The right answers for good health
Mary Turner doesn’t hesitate to ask her physicians questions. That’s because they’re ready to listen and give her useful answers.
“Every single doctor I’ve ever met at Kaiser Permanente has been wonderful to me,” says Turner, who has been a member for more than 40 years. “Whenever I ask them questions, they don’t act like it’s a stupid question. They take the time to explain things to me.”
Turner, who worked for the U.S. Postal Service and whose late husband also was a letter carrier, says she likes being able to see her health care practitioners at one convenient location.
Turner was diagnosed with diabetes 20 years ago. Since then, her physicians have helped her manage her condition by regularly monitoring her blood-sugar levels and other vital statistics. “My doctors are very demanding of my doing everything properly in terms of keeping track of things,” she says with a laugh.
Taking health education classes on diabetes also helps.* She likes how the instructors work with each student to offer ideas for better managing his or her health. “They give you encouragement all the way,” she says.
Today, Turner is managing her diabetes so well that she only needs to see her doctor about her condition once a year. Now that’s healthy living.
The right answers for good health
Husband and wife Bob and Pauline Lavond have each other to rely on. But when it comes to their health, they’re glad they can rely on Kaiser Permanente, too.
“It’s very convenient,” says Bob, a retired engineer for NASA and Lockheed and an active member of the National Association of Federal Retired Employees (NAFRE). The Lavonds live in Vacaville, just north of San Francisco. A new Kaiser Permanente hospital is scheduled to open in Vacaville soon.
Pauline likes being able to e-mail her doctor’s office and check on her latest lab results online on kp.org.* She says her Kaiser Permanente physician is very responsive. “I treat him like a friend, basically,” she says.
The couple stays healthy by keeping active, mostly by spending time on the home they built on a 2.5 acre lot. They finished the house in 2004 and now are working on the landscaping. “A lot of our exercise just comes from working around the place,” says Bob.
Pauline believes their positive outlook on life also helps. “For a while when we were building our house,” she says, “we would tease that we only needed a 20-year roof. But after a while we quit saying that.”
“Now we have a 50-year roof!” says Bob, laughing.
*Some services not available in all areas.
