WHEREAS, One of the state's largest health care organizations, Kaiser Permanente, is marking its 60th anniversary in 2005; and
     WHEREAS, Hundreds of thousands of Washington residents have entrusted their health to Kaiser Permanente since the 1940s, and more than 135,000 residents of Washington State currently receive their health care from Kaiser Permanente; and
     WHEREAS, It was in Washington State that industrialist Henry Kaiser and pioneering physician Sidney Garfield, M.D., first collaborated to create innovative health plans with prepaid monthly premiums and an integrated medical care team that cared for workers (and their families) building Grand Coulee Dam in eastern Washington, and later building ships at the World War II Kaiser shipyards in Vancouver, Washington; and
     WHEREAS, When World War II ended and the shipyards closed, one important legacy was the transformation of the wartime health plan for shipyard workers and their families into Kaiser Permanente, a health care organization that went on over the next 60 years to serve Washingtonians of all ages and races; and
     WHEREAS, Kaiser Permanente today contributes not only to people's physical and mental health but to Washington's economic health as well by providing competitive rates on health insurance to businesses and union welfare trusts, and directly employs in Washington more than a thousand health care professionals, who practice together in six medical offices and three dental offices;
     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the State of Washington salute the contributions of Kaiser Permanente to the health care of Washingtonians, especially its emphasis over the past 60 years on preventive care, the management of chronic conditions, and health education and research; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives to the Vancouver National Historic Reserve and the City of Vancouver.