April 19, 2007

Almaden’s Carol Reeves named Kaiser Permanente manager of the year

Directs finance area at Santa Clara Medical Center

It wasn’t exactly a Miss America moment when Carol Reeves was named manager of the year recently at the Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center, but it came close.

“I was completely shocked,” says the 10-year Almaden resident. “All of the other candidates were so qualified.”

Reeves is the director of performance management for Kaiser Permanente, overseeing a staff of 11 whose job essentially is to make the delivery of health care at the Santa Clara Medical Center more efficient.

At a time when health care costs are rising, Reeves’ group monitors and collaborates in areas where efficiencies can help stem the increases without compromising quality. She and her team work on staffing and overtime issues, along with monitoring expense trends and other areas.

“As a manager, my ‘style’ is to trust my staff and don’t micromanage,” says Reeves, who won high praise from both her staff and hospital management.

“She’s been an outstanding manager and is well liked,” says Mary Ann Barnes, the medical center’s senior vice president and area manager. “Carol has helped us achieve and exceed Kaiser Permanente’s performance goals for this year and richly deserves this honor.”

“I have high expectations for my staff, but I give them autonomy to achieve the desired outcomes,” says Reeves.

Carol won her honor, which includes a plaque and a small gift, at a managers’ meeting in the Kiely Boulevard Hospital, then returned to her office, which her staff had decorated with balloons and confetti. They presented her with a cake and a large bottle of Mexican beer, which went unopened; apparently, a symbol of cost cutting.

Reeves lives in Almaden with her husband and two cats. While she was raised on a farm in Kansas and got her health care business degree from the University of Kansas, she is a true Californian now: even her car’s license plate has a creative spelling of “Golden State.”