Dynamic duo supports vital care for Washingtonians

Kaiser Permanente is proud to announce the 2020 David Lawrence Community Service Award winners in Washington, David Efroymson, senior director, supply chain, and Kym Kinoshita, director, referral and review services, for their work on the Seattle/King County Clinic. The award — named for David Lawrence, MD, a former chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente and lifelong advocate for improving health — recognizes outstanding volunteer activities that improve the health of our communities.

The SKCC is one of the largest free medical, vision, and dental clinics in the country. All care at this clinic is provided by volunteer medical, dental, eye care, and support staff to ensure a wide range of patients’ health needs can be addressed at no cost. Kaiser Permanente has provided support for the clinic since its inception in 2014. More than 23,000 patients have been served by 22,000 volunteers, who have provided $20 million in free services through this unique clinic.

“This clinic serves all walks of life: homeless, employed or unemployed, all ages, all ethnicities, all genders — citizen or not,” said Efroymson. “At this clinic, socioeconomic status does not matter; we’re there to serve anyone who walks through those doors. It allows us to bring health care to people who may not be able to access it.”

Both joining the clinic in its second year, Efroymson and Kinoshita have held many roles with the SKCC, including serving on the clinic’s leadership team, leading the patient intake and exit processes, and coordinating Kaiser Permanente’s medical supply donations. They also partner to recruit volunteers from Kaiser Permanente in Washington. The dynamic recruiting duo have successfully brought in an average of 250 Kaiser Permanente volunteers to the clinic per year since 2018 — more than any other participating business. They present at team meetings, send out emails, attend events to advocate, and talk one-on-one with colleagues to garner support and interest for the clinic.

“We’re motivated to support the clinic for all the same reasons we’re motivated to make our careers here at Kaiser Permanente Washington,” said Kinoshita. “We recognize that some of the work to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve happens inside our clinics; and some of it happens in places like SKCC. We come to work every day to make health care simpler and more affordable; and we volunteer at the clinic to improve the health of our communities.”

Efroymson and Kinoshita were jointly awarded a $10,000 donation to give to a nonprofit of their choice; they opted to donate to SKCC. As Efroymson noted, because COVID-19 has impacted SKCC’s ability to fundraise, the award and the opportunity to give coincide at an opportune moment. Unfortunately, also due to COVID-19, the clinic will not be running in 2021.

Learn more about ways you can support the SKCC.