Kaiser Permanente and the Alliance of Health Care Unions

Humans of Partnership: Michelle Teeples

I have been surprised by some people’s reactions to the pandemic. I have been on the phone with people who have cried, who were angry, fearful, or annoyed I was calling them. I have had myriad emotions. I’ve had moments when I’ve been proud, and crappy moments that I’ve had to ‘put it in my pocket.’ At the end of the day we wrap around each other and move forward. One of the lessons I learned was to work earlier with labor leaders to find solutions as we worked together to redeploy staff. I believe some of the best Partnership collaboration has come out of this.

Michelle Teeples, interim senior director, Mental Health (Northwest)