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And the winners are...

Patient Financial Services Weekly Advisor, April 4, 2008

HCPro's Patient Access Resource Center has selected its winners after its search for access staff members who go the extra mile. In light of NAHAM's National Healthcare Access Personnel Week, PARC wanted to highlight those in the world of access who deserve the recognition for making their facility better.

The winners are:

• Francesca Kurpinski, a patient resource representative in outpatient registration at Paoli Hospital in Paoli, PA;
• Lisa Walter, MBA, manager of patient financial services within patient access at Region West Medical Center in Scottsbluff, NE;
• Sally McFarland, a customer service representative for UW Health Physicians in Madison, WI;
• Leona Brown and Chris Radice, insurance verification specialists, University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, VA;
and
• Jennifer Sell, patient access manager at Children's Hospital in Omaha, NE.

The following are their stories, told to PARC by their colleagues:

Francesca Kurpinski, a patient resource representative in outpatient registration at Paoli Hospital in Paoli, PA I would like to nominate Francesca Kurpinski. She is one of those employees that goes above and beyond her normal duties as a part of how she treats everyone all the time. She keeps her cool in tough situations, lends an ear when need be, and is always willing to help a patient or coworker. She bounces between three departments in PAC without complaining and stays late if she is needed. Patients never have to feel rushed or as if they are a bother because she makes everyone feel at home. There have been times that a patient needs that little extra moment, maybe they had received some bad news, and Francesca has never left them hanging. She takes the time to hear her patients. If a patient should be in need of assistance to get from one place to another, she makes sure that assistance is in place. She is very proficient at any job she tackles and remains willing to learn something new. Francesca embodies what customer service is. She is my coworker, mentor, and friend. Submitted by Carrie L. Deneen, patient resource representative, Paoli Hospital

Lisa Walter, MBA, manager of patient financial services within patient access at Region West Medical Center in Scottsbluff, NE

My supervisor, Lisa Walter, has proven to be a true blessing. She exemplifies the productive concept of a servant leader. I am a Baby Boomer, so the micromanaging, authoritative manager is not very effective. I am confident of my ability and knowledge to excel in my job duties, so Lisa states what her expectations are, and then lets me do my job. She is not threatened when her staff excel, because she knows that hiring and maintaining an excellent workforce reflects on her to make her an excellent leader. She always makes me feel that what I do is extremely important to the facility but also to her. She responds quickly and in a positive manner to any questions or concerns I communicate. She has a ready smile and laugh and always takes an active role in problem solving. She seldom delegates the problem to anyone else if she can research it and come up with the answer. She is always eager to learn and to share information. Most importantly, she makes me feel valued. She shows genuine concern for patients and for staff. She celebrates my successes, and is the cheerleader for the team. Submitted by Marjorie Dickson, financial assistance specialist

Sally McFarland, a customer service representative for UW Health Physicians in Madison, WI

This was a particularly hard winter for many of the residents of Madison, WI, as we exceeded the all-time record for most snowfall in one year. As of writing this e-mail, there is still more coming!

Last month, Sally McFarland, who is a customer service rep for UW Health Physicians, had a conversation with a patient in which one of her coworkers overheard and reported the following actions of Sally. The patient, an elderly woman, made a comment about going outside to shovel her driveway once she hung up. Sally became very concerned about the well-being of the patient because of the extreme cold weather and patient's age. Sally took it upon herself to make phone calls to people who would volunteer to shovel the driveway of this patient; she then called the patient back to ask for her permission to have one of the volunteers go to her place and clear the driveway. I found her profound concern for this patient to be nothing short of an act of kindness, and I applaud her for that. This was quite touching and quite remarkable. We were very impressed and very grateful to have someone like Sally represent UW Health Physicians. Submitted by Dan Thill, manager, patient accounts, University of Wisconsin Medical Foundation, Madison, WI

Leona Brown and Chris Radice, insurance verification specialists, University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, VA

I have two people that I would like to tell you a little bit about. I selected these two people because I see that long-term experience and maturity brings an important wealth of knowledge and historical perspective to the workplace as well as the new hire that brings exceptional freshness and customer service.

Leona Brown has been employed in one position or another in patient access for roughly 25 years. She has been the consistent employee that works tirelessly on difficult worker's comp issues/claims to ensure that the detail is captured correctly for the patient and the Medical Center. She has mentored many new hires, coached and trained on various forms of insurance and the proper system application. Leona is in contact with our patients and various insurance companies on a regular basis and is always a good steward of our ideal customer service target. She is role model, a quiet leader, and an employee that we are very proud to have associated with Patient Access/Insurance Verification.

Chris Radice is very new to our team and brings wonderful customer service skills, and a strong and consistent work ethic. She is one of those wonderful employees that you wish you could clone. I have overheard her speaking with patients doing financial screenings, collecting insurance information and taking the time to build a relationship with our patients by either giving them instructions or patiently repeating information to assist them. You can hear in her voice that the patients are important to her, and I am sure they feel this warmth as well. She wants to get the job done right so that the billing portion of the visit is worry free for the patient. Both of my staff are so special because they are committed to caring for our patients. Submitted by Debra Rappold, manager, patient access, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville VA

Jennifer Sell, patient access manager at Children's Hospital in Omaha, NE

I wanted to take this opportunity to submit our patient access manager, Jennifer Sell, to be considered for the PARC contest. I base my submission and recommendation on the fact that Jennifer is the epitome of dedication, commitment, and professionalism.

Jennifer and I have the pleasure and honor of working at Children's Hospital in Omaha, NE, and attending to the needs of the pediatric population in the Heartlands. I joined the organization as vice president/chief revenue officer last year. Since then, life has been a whirlwind of activity with many changes throughout the organization but in Jennifer's area as well.

In that period of time, we have transitioned responsibility of the financial counselor role into the access area, moved emergency room registration under her area along with radiology coverage on weekends, implemented point of service collections, and a partial bedside registration program. Now, we are in the planning stages of centralizing registration, implementing an electronic eligibility functionality, completing the implementation of bedside registration with patient account segmentation in the future.

Throughout all of these changes and challenges, or as Jennifer would say "opportunities," Jennifer has maintained a positive attitude and outlook, provided excellent leadership to hear team, and has welcomed any challenge we throw at her with open arms. She is constantly upbeat and possesses a wonderful and positive outlook on her role as patient access manager.

In addition, Jennifer is well-liked and respected her peers and staff and is a pleasure to work with. It is because of this that I believe Jennifer should be recognized. Individuals with such a commitment, passion and dedication to their work are difficult to find. I can only say that I/we are fortunate to have such a wonderful individual on our team.

For the children we serve. Submitted by David Mier, vice president/chief revenue officer, Children's Hospital, Omaha NE

Editor's note: These submissions came via PARC's request in its e-newsletters, Patient Financial Services Weekly Advisor, and Patient Access Weekly Advisor.

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