As Assistant Physician-in-Chief for three pillars — Surgical and Procedural Services; Risk, Patient Safety, and Medical Legal; and Mental and Behavioral Health — Kasey Cortese, MD, has led high-impact initiatives that strengthen surgical services and patient safety across KP Greater Southern Alameda Area (GSAA) and beyond.
A KP orthopedic surgeon for 21 years, Dr. Cortese led the development of a high volume Total Joint Arthroplasty Center of Excellence at KP San Leandro, between GSAA and KP East Bay. This involved coordinating with surgeons from four medical centers to consolidate and standardize equipment, clinical workflows, and best practices; and create a multidisciplinary team with anesthesia, nurses, rehabilitation services, and clinical staff to create a seamless end-to-end experience for joint replacement patients.
Likewise, Dr. Cortese led a major operating room construction project that reduced capacity by 50 percent for 4 months in GSAA, while maintaining surgical access with no increase in case backlogs, surgical site infections, or workplace injuries.
“I can’t remember a project I’ve started that hasn’t taken a little detour along the way,” Dr. Cortese says. “It’s important to remain mindful when things go in an unanticipated direction, analyze what’s going on, listen to all involved, and then pivot with that input to drive the project back in the right direction.”