[Editor: Kaiser isn't wasting any time trying to repair its damaged image in the wake of the untimely death of its San Francisco kidney transplant program, along with over a hundred of its patients. If only such swift action had been taken to address member and physician complaints before innocent lives were lost, but [...]

Kaiser S.F. CEO Mike Alexander to retire
San Francisco Business Times
by Chris Rauber
In the latest apparent fallout from serious problems at Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California kidney transplant unit, Mike Alexander, the CEO of Kaiser’s San Francisco Medical Center, will retire.
Alexander’s decision was detailed in a Kaiser emailed memo issued internally on Wednesday afternoon.
The move came just [...]

Regulators say only a handful of people needing transplants have been moved to two UC programs since the HMO announced the closure of its program last month.
By Tracy Weber and Charles Ornstein, Times Staff Writers
June 16, 2006
More than a month after Kaiser Permanente announced it was closing its troubled kidney transplant program serving Northern California, [...]

Four Year Delay and No Kidney Transplant - Kaiser Patient Seeks Punitive Damages Based on Misguided Kaiser Kidney Program
SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 19 /PRNewswire/ — “I need a kidney, I need help and I can’t wait any longer,” said a frustrated Kaiser kidney patient Bernard Burks, who was put on a list of patients awaiting a [...]

From San Francisco Business Times:
Kaiser Permanente appointed a new administrative director Thursday to head its troubled Northern California kidney transplant unit.
The San Francisco-based unit, in the process of being closed after intense pressure from state and federal regulators, had been headed by Dr. Sharon Inokuchi.
Kaiser officials said June 15 that Linda Mann, a registered nurse [...]

Coverage at S.F. center is at risk unless compliance with federal rules is proved.
By Dorsey Griffith — Sacramento Bee Medical Writer
The Medicare program has threatened to halt coverage for all end-stage kidney care at Kaiser Permanente’s San Francisco transplant center unless the health plan can convince regulators it has complied with federal regulations.
The Department of [...]

From the L.A. Times:
Two Kaiser Permanente patients filed suit Monday against the giant HMO following the suspension of its Northern California kidney transplant program.
The suit was filed by Irvine lawyer Lawrence Eisenberg on behalf of patients Lurena Fiore and Debra Adams, but it is seeking class-action status. It claims negligence, fraud and misrepresentation, and conspiracy.
A [...]

From San Francisco Business Times:
Communication and administrative errors that doomed Kaiser Permanente’s San Francisco kidney-transplant unit have raised fears among health-care observers about broader management problems at the health-care giant and questions about the role its affiliated medical group played in the fiasco.
Kaiser said May 12 that it would shutter the program in response to [...]

From the L.A. Times:
Some seeking answers on the transition to UC transplant programs express frustration over the poor quality of data.
By Charles Ornstein and Tracy Weber, Times Staff Writers
May 18, 2006
State regulators Wednesday ordered Kaiser Permanente to fix communication foul-ups stemming from the abrupt suspension of its Northern California kidney transplant program after learning that [...]

Anna Werner
Reporting
(CBS 5) SAN FRANCISCO — The California Department of Managed Care on Wednesday ordered Kaiser Permanente to improve its’ patient hotline established in the wake of troubles with the HMO’s kidney transplant program in San Francisco, which were first uncovered by CBS 5 Investigates.
Following complaints from patients who complained they were not receiving good [...]