A wellness champion provides advocacy, leadership and support for improving the health of Kaiser Permanente employees and SCPMG physicians.
Wellness champions are comprised of a cross-section of employees and physicians from across the SCAL region to represent a wide range of perspectives.
Maria G. Montes
LAMC
Project Manager – Wellness Champion
Human Resources
Q: How would your closest friend describe you in one word?
A: Loyal.
Q: What’s something surprising about you that your colleagues may not know?
A: Everybody knows that the beach is my happy place, but they don’t know that I don’t like the ocean. I’ve been on one cruise once and I didn’t like it.
Q: If you could have any superpower, what would it be and what would you do with it?
A: It would be really cool to transform into anything or anybody. It would give a different perspective on life. It would help change my perspective.
Q: What is your go-to activity when you need to recharge?
A: I do like to walk at the beach and make an appointment with myself every month to do so. And I don’t live close to the beach.
Q: If your wellness journey had a theme song, what would it be?
A: What comes to mind is one of my dad’s favorite songs. Raindrops keep falling on my head is about how the raindrops keep coming but you are still resilient and move forward.
Q: What is your favorite part about being a wellness champion?
A: I like networking and partnering with UBT and LMP to see how all the labor and leaders come together for one common good. It is satisfying to see the partnership. LAMC has a big wellness event every year, and this year we are partnering with UBT so they can display their HWF projects.
Q: What is your favorite way to stay active during the workday?
A: I get up and walk outside. Sometimes in LA the surroundings can be a little “dicey” but I always run into someone that I haven’t seen in a while. So you connect.
Q: What’s your favorite memory or success story about wellness at KP?
A: Before I became a champion, we had a big wellness activity. One thing we’ve been consistent with at LAMC is the line dancing. I remember doing it when I first started here. A colleague invited me and I thought, “wow, this is really nice”. I came from a company that had less than 5 employees. It made it feel like a family.
Q: If you could host a dream wellness event for your service area, what would it be?
A: Concert with music, dancing, and movement. I’m a big fan of music. It could be a bunch of cover bands that would get the crowd moving. Maybe it could be a surprise concert on campus.
Q: What drives your passion for wellness?
A: My personal journey has been a little difficult, especially the last few years. My daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019. I also took care of my father who passed away from cancer the year that I started working at KP. My father also passed away at KP. So seeing the way that care is delivered at KP vs. outside of KP is what motivates me. Keeping our people well so that they can deliver the best quality of care possible to our members is so important.