Together With

Good morning.   We've been hearing a lot about nurse leadership burnout.  Next week, we're going to dive into a few tactics that will help improve the efficiency of your operation and cut down on the burnout of your clinical leadership team.  Be on the lookout for it.

This week, I had the privilege of sitting down with Rachel Wells, Vice President at HealthDrive Corporation, to learn more about what it takes to lead the operations for an industry powerhouse supporting over 4,000 communities and over 1 million resident interactions each year.  In addition, we get into what drives her passion for helping others both professionally and personally.  We break down the interview to provide key takeaways that you can leverage as part of your own career growth.

Leaders learning from leaders 

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into your role as Vice President at HealthDrive?

I joined HealthDrive primarily because I have a passion for the elderly population and always have.  It's a place where I like to spend my time.  They're sweet, and they deserve a lot.  Early on, I found myself working on internal operations with HealthDrive.  I started at the bottom, working on patient enrollment, scheduling, and tracking our items like glasses and dentures.  I then moved to the billing side and did collections and facility tracking.  Eventually, I found my way out into the field as an account manager and, over time, grew my responsibility by expanding to different states and territories.  I had a team of people working for me, covering a small region of the company and ensuring that everything was moving in the right direction with a specific grouping of states.  I then took on field operations for all of our states which is the role I am in now.

Key Takeaway: The best way to learn and grow in operations is by doing.  Get your hands dirty.  Grow your skills while simultaneously earning the respect of those around you.

Tell us about HealthDrive and the services you provide.

HealthDrive is currently the nation's largest ancillary service provider in long-term care.  We hire ancillary providers such as dentists, optometrists, podiatrists, audiologists, nurse practitioners, and therapists.  All of our providers are local to the communities they serve and bring the complete care of these services for the residents in-house.  We are 100% mobile, so residents and patients don't have to leave to get the care they need.  HealthDrive is constantly trying to build our business around making our services the most efficient for the community staff and residents.

Key Takeaway: HealthDrive supports your resident's needs with local providers.  HealthDrive provides the support, systems, and operational expertise to ensure the residents and communities receive excellent service.

What is the most significant value that HealthDrive provides to communities or facilities?

Number one would be the administrative relief that a facility feels when we come in as a partner.  Often, when first partner with a facility or community that hasn't been using a mobile company like ours, they have been doing a lot of the scheduling themselves, the tracking of who's enrolled in the practice, who's not, who needs to be seen, when.  When they decide to partner with HealthDrive, we do all of that for them.  So once they start getting the phone calls from us, offering a visit date, and realizing that all the patients they need to be seen are on the list, it's like a breath of fresh air.  So that's something that people enjoy.  And it is a huge selling point for us as well.  It's nice to go to the staff and say, "Hey, you don't have to do this anymore."

Key Takeaway: HealthDrive knows that the key to their success is your success.  They provide excellent service for the residents and your team.

What advice do you have for other leaders looking to climb the ladder in our industry?

Do what you're passionate about.  Work hard and put in your time.  Always say "yes."  Consistency and commitment pay off.  You have to be willing to invest in yourself and put in the time upfront to end up with the career that you want.

Key Takeaway:  Always say "yes."  You never know where an opportunity will lead you.  If nothing else, you learn.  Consistency and commitment always pay off.

What do you enjoy doing when you're not driving the operations at HealthDrive?

I love running.  I love being outside.  I love gardening.  I have a dog, and I have chickens.  I'm a big outside person.  I also love getting involved with anything that I can do to help other people.  I run a free community pantry on my property where people can just come up and grab food if they need it.  And I do a lot of different charitable things to give back when I can.  That's what makes me feel the best.

Tell us more about the community pantry?

I put up a piece of furniture on my property, on the side of the road, called The Corner Pantry.  It is free game for anybody to come and take whatever food or items they need.  People also come and donate whatever food or personal care products they feel like contributing.  It's somewhat of a secluded spot, so people don't have to feel embarrassed that they need to stop and grab something.  So I've kept it going.  It's still going strong, and there are many people out there donating.

Key Takeaway: Every successful person I know in this industry has a huge heart.  Embrace it and use it to drive your career and drive positive change outside of your communities.  Servant leadership is the right path.

Anything else our readers should know?

We're hiring!  We have internal operations positions, sales and marketing positions, and of course, we're always looking for providers.  If you're interested, email me at rwells@healthdrive.com.  

Partners We Love

Together With HealthDrive

HealthDrive has over 30 years of experience as the leading provider of on-site healthcare services in long-term care. With nearly 500 medical and dental professionals and one million patient encounters per year, HealthDrive is fulfilling its mission "to elevate health outcomes and improve the quality of life." HealthDrive offers a variety of Dental, Podiatry, Optometry, Audiology, and Mental Health services within their markets. Innovative technology, administrative and regulatory support, as well as reliability, are just a few of the things that drive HealthDrive's commitment and continued success.

Not only is HealthDrive a partner of NHA Stand-Up, but they're also a partner I have utilized in the communities I support for years. Their model, ability to execute consistently, and reliability are spectacular. If you're interested in learning more, visit their website here and reach out to Rachel Wells at rwells@healthdrive.com.

Grab your coffee and make it a great day.  We appreciate you and your dedication to your team and residents. -Thank you!