Kaiser Permanente Hawaii is changing its top officer.
The state’s largest health maintenance organization said Friday that President Janet Liang has been promoted to chief operating officer of Kaiser’s Northern California Region. She will be replaced by Mary Ann Barnes, who will oversee the 278-bed hospital, 20 medical facilities and 4,000 employees in the Hawaii Region.
Barnes is currently senior vice president and executive director for Kaiser Permanente San Diego, which includes a 414-bed acute-care hospital and 24 medical offices.
Liang, 46, who joined Kaiser Hawaii in 2007, and Barnes, whose age was not disclosed, both will begin their new jobs in June.
"Janet and Mary Ann are two strong leaders within Kaiser Permanente who are being recognized with new leadership opportunities based on the success they have delivered to the organization," said Bernard Tyson, chairman and chief executive officer of Kaiser’s Oakland, Calif.-based parent company. "As Janet moves into her new role, I want to thank her for her many contributions to the Hawaii Region and express my confidence in Mary Ann’s ability to continue the many advancements that have been launched in Hawaii in the past few years."
Barnes, who has more than 35 years of medical and leadership experience, was responsible for oversight of all health care delivery, financial operations, business strategy, and health plan and hospital support functions at Kaiser in San Diego. In Hawaii, she will work closely with Executive Medical Director Geoffrey Sewell, who oversees more than 400 physicians in the Hawaii Permanente Medical Group.
In Liang’s new role she will be responsible for leading the operations of a region that has 3.4 million members and 21 medical centers. While overseeing the Hawaii Region, Liang led several initiatives that resulted in the organization’s growth, including clinic and hospital upgrades, improving member service, strengthening the region’s financial success and partnering with the medical group to achieve high quality rankings.
Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, which serves 230,000 members, is investing roughly $320 million over a five-year period to expand its facilities statewide. The health care provider ended 2013 with a loss of $900,000 compared with a profit of $1.7 million in 2012. Its revenue rose 2.9 percent to $1.16 billion from $1.13 billion.
"I’m proud to have worked alongside my colleagues at Kaiser Permanente Hawaii who strive diligently every day to deliver the best care to our members," Liang said. "I am deeply grateful for the many friendships that I have here in Hawaii. I’ve learned much from the business community and will take that with me in my new role. At the same time, I know Mary Ann’s deep experience in health care and commitment to partnering with community and business leaders will allow Kaiser Permanente to further its leadership in the market."
Barnes, who joined Kaiser in 1974 as a staff (ICU) nurse in San Diego, has held several positions within Kaiser’s Southern and Northern California regions since that time. As senior vice president and area manager of Kaiser’s Santa Clara service area, Barnes led health plan and hospital operations for Santa Clara, including the opening of the new Santa Clara Medical Center in August 2007.
From 2000 to 2006 she served as the medical group administrator for the Los Angeles Medical Center and associated medical offices in East Los Angeles, Glendale and Pasadena, serving more than 260,000 members.
Before that Barnes served as medical group administrator for the West Los Angeles Medical Center, where she oversaw an annual operating budget of $124 million as well as 1,200 employees and 210 physicians. Barnes earned her Bachelor of Science in nursing from Arizona State University and her Master of Science in nursing from San Diego State University. She also attended Harvard Business School’s Executive Leadership Program and Stanford University’s Executive Business Program.
