Describe your role and responsibilities.

I’m one of four directors in Wisconsin and I have responsibility for five facilities in the southeastern part of the state. I have a Facilities Manager reporting to me at each of my sites. We work side-by-side each week during site visits, planning, training, and addressing questions and concerns. I also help my managers look at ways to fill open positions. When I tell people about Medxcel and what we do, I tell them we are a facilities management company that provides maintenance, safety, environment of care and emergency management operations for our client’s facilities. We work together to support everything behind the scenes related to the buildings and grounds of the hospitals we serve.
 

Describe the path you took to arrive in your current role.

When I graduated from high school, I sought a career in law enforcement, and obtained a degree in Criminal Justice. To gain experience I joined the healthcare industry as a security officer. I learned that law enforcement is a very critical role and our safety department worked seamlessly with local law enforcement. I stayed in that sector for sixteen years, and through that time I matured, married, and started a family. I realized that law enforcement and security weren’t my passion and I started to contemplate what was next. I eventually found my passion working in life safety and environment of care where I fell in love with building operations, facilities maintenance and the inner workings of hospital operations. My love for all things facilities management continued to grow and I achieved a bachlors’ degree in occupational safety and health. I have been extremely fortunate to work alongside many mentors as my career progressed into leadership and my current role as director.
 

Which of Medxcel’s Core Values speaks to you the most?

I’m passionate about all of Medxcel’s Core Values but I think Creativity plays a huge part in what we do. No matter the challenge we’re facing, the fact that we can bring together so many different innovative ways of solving problems or fixing things helps us succeed every day. Every one of the facilities in my region has a building and equipment from a different era. That often means when things break down, we need creativity to look at it, troubleshoot it, brainstorm solutions, and bring resolution. When something isn’t working it feels like the easy solution is to just get a new one, but budgets don’t allow for that. We need to look at innovative ways to keep buildings and equipment operational so that business is not disrupted and we’re not harming the patients or staff. It’s our job to create a comfortable environment for everyone.
 

How has the ongoing pandemic affected the work of your team?

The pandemic has now become an ongoing part of our everyday work and we continue to support our customers, creating a safe environment for the patients coming through the door. The pandemic brought a lot of anxieties to our associates as we continued to work on campus. To support my teams I was working alongside each of them, providing support and guidance during the implementation of strategies to keep our building occupants and staff safe and healthy. It was my goal to provide timely updates and support them by listening to their concerns. In the early days we were dealing with a lot of uncertainty and people were getting information from social media and other unreliable sources. I let them know that Medxcel would provide them with the facts and tools that we needed and that I would never put them in harm’s way or in a dangerous situation. It’s important that we continue to manage with compassion and empathy, understanding that our associates have real lives and are dealing with the pandemic at home as well as at work. We made sure we had barriers up, and rooms ready for patients, our staff was putting up COVID wings as quickly as possible and I worked alongside them every step of the way. I hope our staff understands that I and my leadership team are here to help and support them no matter what we face next.
 

What would you say to someone considering working for Medxcel?

Medxcel is a great place to work. I love to talk to candidates about all the great things Medxcel can do for them and what they can add to our organization. I show people coming in the door the framework that we’ve already built and explain that we’re constantly looking at what we do, improving and building upon that. That’s what I’m most proud of. I onboarded a new associate today and one of the things I’m very excited about is the new guidebook given to all associates with QR codes, and information on how to get assistance and questions answered. Medxcel is always looking for ways to make our lives easier. I’m very proud to work for Medxcel.
 

What’s next for your career?

I found a great career here and I’m not finished. I hope to continue my career with Medxcel and maybe help the Medxcel family out in a different role someday. The sky is the limit here and I’m open to any opportunity that comes my way, doing whatever it takes, knowing that Medxcel will support me along the way. Medxcel has provided me with the most support of any company I’ve worked for. You know you’re a part of the family, a part of the team, and Medxcel will help us grow and work through any situation.
 

Is there anything unexpected you’ve learned during your career?

I’ve been in healthcare for 24 years and it’s taken me almost that long to understand how many facets there are to healthcare delivery. Right out of the gate I had no clue as to all the types of jobs there are within the healthcare setting. I wish that there was more information out there for juniors and seniors in high school about the careers that we offer. When I tell people where I work, they immediately ask if I’m a nurse. When I tell them what I do they say, “Oh I didn’t even know that job existed”. Our roles in facilities management are all behind the scenes, we come in and do building maintenance, and people don’t see the things that we do unless something is not working.