Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente of the Northwest is a nonprofit health plan and provider of care to 636,173 medical members and 287,469 dental members in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Headquartered in Portland, we are one of the largest private employers in Oregon and a leading voice with health care policy decision makers. We offer our perspective on policy debates and engage the public in these important issues to help us pursue our organization’s mission — to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and communities.
Our history in the Pacific Northwest began when Henry J. Kaiser and Sidney R. Garfield, MD, partnered to provide workers and their families with health care during the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam in northeastern Washington in the 1930s, and during WWII shipbuilding at the Kaiser Shipyards in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington. With the closing of the shipyards in 1945, enrollment in our health plan was opened to the community.
Kaiser Permanente’s presence throughout Oregon and southwest Washington positively impacts the lives of many more people than just our members, physicians, and employees. Through our care, hospitals, medical and dental buildings, and community investment, we are a major contributor to the Northwest economy. Kaiser Permanente’s contributions include:
Kaiser Permanente’s award-winning integrated model of care and coverage allows our physicians to coordinate care with our hospitals, specialists, and other services, so they are all working together to keep patients healthy and provide the best care when it’s needed. With health care, pharmacy, vision, lab, and other services provided seamlessly together, our model ensures convenience and affordability. It’s why we’re among the highest-ranked health plans in the Northwest.