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Carrie Owen Plietz, FACHE

Group SVP and COO, Care Delivery
Kaiser Permanente

Carrie Owen Plietz, FACHE, is the group senior vice president and chief operating officer of national care delivery for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. and Hospitals within Kaiser Permanente’s national integrated care and coverage structure.


In this role, Owen Plietz will partner with Craig Albanese, president of integrated care and coverage, to drive operational excellence and standardization across all integrated care and coverage markets, overseeing key care delivery functions including hospital operations, pharmacy services, nursing, continuum of care, and consumer and patient experience. She will work closely with regional presidents, Permanente Medical Groups, the KP Medical Foundation, and National Health Plan leaders to coordinate operations and ensure the highest standards of performance are met in every market as Kaiser Permanente delivers consistent, high-quality care and service for members.


Prior to her current role, Owen Plietz served as interim executive vice president for national care delivery for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and the regional president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals of Northern California, where she oversaw all care delivery and health plan operations for the region. During her tenure, she successfully returned the market to financial stability, achieving over $2 billion in cost reductions within the first three years. Under her leadership, three hospitals attained Magnet designation, with one receiving distinction on its first application in the country. She also led multiple labor negotiations and achieved a CMS 5-star rating, the highest rating for a health plan in California, as well as NCQA Health Equity accreditation.


Board certified in healthcare management as an ACHE Fellow, Owen Plietz has been deeply involved in professional associations and healthcare leadership at both state and national levels. She served as Chair of the ACHE Board of Governors, and she served as an ACHE Governor from 2016 to 2019, as the ACHE Regent for California—Northern & Central from 2013 to 2016, as president of ACHE chapter the California Association of Healthcare Leaders, and on numerous ACHE committees.


Beyond her service to ACHE, she is actively involved in healthcare governance and policy. She is a member of the Virginia Commonwealth University and Medical College Alumni Committee, past chair of the Healthcare Executive Study Society, and currently serves on the executive committees of both the California Hospital Association Board and the Bay Area Council Board of Directors. She also serves on the board of directors for the California Chamber of Commerce and on the board of LifeMoves, a nonprofit dedicated to solutions to homelessness in the Silicon Valley.


Owen Plietz brings extensive experience in both health plan and hospital leadership, with a career spanning Kaiser Permanente and other major healthcare systems. Before joining Kaiser Permanente in 2020, she served as executive vice president and COO of the Hospital Division at Wellstar Health System in Georgia. Prior to that, she held CEO and COO roles at Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento, and executive leadership positions at Mills-Peninsula Health System and Sutter Health’s California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco.


Her contributions to the field have been recognized through multiple honors, including the ACHE Service Award (2010), Distinguished Service Award (2012), and Exemplary Service Award (2015). She was also the recipient of ACHE’s Early Careerist Healthcare Executive Regent Award in 2004. In 2010, she received the prestigious Robert S. Hudgens Memorial Award for Young Healthcare Executive of the Year, recognizing her exceptional leadership and impact in the field.


Owen Plietz earned an executive fellowship in health law and a Master of Health Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University, Medical College of Virginia Campus. She holds a Bachelor of Science in health administration from James Madison University, graduating magna cum laude with distinction.

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