Panorama City, Calif. — June 24, 2024 — Kaiser Permanente is proud to announce the appointment of Camille Applin-Jones as the new Senior Vice President and Area Manager for the Panorama City and Antelope Valley service areas, which includes the Santa Clarita Valley. With a distinguished career in healthcare leadership and a passion for community health, Ms. Applin-Jones is poised to lead Kaiser Permanente's efforts in delivering high-quality, affordable care in the region.

Ms. Applin-Jones joins the Kaiser Permanente Panorama City team with a wealth of experience from her roles in the Northern California and Northwest markets of Kaiser Permanente. Her recent achievements include the launch of the organization's first Center for Black Health and Wellness, which has significantly advanced equity, inclusion, and diversity initiatives nationwide.

"As I take on this new role, I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to serve the Santa Clarita community," said Camille Applin-Jones. "I am committed to leading our dedicated team throughout the Santa Clarita Valley in providing exceptional care and furthering our mission of improving the health of our members and the community."

Throughout her career, Ms. Applin-Jones has been instrumental in driving improvements in access to care, enhancing the member experience, and implementing innovative healthcare solutions. Her leadership has been pivotal in orchestrating organizational redesigns and pioneering digital care experiences.

“Camille Applin-Jones brings a wealth of experience and a commitment to excellence to her role as Senior Vice President and Area Manager for the Health Plan and Hospital operations of Kaiser Permanente Panorama City and Antelope Valley service areas,” said Michelle Gaskill-Hames, regional president of Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Hawaii. “Her strategic leadership, combined with her dedication to improving the health of our members and the communities we serve, will have a positive impact on our members in the Santa Clarita Valley.”

A proud veteran of the U.S. Army, Ms. Applin-Jones attributes her leadership abilities to the skills she developed during her military service. She is dedicated to applying these skills to foster a culture of excellence and compassion within Kaiser Permanente.

"At Kaiser Permanente Panorama City, our commitment to delivering exceptional health care is at the core of everything we do. As the Area Medical Director and Chief of Staff, I am thrilled to welcome Camille Applin-Jones to our leadership team. Her innovative approach, coupled with her understanding of our community's unique health challenges, will undoubtedly elevate our ability to provide compassionate, cutting-edge care. I am confident that Camille Applin-Jones's leadership will inspire us to reach new heights in serving the well-being of our members and community," said Dr. Stephen De Vita, Kaiser Permanente Panorama City Area Medical Director and Chief of Staff.

Kaiser Permanente members in Santa Clarita Valley have easy access to world-class health care in their community, including at one of 13 medical office buildings, one Target Clinic, an award-winning Kaiser Permanente hospital, and a Kaiser Permanente regional lab scheduled to open in 2025. Ms. Applin-Jones has oversight of both the Panorama City and the Antelope Valley service areas, which serve over 437,000 members.
 

# # #

About Kaiser Permanente 

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 12.7 million members in 8 states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists, and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health.  

Overcoming the Challenges of Working During the Summer

Jun 18

Written By Ashley Carlson

As a kid, summer is a season of pure freedom and relaxation. Sun, pools, beach vacations, popsicles… nothing is better.

But as an adult, especially a business owner with kids, summer can be a challenging balancing act of entertaining kids, taking time off, and keeping your business running.

It can feel a lot less like pure bliss and more like pure chaos.

At Elevate Virtual Business Solutions, our Executive Assistants are brilliant problem solvers, so we asked them to share how they would deal with three of the most common summer challenges our clients face.

Read on to learn how to make the most of your summer without sacrificing productivity or family time!

How can you work remotely on vacation?

If you have the opportunity to work remotely, like many CEOs and business owners we support, it can be tempting to extend your vacation or sneak in an extra trip while working. But how do you balance work time and relaxing time?

• Take time completely off: If you have the option, consider just taking the vacation and checking out completely. Just because you can work doesn’t mean you have to.
• Create an “urgent only” contact process: Set up a system and let people know how to contact you if something is truly an emergency and needs your attention.
• Set clear boundaries: Decide ahead of time when you will work and when you will relax and enjoy time with your family. Let your family and anyone on your team who needs you know what these boundaries are.
• Only take care of critical needs: You don’t need to worry about small tasks that can wait for later. Prioritize the truly important tasks, take care of those, and leave the rest for after vacation time!
• Turn off your notifications: When you’re not in active work mode, make sure all notifications are turned off so you don’t get distracted.

What to do when vacation and meetings are scheduled at the same time?

You book a family vacation, but you also have pre-scheduled meetings on your calendar at the same time. Yikes!

If you want to be able to enjoy your vacation without missing out on key information or letting your clients down, there are a few steps you can take.

