Member Spotlight: Shelby Smith
This month the Member Spotlight is on Shelby Smith, Director of Care Access, University of South Alabama Health. Learn more about Shelby below. Want to be a part of our PAC Member Spotlight? Fill out the form here.
How long have you been a member of the Patient Access Collaborative?: 7 years
What do you like about being a member?: The connection with other like minded organization and colleagues that work in access.
How has your career benefited from being a member?: In too many ways to count, but a few that come to mind our: networks of people and opportunity and knowledge share that allows me to influence change deeper within my own organization.
What tips or advice would you give new members?: Take advantage of all that you can. Listserve, webinars, yearly conference, and stepping out to deeply get to know folks within our community.
What do you love most about your job?: Love? What does that even mean? Love involves relationship, passion, and purpose. Let me share a few things about those three words. I love the RELATIONSHIPS that I get to take part in every day. Relationships with amazing front line team members that do amazing, unappreciated work everyday. The TEAM of leaders that I have the honor to support and lead every day in our work and support of access strategies and projects within our organization. Finally, the patients that I know me and my team are making a difference for every day. This is tough work, that many people do not appreciate or value, but being a steady voice for our patients to make it easier and more efficient for them gives me a great sense of PURPOSE. PURPOSE - I believe that part of my God- given purpose in life is to impact and influence others. Based on the above, my work I do daily gives me opportunity to invest in others in a significant way. PASSION. What is passion? Passion is defined as a strong emotion or feeling. I have a passion for this work, and that is why I have been committed to this no matter where and what organization I work for. Opportunities have presented itself in other forms that would have been easier for me and frankly my family, but because of that passion and purpose, here we are in South Alabama continuing on the work!
What meaningful project are you working on right now?: There are many projects we are working on right now, but one of meaningful importance is our work of growth within referral management for our health system. Our referral team is growing by beginning the work of now taking steps to take on all internal referral management workflows for our department of Pediatrics! While our team was created to support external referrals coming into our system, we are making important strides to help free up individuals within the clinics, many times clinical, that are responsible for referral appointing/coordination for patients. This is going to be a great step to continue to onboard more clinics referral patterns to ensure we are doing what we can to keep as many referrals within our health system and to expedite them timely.
What career advice do you live by?: I have so many things that I try to live my life to, but one that relates to the access work that so many of us step into daily, it would be - "even when it gets hard, stay the course, communicate often, be kind, and keep pressing on and results will come."
Where are you from? Where did you go to school?: Indianapolis Indiana. Went to school at Liberty University and Capella University for my Masters.
What are your hobbies?: Anything Chicago Cubs baseball, gardening, church activities, and anything by water.
Where is your favorite place you've travelled?: I have had the opportunity to travel to many places. My top two would be Russia and Sweden.
What's a fun fact that people probably don't know about you?: I was in a drama team in college that allowed me to travel up and down the Eastern part of the United States.
Who inspires you and why?: Ultimately I model my life after Christ, and so many men in the Bible that give examples of what real manhood looks like, but outside of that I say my kids inspire me everyday to be the best that I can be!