Michelle Gaskill-Hames

Michelle Gaskill-Hames, BSN, MHA, is president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals of Southern California and Hawaii.

She directs health plan and hospital operations and partners with the Southern California Permanente Medical Group and the Hawaii Permanente Medical Group to provide care for over 5.1 million Kaiser Permanente members. Under her leadership, over 89,046 employees deliver high-quality, affordable health care services through 17 hospitals and 218 medical offices throughout Southern California and Hawaii.

In addition, Gaskill-Hames has oversight for programs that provide equitable access to care, support clinical research, grow the health professionals workforce, and improve the conditions for health and equity in Southern California and Hawaii. Annually, this equates to over $1 billion in support of Kaiser Permanente's mission to improve the health of the communities we serve.

Gaskill-Hames has over 15 years’ experience as a senior health care executive, with a focus on value-based care, high reliability organizing, people-centric leadership, and community impact.

Prior to her appointment as regional president, Gaskill-Hames served as chief operating officer and chief strategy, growth, and experience officer for Kaiser Permanente in Southern California and Hawaii. She joined Kaiser Permanente in 2016 and served in a progression of leadership roles in Northern California, including senior vice president and area manager for both Redwood City and Greater Southern Alameda and regional senior vice president of health plan and hospital operations. She also served as the Northern California incident commander for Kaiser Permanente’s COVID-19 response.

Before joining Kaiser Permanente, Gaskill-Hames delivered leadership vision, drove cultural transformation, and executed successful outcomes at several health systems, including Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and Advocate Health Care, where she served as president of Advocate Trinity Hospital. Her health care career began at the bedside as a neonatal intensive care registered nurse. She also has 8 years of experience in management consulting with the health care practices at both Huron Consulting and PwC.

She serves on several professional and community boards, including the California Hospital Association executive board, the MLK Community Healthcare board, and the board of the national Healthcare Standards Institute. She also serves on the CEO Council of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, the Southern California Leadership Council, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ Business Cabinet.

She holds a master’s degree in health services administration and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Michigan. She also has a project management certification from the Harvard School of Public Health.