Five questions for the Chief Administrative Officer
Chief Administrative Officer Jen Mayhew oversees OneWorld’s Operations teams, focusing on efficient and mission-aligned health services. Her role supports clinical and non-clinical roles. In this conversation, she talks about bridging the organization’s strategic goals to day-to-day implementation.
Interview has been lightly edited.
Operations is a big department with diverse functions. How do you describe the work of the department?
Broadly, our objectives are strategic plan execution in a performance improvement environment, with a focus on meeting regulations, supporting clinical quality objectives, and minimizing risk. At our core is building and investing in our Operational workforce, and cultivating a strong, healthy internal culture that translates into high-quality patient-centered care. At OneWorld, even among non-clinical teams, you find that we are made up of folks whose hearts and minds bend towards service and support for our patients.
Access is a value. We are really focused on evaluating where we are getting things right and where we have room to grow and improve, ensuring that our programs and services are meaningful and accessible to patients.
The work of the Operations teams directly impacts patient care. What does that impact look like day-to-day?
Medical Records’ work is around accurate documentation and filing of records, which ensures that the clinical team is prepared to provide the patient with appropriate care based on health history and any recent diagnostic or specialty assessments that have been completed.
The PAQ [Provider Approval Queues] Team works similarly in that they’re receiving diagnostic results that are oftentimes many, many pages and simplifying that down into actionable items for the providers, which saves providers time. It allows them to see more patients than they otherwise would be able to if they didn’t have that type of support. It isn’t something that a patient has awareness of, but we can see more patients because those things happen.
For teams like Registrations, Scheduling, and our Enrollment and Financial Services teams, they really set the tone for patients. If you’re calling in on the phone, that’s your first interaction likely about an upcoming appointment that you’re going to have, or you’re calling in because you’re not feeling well and we need to triage you.
And so the way that that person communicates with the patient and actively listens and asks the right questions to ensure that we’re doing the best things we can to get them set up for a successful appointment can establish trust and give a welcoming sense to a patient – as opposed to just like feeling like they’re another number. It’s easy for that to happen when you’ve got 50,000 patients that you take care of.
My vision for Operations is to recognize that moments make mission. And so we have to be really intentional, even though we’re very systems focused. We have to take that down to the individual encounter, the individual patient level, and really think about how we’re communicating in the moment, because that patient’s entire perception is created from that moment, not through the workflow or the larger system that we also must focus on.
I think for Operational teams, it’s really about establishing trust and creating access. We’re listening to the patient and understanding what some barriers may be, and through that we know what services they may qualify for and how to get them the most help that they can receive in their health care journey.
The connection in Social Work is very apparent, because they do have direct patient care. They’re working to help patients overcome non-medical barriers that would impact their health, and are really focused on doing that in ways that provide the patient with education and tools that are sustainable and usable in the future. Our goal is to foster a system that uplifts the patient by providing education and resources that empower.
Our Patient Support Team is designed to help patients navigate when they have to go out of OneWorld and receive services for specialty care. It’s a complex system for people who have used it previously, and it can be really complex and daunting for folks who have never had to receive specialty care elsewhere. Without this team, many patients would struggle or avoid necessary specialty care.
We offer Patient Transportation and Delivery services across the organization, opening avenues to receive care and medications.
Our Facilities Team has a deep sense of responsibility over the safety and security of the buildings that we occupy. And they really value ensuring that people have a place to come in that is comfortable and functional, and have been increasingly focused on how we continue making improvements to the physical spaces that we occupy.
Working collaboratively across the organization, Operations Trainers, Performance Improvement Specialists and Project Managers strengthen workflows and processes that enhance efficiency, teamwork and our collective ability to deliver compassionate, patient-centered care.
In your time with OneWorld, what are you most proud of about the Operations team?
I’m most proud of the values of Operations. These are teams that are dynamic and determined. Each team is composed of individuals who have this deep sense of responsibility for their work and passion for community and desire to serve.
Finding people committed to serve in ways that are non-clinical is really special. They embrace change as a constant in the world that we live in, and they are open and engaged in participating in the creation of the workflows and our service delivery models.
As you look to the future, what’s top of mind for you in your role?
The new building is going to go a long way at enhancing access. not just for the people who are going to occupy that space from Behavioral Health and our training and workforce development areas, but it creates more capacity, which is also desperately needed in the buildings we have on this campus.
Our leadership is aligned and dedicated. I work with so many thoughtful, smart, compassionate professionals all centered around our mission. I am focused on using those talents to continue enhancing our patient’s experiences receiving care.
When our patients receive care from us, I want them to feel care in a healthy and supportive space that is connected with their personal goals.
Then secondly, I think, it is strengthening OneWorld’s ability and capacity to meet evolving and changing needs, and strengthening and growing the resilience and commitment we are known for.