Page 49 - Clayton Newcomers Guide 2022

When a Plan

Comes Together

Kaiser Permanente moved quickly to respond to pandemic

By Michael Hall
C harisse Braxton knew well affordable healthcare to members and the doses given in Clayton County. That is

around a quarter of the total vaccine
communities it serves, Braxton said.
why Kaiser Permanente
“That part of the mission was put to the
shots administered countywide. Around
has emergency plans in
place. Any good healthcare
The crew at Southwood passed with
County has received at least one dose of
operation must, to ensure they are ready test throughout the last two years,” she said. 49 percent of the population in Clayton
for any circumstance. But the thought of flying colors. Putting their own health the vaccine, she said.
actually having to use the plan for a public on the line, the healthcare workers at Addressing disparities in African
health emergency seemed far-fetched. Southwood provided thousands of tests for American residents was particularly
Then 2020 happened and Braxton was both Kaiser members and non-members. important to the Southwood facility, Braxton
reminded just how important those plans added, as nearly 70 percent of Clayton
truly are. County residents are Black. While there has
“I never thought we would have to This was a public health emergency, still been roughly 3 percent fewer African
actually enact those plans,” said Braxton, We felt the need and the obligation Americans versus other races to receive at
Kaiser Permanente’s Senior Director of to make sure we were vaccinating least one dose of the vaccine, that is much
Clinical Operations for the South Service not only our members but also non- smaller than other vaccines such as the
Area of the KPGA Health Plan. “This was a members. We had to figure out how to annual flu vaccine, which sees a disparity of
time when every healthcare agency, every take care of the community at large. around 8 or 9 percent, Braxton said.
regulatory branch, every public health Charisse Braxton “So, we were able to achieve a higher
official had to pull together to address percentage of vaccination among the
this emergency.” African American population than for other
The emergency was the COVID-19 They set up vaccine clinics at each stage vaccines,” she said.
pandemic, which changed the world as of the vaccine rollout in Georgia, and Kaiser continues to do its part in the
everyone knows it, especially for those they worked with other local healthcare battle against COVID-19 – providing as
working in healthcare. Business as usual providers, such as Southern Regional many as 500 tests per day and continuing
became a figment of the imagination and Medical Center and the Clayton County to provide vaccinations – but has also
new, always evolving challenges became Health Department, to ensure local folks begun to look to its future in Clayton
the norm. That is when the group at Kaiser had access to what they needed to fight County. That includes expanding services
Permanente’s Southwood Comprehensive the virus. locally to address healthcare disparities in
Medical Center put plans into action and So far, Braxton reported that as of the south metro Atlanta.
contributed greatly to Clayton County’s end of January 2022, Kaiser’s Southwood “Clayton County is an integral part of
battle against the virus. Part of Kaiser’s facility had administered more than our strategic plan,” Braxton said. “We have
mission is to provide high-quality, 58,000 of the roughly 300,000 vaccine every intention of closing that gap.”
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claytonchamber.org • (678) 610-4021 KAISER PERMANENTE