• Have an EA block off your time and reschedule: Our team proactively solves problems, which means they keep their clients’ calendars blocked off and protected. If you know you have time off coming up, make sure your EA knows so they can mark you as busy and move any existing commitments around so you can enjoy your vacation without any stress or worry about missing out on things.
• See what can be taken care of via email: Oftentimes a call really can be an email. Check with the clients you have scheduled during your vacation and see if you can hash out the info over email or a quick call before your scheduled meeting. This can help keep you on track without delaying deadlines or projects.
• Set notifications on all communication methods: If you’re going to be slower than usual to respond, make sure you have a notification of your delay set for all of your communication channels – including Slack, Voxer, email, and voicemail.

Tips for working during the summer with kids at home

School’s out for the summer!

And many working parents are exhausted by trying to manage active kids who just want to play outside and their regular work commitments.

This is arguably one of the hardest challenges to navigate, so we asked our team of EAs to bring their best ideas and strategies to this specific issue. Let’s get into them!

• Set up your workspace where you can supervise outdoor play: Kids often just want to be outside during the summer, so make sure you can work in an area where you can see them playing without actually having to be outside… unless you want to be! A nice deck workstation could be the perfect summer solution.
• List out your priorities on a weekly basis: Know what absolutely must get done each week so you can track your meaningful progress. You can also decide when to let less important tasks slide to prioritize spending time with your children.
• Block work and family time – and keep them: You show up for your clients when you have scheduled time, so make sure you give your family and yourself the same respect. When it’s playtime, leave your laptop and phone out of sight so you don’t get distracted. Your kids are more likely to respect your work time if you respect their playtime.
• Set out snacks at the beginning of the day: Give your kids their daily snacks at the start of each day and let them be in charge of how they eat them. The only rule: no asking for more snacks! This will save you from five million “I’m hungry!” distractions and help your kids learn how to manage their resources. Win-win!

Working during the summer is challenging, but possible

There are a number of issues that can get in your way when trying to balance work, vacation, and life throughout the summer. But you really can thrive with the right strategies and a flexible, positive attitude.

Don’t let this summer pass you by without making time to check out, relax, and spend time with the people you love!

And if you’re realizing how helpful it would be to have an EA managing many of these tasks for you… we’d love to chat about how we can help support your business in any season.

~Ashley

🎉 Ready for a mouthwatering meal that supports a great cause? Join us at Corner Bakery Cafe (24290 Valencia Blvd) on Monday, June 17th between 6:00 AM - 8:00 PM and make a difference! With every order you place, 25% will be donated to Santa Clarita Valley Food Pantry. 🙌 Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to dine for a purpose! RSVP & details here: https://grouprai.se/s281451 🌟🍴

Project Will Restore Wells to Service and Remove PFAS and VOCs from Groundwater

As part of its commitment to restoring local groundwater reliability, SCV Water will soon begin construction of a new treatment facility to remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and restore three wells to service that are currently offline due to PFAS detection. The proposed facility will also remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from two additional wells.

Construction on the facility, which will be added to the current Rio Vista Intake Pump Station on Bouquet Canyon Road near the Lowe’s shopping center, will begin in the summer of 2024. Construction is anticipated to take 18 months to complete.

PROJECT DETAILS:

Construction Locations:

• Rio Vista Intake Pump Station – Bouquet Canyon Road and Lowe’s Plaza
• SCV Water well sites within the Villa Metro and near the River Village communities
• Various pipeline locations along Bouquet Canyon Road and Newhall Ranch Road

Start Date: MONDAY JUNE 17, 2024

Duration: 18 Months

Construction Hours: 7:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday

Impact: Businesses within the Lowe’s shopping center will remain open during construction.

In addition to construction work at the Rio Vista Intake Pump Station, SCV Water will also perform rehabilitation work at wells near the Villa Metro community on Soledad Canyon Road and the River Village community on Newhall Ranch Road, near Duane R. Harte Park. Residents in those areas will receive direct communication with a timeline and possible impacts when those phases of the project are scheduled.

The existing Rio Vista Intake Pump Station facility is used for various production and operational functions. It primarily pumps imported water from the State Water Project to the Rio Vista Water Treatment Plant, which is located at Central Park approximately 1.3 miles to the northeast.

The total construction cost for the new groundwater treatment system is estimated to be $17.8 million. The project is eligible to receive up to $12.6 million in grant funding.

Grant funding will be provided in part by the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund through an agreement with the State Water Resources Control Board. California’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund is capitalized through a variety of funding sources, including grants from the United States Environmental Protection Agency and state bond proceeds.

Grant funding will also be provided in part from the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 and through an agreement with the State Department of Water Resources.

For any questions or concerns about this project, please do not hesitate to contact SCV Water Principal Engineer, Orlando Moreno at omoreno@scvwa.org.

###

About SCV Water:

The Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency (SCV Water) is a full-service regional water agency

located in the Santa Clarita Valley. SCV Water provides water service to approximately 75,000 business and residential customers. It was formed on January 1, 2018, when local water suppliers combined into one integrated, regional water provider. More information can be found at yourSCVwater.com.

For more information, please contact:

Kevin Strauss

Communications Manager

SCV Water

kstrauss@scvwa.org