Kaiser Permanente, a large healthcare provider based out of Oakland, will soon be expanding to the Santa Cruz area. They are planning to open three different locations by January 1st, pending regulatory approval.
New Kaiser Permanente Santa Cruz Locations
Kaiser Permanente will be providing both commercial health insurance and Covered California coverage to residents of Santa Cruz. They will open their medical buildings in three different parts of Santa Cruz:
At the Crossroads Center in Watsonville
At the Granite Creek Business Center in Scotts Valley
In downtown Santa Cruz.
The properties are currently being renovated in order to create a convenient, inviting and integrated medical environment that is up to Kaiser Permanente’s high standards.
All three locations will provide primary care in addition to facilitating telemedicine visits. The Kaiser Permanente medical centers located in Scotts Valley and Watsonville will also provide radiology services, pharmacy services, laboratory services and a number of other specialty services. The Watsonville Community Hospital has been selected to provide local hospital services and inpatient care. Kaiser Permanente members will also have access to these services at the provider’s medical centers in Santa Clara and San Jose.
Reasons for Expansion
According to the press release that was published by Kaiser Permanente, their expansion to Santa Cruz was based on the needs of both the community as well as its existing members. The new Santa Cruz locations will be a huge benefit to the 5,800 residents who are already members of Kaiser Permanente and who work in the existing service areas, not to mention the 500-some Kaiser Permanente employees who are already living in the Santa Cruz area.
Kaiser Permanente first expressed interest in expanding to Santa Cruz back in 2012 when they obtained the naming rights for the local basketball arena. As of now, they have over 10 million members in eight different states as well as the District of Columbia.
Residents with Covered California insurance should keep their eyes open for the new Kaiser Permanente locations in Santa Cruz. Here at the Benefits Store, we strive to keep residents up-to-date with all the latest health news.
Image courtesy of Ken Wolter / Shutterstock.com.
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