Dr. Lisa Dianne Keenly, MD

My Specialty:

I am an Emergency Physician. Most people do not realize that this is a specialty of its own. Many of my patients have told me that they thought that Emergency Physicians must be trained in another specialty they have heard of (such as Internal Medicine, Family Medicine or Surgery) and many feel that I must just be working in the Emergency Department until something else comes along. This is not true. 2004 marks the 25th Anniversary of Emergency Medicine as a Medical Specialty. Check out this link from the American College of Emergency Physicians for a wonderful history of my specialty. I spent four years of residency training specializing in Emergency Medicine and plan on working in the Emergency Department until I retire. Our residency trains us to treat the varied situations we come into contact with on a daily basis including the care of adults, children and the elderly, performance of procedures, ultrasonography, the recognition and treatment of life-threatening …conditions, psychiatric, ophthalmologic, gynecologic conditions and even the occasional delivery of a baby!

Why I chose Emergency Medicine:

I love the opportunity to see many different patients every day. I feel that my specialty provides me the opportunity to make a real difference in people’s lives and health. I enjoy being able to rapidly diagnose and treat all sorts of emergency conditions. Often, when I am not able to come to a definite diagnosis, I am able to at least rule out the presence of an emergency condition and address my patient’s worries. I am able to also work closely with my colleagues in other specialties to help me come to a diagnosis or treatment plan when it may not be completed in a single emergency visit.

My Practice Philosophy:

My goal is to treat all my patients as if they were a family member. I try and always guide my discussions with patients and decisions about their care by first thinking "What would I want done if this was my mother, brother, son…?" I feel that this simple guiding principle will lead to the best care for everyone. My secondary goal is to have each patient leave my department a little better educated then when then came. I always try and sit down at the end of a visit to explain things such as why you are experiencing your symptoms, how you can treat the symptoms at home, which symptoms should have you return for further care and how aspects of your lifestyle may affect your health.

My Practice with Kaiser Permanente:

I have been working for Kaiser since July of 2001. I work most of my shifts in Roseville and occasionally in Sacramento at Morse Avenue. I have other responsibilities with Kaiser as well. I work occasionally in the Call Center assisting the nurses who give you advice over the phone. I also work on the Emergency Management Committee to help plan for response to disasters. I also hold a position as an Assistant Clinical Professor at UCDavis. In this capacity I have the opportunity to work with Emergency Medicine Physicians in training.

Why I practice medicine at Kaiser Permanente:

I work with Kaiser because I appreciated the way that the organization supports the lifestyle I want. Kaiser cares about my personal time; I work in a large group so my schedule can be easily adjusted to meet my needs, Kaiser takes care of all the business aspects of my practice (billing, insurance, etc.) so I can spend my working hours caring for patients, Kaiser has many services and classes in place to support physician well-being. Kaiser cares about my family; we are all covered by Kaiser’s medical insurance and I am thrilled with the care we receive, many other services are in place such as assistance with home-buying and finding childcare services, social events also help us to connect with other Kaiser families. Kaiser cares about my patients; I am given the freedom to order the tests I want and give the care I want without seeking out the approval of others, Kaiser provides comprehensive preventative health care and also offers classes to help my patients become more educated, Kais