What inspired you to enter the health care industry?
I am a registered nurse, following in the footsteps of my mother. Except for a brief summer stint as a waitress (a disaster), even my summer jobs as a teen were health care related. I worked as a nursing assistant in the same nursing home as my mother. I also worked as a child aide with mentally handicapped children. After working as an RN for several years, I became interested in computers which, at that time, were just coming into the health care setting beyond the financial. I knew that if health systems were to be successful, they would need someone to “translate” healthcare workflows to the programmers. After taking several programming classes, I became a systems analyst, assisting in the design and implementation of a system at Georgetown Hospital. Later at Inova Health System, I started as an analyst, leaving 22 years later as the vice president of applications to come to URAC.
Why did you come to URAC?
Some former colleagues, who I deeply respect, asked me to come to URAC to help strengthen the accreditation system and improve vendor relations.
What do you find most rewarding about your job?
URAC is a huge change from my prior role. My team is smaller: four IT professionals as opposed to running a division at a health system. My role at URAC is not only one of leadership, but also getting to “roll up my sleeves,” analyzing, configuring and troubleshooting IT issues for URAC staff and clients.
What motivates you to do your best at work every day?
I truly love what I do. I love to solve problems with technology. I have an incredible team. Because of our size, the team knows they have to work “outside” their job titles and happily step up to any challenge. Simply put, URAC accreditation improves the delivery of health care. I am proud of our mission and our impact, and my being able to help support the delivery of exceptional care to all.