Suzanne Furuya is currently an Executive Consultant with the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. She has a Master’s in Public Health in Health Education and Behavioral Sciences and a Master’s in Business Administration. Her career at Kaiser Permanente began working at the medical centers by developing innovative patient education programs for a newly opened hospital in Santa Rosa and expanding HIV services and Employer Relations at the San Francisco medical center.
Suzanne’s next move was to Kaiser’s Northern California regional offices of Physician Education and Development where she developed clinical training programs for physicians. Looking to help support efforts on a national level, Suzanne joined the Care Management Institute and led several initiatives to pilot and implement a variety of chronic condition management programs. She also collaborated on implementing an innovative multidisciplinary palliative care team approach in several regions.
With an eye towards quality improvement, Suzanne joined Kaiser’s Quality department and joined the team that developed Kaiser’s first national Improvement Institute with consultation from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). Training programs for clinical leaders from all regions were provided to teach and implement evidence-based methodology such as Lean, Six Sigma, and Plan-Do-Study-Act.
Suzanne decided to expand her skills and experience and joined Kaiser’s IT group, the Innovation Fund for Technology (iFund). The iFund was a seed funding group that supported clinicians testing prototype technology to improve patient care. She worked directly with clinicians across all KP regions to rapidly iterate and design prototype testing. Many of the prototypes are now implemented as a part of KP’s clinical care.
Suzanne’s continued quest to learn more has her now with Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California’s regional Division of Research where she manages several programs in delivery science, diversity and equity research, and support for the pipeline of new research staff.
Throughout her career, Suzanne has tried to prioritize giving back to the community and is grateful Kaiser has introduced her to so many volunteer opportunities. She now volunteers at the food bank, a local community garden, and a mentorship program. Embracing the philosophy of learning from “fabulous failures,” Suzanne continues to attempt bread making, gardening and taking taiko (Japanese drumming) classes to focus her mind and move forward in life with humility.
