Nat Trives, who also goes by “Mr. Santa Monica,” has accomplished a lot in his 81 years – as a community advocate, who serves on many nonprofit boards, as a professor at Santa Monica College, and as a former mayor and police officer of Santa Monica. He also recently celebrated his 60th wedding anniversary – an impressive personal accomplishment.
His prolific career and life of service would not have been possible, he says, without his health. As a Kaiser Permanente member for more than 50 years and a three-time cancer survivor, Trives has overcome many health challenges. “I’m a preventative medicine guy and I do what I’m told to do and try not to be difficult. I trust my doctors to do their jobs,” Trives says.
Trives also believes in utilizing technology to make healthcare more convenient. He is as tech savvy as any Millennial, taking advantage of Kaiser’s many online tools, including refilling his prescriptions online, checking his lab results online and e-mailing his doctors with questions. “I love that my lab results are ready in the time that it takes me to get home from my appointment,” he says.
One time when he was experiencing back pain, he e-mailed his doctor and told him he was going to Urgent Care for the pain. “Before I left the house, my doctor e-mailed me back and told me not to go to Urgent Care, and that I should take Tylenol instead,” he says. “He told me what to do and I did it and it worked out fine.”
He does, however, still value personal encounters and face-time with his doctors. “I know my doctors and I know their families. I don’t let anyone put their hands on me until I know who they are,” he says.
Trives looks forward to getting to know the doctors at Kaiser Permanente’s new medical offices in Santa Monica (www.kp.org/santamonica), which opened in May. “I’ve been pushing for a satellite medical office for years so I am glad that Kaiser now has a presence in Santa Monica.”
Trives says he also looks forward to more years of service and good health. “Thanks to Kaiser for keeping me ticking,” he says. To learn more about Nat Trives, visit mrsantamonica.com.
