to reduce the national shortage of health care workers. Learn more at LMPartnership.org/ contracts-agreements. The dialogue and collaboration that have been taking place during the pandemic are a model for the future. In this e-edition of Hank, we’re also introducing 2 concepts we think will help strengthen the culture of partnership throughout the enterprise. The first is a renewed focus on The Basics — tips, tools and stories that will help you understand the core philosophy of the Labor Management Partnership and what it means to work in partnership. New to the Partnership? These materials will help show why Kaiser Permanente and the Partnership unions that belong to the Alliance of Health Care Unions or the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions are committed to it as an operating strategy. Been around for a while? Dive in and refresh your knowledge of the principles and processes that make our Partnership a success. The second is a new focus on Joy in Work, a concept pioneered by the Institute of Healthcare Improvement. By Joy in Work, we don’t mean smiley faces or i’s that are dotted with hearts. We hope our Joy in Work stories and tools will help you connect with your deeper, personal motivations for working in the demanding health care field. The stats show that people who feel this sort of connection — this fundamental Joy in Work — are less likely to suffer from depression and burnout. Lastly, don’t miss the back cover, which provides a quick refresh on a core principle that helps our Labor Management Partnership thrive: Free to Speak. It’s a reminder that your voice matters. Thank you for reading this and for all your hard work. Together, there is strength in partnership. HANK6 HANK Q2/Q3-2020 • ISSUE 55 In 1997, the Labor Management Partnership turned strife between Kaiser Permanente and its unions into strength. That strength is coming to the forefront again today. Decades of working in partnership are helping the organization respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, move forward together and provide a model for the health care industry. With interest-based problem solving, a Free to Speak culture and performance improvement through unit-based teams, the Partnership has built a foundation that’s given leaders, managers and union members tools and relationships to collaboratively address this crisis. CONTINUES ON PAGE 8 Labor and management collaborate to address pandemic STRENGTH IN PARTNERSHIP COVER STORY ARTICLE BY: Laureen Lazarovic IHANK Q2/Q3-2020 • ISSUE 55 78 HANK Q2/Q3-2020 • ISSUE 55 Acting fast Some of the response took place at the highest levels. Over a weekend, Kaiser Permanente and union leaders reached an agreement to temporarily enhance benefits for physicians and frontline employees. “I’ve never negotiated anything as fast,” says Dennis Dabney, senior vice president of National Labor Relations and the Office of Labor Management Partnership. Throughout the crisis, union leaders joined twice-weekly calls with top Kaiser Permanente leaders and played a central role with command centers and surge planning. The key to making faster decisions was directly involving labor in operations meetings, says Hal Ruddick, executive director for the Alliance of Health Care Unions. CONTINUES ON PAGE 10 STRENGTH IN PARTNERSHIP CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 ‘ It was the epitome of collaboration.’ — KELLIE BUTCHINO, certified medical assistant, SEIU Local 49 (Northwest)HANK Q2/Q3-2020 • ISSUE 55 9 Staying safe: In Southern California, the Fontana Pediatrics team developed a drive-up vaccine clinic to keep children current on their immunizations.Next >