Description
Wallace H. Cook was Kaiser's first physician in chief, but he also served as chief of staff and primary operating surgeon for the Walnut Creek healthcare program. Cook refers to himself as a "benevolent dictator" in his various roles throughout three decades at Kaiser.
Surgical resident, Kaiser Foundation Hosp., Oakland, CA; surgeon, coal mine operation, Dragerton, UT; first physician in chief, first chief of staff, first chief of surgery, KF Hosp., Walnut Creek; Permanente Medical Group board of directors; regional director, medical-legal department, KF Health Plan and Permanente Medical Group; hospital planning and design; stress between management and the medical group; relationship with fee-for-service medicine.