Kaiser Permanente

Oakland – October 29, 2026 -- Kaiser Permanente has awarded a $15 million charitable grant to UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland to build 20 private inpatient behavioral health rooms, adding capacity to treat approximately 700 children and adolescents a year.

Grant funds a 21,300-square-foot behavioral health wing

The money will pay for construction of the wing as part of the hospital's modernization project. The plan includes an outdoor therapy space and a therapeutic roof garden. The wing is expected to open in 2031.

Oakland hospital gains its first dedicated acute psychiatric beds

The project creates inpatient behavioral health treatment capacity at the facility for the first time. The hospital serves children and families from across Northern California regardless of ability to pay, and it provides specialized pediatric services that many community hospitals cannot offer.

Washington, D.C. – October 07, 2026 -- Established cancer prevention and screening strategies have the power to eliminate nearly half of all cancer deaths, yet fragmented delivery systems risk deepening existing disparities, according to policy experts convened at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Oncology Policy Summit held October 5-6, 2026, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

NCI and CDC leaders join policymakers to address screening access gaps

The two-day summit featured keynote presentations from Anthony Letai, MD, PhD, Director of the National Cancer Institute, and Captain Jacqueline Miller, MD, Acting Division Director of the CDC Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. Panels brought together patients, providers, payers, and advocacy groups including LUNGevity Foundation, Susan G. Komen, FORCE, and the LGBTQIA+ Cancer Network to examine policy solutions at both population and individual levels.

Seattle – October 01, 2026 -- Washington Permanente Medical Group (WPMG) has named Taejoon Ahn, MD, MPH, as its new CEO and executive medical director, placing him at the head of an organization that oversees more than 1,200 clinicians serving over 550,000 Kaiser Permanente members across Washington state.

Ahn succeeds interim leader Dorian Reid, who held the role since September 2025

Dr. Ahn takes over an independent, physician-owned medical group that works exclusively with Kaiser Permanente to deliver care in the region. The leadership transition closes a one-year interim period under Dorian Reid, MD.

Denver – – September 16, 2026 -- Kaiser Permanente is committing more than $5 million over the next three years to Colorado school districts, targeting rising student chronic absence and staff burnout that have strained education budgets statewide.

Kaiser Permanente Targets Chronic Absence Tied to Health Conditions

The multiyear investment addresses chronic absence rates in Colorado schools that run higher than the national average, a trend the insurer links to underlying health conditions. Districts currently lack granular data to identify why students are missing class, limiting their ability to intervene before absences compound into long-term health and academic setbacks.