Gina Romero, a Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco Cardiology Department senior medical assistant was checking up on a patient who hadn’t had her pacemaker serviced in a long time.
What she found and the actions she took, possibly saved the patient’s life.
Romero’s call was part of the Documentation and Coding Specialty Outreach, designed to encourage members who have lapsed in their regular care to check in with their providers. Medical assistants in various departments across Kaiser Permanente are given a list of members to contact each week. This outreach effort is at least 25 years old.
In this case, Romero saw 2 pages of documented unanswered calls from other medical assistants. Despite best efforts, no one had been able to reach this member since May 2025.
But Romero persisted in calling around 15 times over 4 months — and the phone call was answered in mid-December.
A life saved
The partner of the member’s son picked up the call and explained that the member either wasn’t hearing the phone ring or just didn’t feel up to answering the phone, because she was mourning the death of her husband 2 years ago.
Romero booked the member for a same-day appointment with Chief of Cardiology Douglas Zuckermann, MD. In addition to receiving medication refills and lab work orders, Senior Cardiac Device Technician Jesus Palacios booked a cardiologist appointment to have her pacemaker checked. A pacemaker is an implanted device that regulates heartbeat and is essential to health. This appointment revealed that the battery was so low it was only about one month from being depleted. If a pacemaker malfunctions, consequences can be life-threatening.
A third appointment was quickly booked for the procedure to replace her pacemaker.
“My persistence comes from compassion,” Romero said of her efforts. “Because every patient deserves to feel seen, heard, and cared for. I felt honored and grateful that I was able to help this member and played a part in saving a life.”
Romero was recognized for her diligence and exceptional patient care by leaders at Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco.
“This patient’s life was saved because of Gina’s persistence and follow through,” said Jocelyne Vistan, program manager, Care Experience, EID, People, Physician and Leadership Development at Kaiser Permanente in South San Francisco. “This story demonstrates that caring moments don’t just happen with heroic efforts, they happen every day in small acts of compassion and diligence.”
