Some totally exciting news came my way a few weeks back while I was visiting Washington, DC for various conferences/meetings. Basically I got word that a meeting place for thought leaders and changemakers in the health world was created by Kaiser Permanente and taking residence in the nation’s capital.
This undoubtedly caught my interest because, in short, I have never heard of a place like this before. Sure, with unconferences and other events of related note in the Health 2.0 space there have been facilities for people to gather. But as I see it, this is no ordinary facility. This seems more like a refuge and a home for the growing number of movements swirling around next level thinking and action in the health space.
Opening its doors this week as a sneak preview, Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Total Health was unveiled to much fanfare and enthusiasm from prestigious press to members of the health innovation circle. An official place for “innovators, leaders, influencers, thinkers, and believers in wellness to talk about health”. Mark Scrimshire, founder of the wildly popular Healthcamp unconferences is an instant fan:
As a matter of fact, 2011 HealthcampDC will be held at the fresh digs of the Center in June. I plan on attending.
“A major part of Kaiser Permanente’s commitment to total health is sharing best practices and facilitating discussions that will improve the health of our nation,” said Kaiser Permanente President and Chief Operating Officer Bernard Tyson. “We are excited to open the Center for Total Health, where we will create opportunities to explore new ways to advance health through innovation and technology.”
Ted Eytan, physician and long time patient empowerment advocate who actually works at Kaiser now, did a great job recapping the preview event with fantastic pictures (one being at the top of this post) on his recent blog post.
Below is a great video dedicated to what the Center is all about and what it means to the rebooting of health care:
I am definitely looking forward to visiting the Center and getting a better sense of what it will offer. The gears in my head are already turning as to how I might want to engage with them.
Kudos to the KP Team that brought all this together.
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