KIM A. KECK received the first Kati Machtley Businesswoman of the Year Award at the virtual Bryant University Women’s Summit on June 10. Keck, CEO and president of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, is also a board member of the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council, Rhode Island Quality Institute, Community College of Rhode Island Foundation, Rhode Island Community Food Bank and Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce. Prior to joining Blue Cross in 2016, Keck served at Aetna Inc. for 28 years.
What was your reaction to receiving Bryant University’s 2020 New England Businesswoman of the Year Award? I was surprised and truly honored to receive this recognition. It is especially meaningful since this was the first year the New England Businesswoman of the Year Award was named in honor of Kati Machtley. Kati has done an incredible job over the past decade to create an extraordinary event that highlights the unique contributions women bring to the workplace.
What inspires you to be so involved with all the boards you serve on? All of the boards I serve on, whether local or national, are directly tied to BCBSRI’s business, mission and vision. It is interesting that you use the word inspire. I am, in fact, inspired by the work of all the organizations whose boards I serve. And I feel personally and professionally aligned with the mission of these organizations.
How has the coronavirus impacted you personally and professionally, and what is Blue Cross doing to address its impact? I feel incredibly fortunate that my family has remained safe and healthy, allowing me to focus nearly all of my energy on leading our company. Together, our employees have addressed the effects of this disease on our members and all of Rhode Island from several angles, including medical policy and community support. To help our members, we implemented a number of flexible policies to ensure they have access to the care they need, with no added worries about cost, such as no cost share for testing and treatment of COVID-19 and expanding coverage of telehealth services.
What innovative strategies or projects are you working on at Blue Cross? We partnered with the Brown University School of Public Health last year to launch the Rhode Island Life Index, a data resource that will guide our investments of time, money and counsel in boots-on-the-ground organizations as they continue their essential work to improve the lives of all Rhode Islanders.
We quickly set about to develop new approaches and strengthen existing programs to address health disparities and gaps in health outcomes based on the 2019 Life Index, which confirmed that lack of access to safe and affordable housing was the most commonly cited barrier to Rhode Islanders’ health and well-being. Through our competitive grant program, we have already invested more than $700,000 to support initiatives that will result in more Rhode Islanders being able to access safe, affordable and stable housing in 2020.
