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Debbie Dannemeyer, RN

M.A.S. (winter '06)

Current Position
Ambulatory Practice Leader II: Service Line Director, Population Care Management and Clinical Goals.

Responsibilities include: nursing clinic practice for 600 nursing and ancillary staff; chronic condition population management, early detection screening in a 400 physician practice serving 380,000 members. Orange County, Kaiser Permanente.

Other Experience

Clinic Administrator
Kaiser Permanente (2005-2002)

Positions in urgent care, primary care, cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation.
Various facilities (1985-2002)

Chief Nurse Executive; IMA to Commander.
US Air Force Reserves. (1985-present)

Critical Care for Adults and Newborns;
Adult Telemetry.
US Air Force Active Duty (1981-1985)

Education

UC San Diego, M.A.S LHCO (2006)

UCSF School of Nursing, BSN (1981)

Like to think your workplace is a hotbed of strategic thinking? Debbie Dannemeyer does, holding up a strategic lens to her areas of responsibility at Kaiser Permanente Orange County, every day.

Dannemeyer presides over ambulatory practice for Medical Assistants, Licensed Vocational Nurses, Registered Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, and Physician Assistants at Kaiser Permanente; defining policies, standards, and practices to help 800-plus employees bring their best practices to every patient. She also handles Population Care Management and HEDIS quality performance measures for nearly 400,000 patients.

Before joining Kaiser Permanente, Dannemeyer managed the staff of a medium-sized clinic and, “in her 2nd career,” managed clinical nursing staff at a United States Air Force Reserve Aeromedical Staging Squadron. When she asked senior leadership how to take her career to the next level, earning a master’s degree topped the list.

While enrolled in UCSD’s Healthcare Executive Leadership Program (HELP), Dannemeyer found going to school “very exciting” and directly applicable to her everyday management challenges. With two courses completed towards her master’s degree as part of HELP, she applied to the program. Now armed with her graduate degree, Dannemeyer and her colleagues are taking a top-to-bottom look at primary care delivery at the Orange County Medical Practice, a challenge she eagerly tackles.

Real-world benefits

The program at UCSD delivers unique and relevant benefits for each student. Program highlights for Debbie included:

Immediate application to job:
Dannemeyer found herself “taking notes on what I could do differently” at work based on what she learned that day in class.

Industry-grounded faculty: The real-world expertise of the faculty and practical relevance of the coursework was a key benefit. Assignments gave students opportunities to apply theory directly to a current issue in their work environment.

Relationships with faculty: The opportunity to interact with top scholars and professionals in her field was invaluable, and the connections continue to impact her professional experiences.

Broadened perspectives: From finance and organizational change management to quality metrics and governmental oversight, Dannemeyer took away the broad perspectives she needed to step into greater responsibilities in healthcare management.

Real-world results

New knowledge and tools strengthen our graduates’ roles within their organizations and industries. For Debbie, this meant:

Having the tools she needed to advance including business, organizational, team development, and personnel management skills—combined with leading-edge knowledge of healthcare management theory, strategy, practices, and emerging directions.

Two promotions since completing the LHCO program, leading to her current management position with Kaiser Permanente, Orange County.

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