Tyson served as CEO of Kaiser Permanente since 2013 and spent more than 30 years with the nonprofit healthcare giant.
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Bernard J. Tyson, chairman and chief executive officer of healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente died unexpectedly in his sleep Sunday. He was 60.
Tyson served as CEO of Kaiser Permanente since 2013 and spent more than 30 years with the nonprofit healthcare giant.
In a statement issued Sunday afternoon, Kaiser Permanente hailed Tyson for his “tremendous presence,” his leadership abilities, as well as for being a “visionary and champion for high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans.” He was also touted as a “tireless advocate” for Kaiser Permanente, its employees and the patients the organization served.
As of Sunday, the board of directors has named Gregory A. Adams as interim chairman and CEO. Adams currently serves as group president.
“Bernard was an exceptional colleague, a passionate leader, and an honorable man. We will greatly miss him,” Edward Pei, a member of the Kaiser Permanente board and chair of its executive committee, as well as the governance, accountability and nominating committee. “The board has full confidence in Greg Adams’ ability to lead Kaiser Permanente through this unexpected transition.”
Tyson was a trailblazer at Kaiser Permanente, becoming the organization’s first African American CEO in 2013. That trailblazing mentality was something he kept as he sought to open doors for others by championing diversity in the workplace. Days before his death, Tyson spoke out on a panel at a business summit about the importance of diversity in the workplace and just one day before his death, spoke at a conference on equity in healthcare and technology, CNN said.
“Inclusiveness is very important to me and that means when I step into the room — yes, I may be different from everybody at the table — but I don’t have to ‘fit in.’ I get to come in and be who I am and I create a different organism inside of that group dynamic for us to take performance to the next level,” he said, according to CNN.
Regarding diversity in the workplace, Tyson said he believed in bringing in the most “diverse populations” to Kaiser Permanente and “tapping into the brilliant minds that come from a “universe of experiences that are very different depending on how you grew up, your community, your neighborhood, how you solve problems.”
In addition to championing diversity, Tyson was also known as a driving force in affordable healthcare, as well as racial justice, CNN said. He was named one of the 100 Most Influential People by Time Magazine in 2017 and in 2018 was listed as one of that publication’s top 50 leaders in healthcare.
Based in Oakland, Calif., Kaiser Permanente provides affordable health care services to more than 12.3 million people in eight states and the District of Columbia.
Earlier this year under Tyson’s leadership, Kaiser Permanente launched Thrive Local, a social network to connect health care and social services providers in order to “address the pressing social needs including housing, food, safety, utilities and more for millions of people across the United States.” Within the Kaiser Permanente framework, Thrive Local will be able to match an individual’s social needs with the appropriate services from within a network of nonprofit, public and private resources.
When Thrive Local was announced in May, Tyson said the organization had long understood that “total health can only be achieved through a combination of physical, mental and social care.”
“In order to thrive, people need access to the things that are vital to health such as secure housing and nutritious food. Our unique mission to improve not only the health of our members, but also that of our communities, drives us to undertake impactful initiatives like Thrive Local to connect our communities with the services they need,” Tyson said.
His death is being mourned on social media with many in the industry praising his efforts. Ceci Connolly, president and CEO of the Alliance of Community Health Plans, called Tyson a visionary for his work, CNBC reported.
“The healthcare industry mourns the loss of one of its leading lights, Bernard Tyson. Tyson inspired so many with his vision around integrated care, social determinants of health, and just doing the right thing for people and patients,” Sachin H. Jain, CEO of Care More Health said on Twitter.
