OSIS teams are dedicated to supporting Community Health Centers (CHCs) nationwide. As part of our Day in the Life blog series, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Sarah, an accomplished Quality Consultant. Join us as we take a closer look at the fascinating details of an OSIS Quality Consultant's daily routine.
What does your morning routine look like?
I usually wake up at 5:30 a.m. pretty consistently. I am an early morning runner, so I want to hit the pavement while it’s still dark, especially in the summer months because I do not like the heat. On weekdays I try to log into work around 7:00 a.m. to start preparing for the workday. I have one kiddo still at home so during the school season she gets up at this time and is getting ready. So, on school days I will start my workday once she is ready to head out the door by 8:00 a.m. On non-workdays, I still prefer to start my day at 5:30 a.m. to keep my routine consistent, but on Sundays, I make it a point to not set an alarm to treat myself with extra sleep if needed.
Can you walk me through what a day is like for you as a Quality Consultant?
As the Quality Consultant in the western region, most of my day is spent in meetings. We have a lot of Members in my region and it's important to get that “face-to-face” time to ensure they know someone of quality is here to support them. I always start my day a minimum of an hour prior to when my meetings begin to give me prep time and get caught up on any emails and tickets. Since OSIS provides nationwide support, a lot of our team is in the eastern and central regions. To accommodate all time zones, a lot of my internal meetings are in the morning and most of my Member meetings make up the middle and end of my day. In between my meetings, I work on action items for Members I support as well as prepare for meetings that are happening later in the week.
How do you make the most of your time?
As I said before, most of my day is made up in meetings. Most of my meetings are with Members, but I also have meetings with my OSIS teammates. Any time in between meetings will be working on following up on action items, responding to support needed via ticket or email communication, and preparing for upcoming meetings.
What are three high-impact tasks of your job?
The highest impacting task is measure validation. Reviewing how data is pulled into our Member’s UDSx and Health Quality Measures (HQM) is important to help them feel confident in the data they are reviewing for quality reporting. This includes looking at the data as it populates, examining the workflow documentation within the EHR, and then troubleshooting anything that is impacting accurate data capture. This is especially important with UDS as that's what helps them maintain their FQHC status.
My next high-impact task would be reviewing the tools and resources our Members are using and making sure they are up to date on what is available to them. For instance, if they are engaged in achieving Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) recognition, I will assess the OSIS tools available in their system that can assist them with reporting. I will also verify if their HQM is up-to-date and if their providers and measure configurations are properly set up to meet the required standards. Then make sure this information is communicated to our Members so they are aware of what can be used to make their job easier.
Finally, staying current and well-informed about quality and internal topics that are relevant to my role is a high priority. Healthcare is a dynamic and constantly evolving field, which is why it is crucial for me to stay up to date on the latest developments and changes within OSIS and on a national level. By staying well-informed, I can effectively navigate any potential changes that may impact our work and provide the best support to our Members. For example, changes in UDS reporting and the transition to UDS+ are forefront of anyone in quality’s mind. We also have some Members who are a part of the Indian Health Service (IHS), which has reporting requirements different from UDS. Making sure I am in the loop in any new information passed and then making sure those are shared with the Members I support is always on my radar.
Do you ever travel or visit Members on-site?
I have never been onsite with any of our Members since I have come to OSIS. Since it is such a priority to have EHR and EPM onsite it makes sense that getting those teams to work shoulder-to-shoulder with Members is critical. So much of what the quality team does for our Members can be communicated remotely without the need for travel or incurring additional expenses for OSIS or our Members. Don’t get me wrong, I would be happy to go onsite, so if I ever get the request to come onsite, I will jump on it in a heartbeat.
OSIS teams have the privilege to attend and present at OSIS Regional meetings with our Members in the Western region. This provides us with the exciting opportunity to travel twice a year and meet with the Members we serve.
What playlist do you listen to while you’re working?
I cannot listen to anything with words while I am working so I have a Spotify playlist called “Just the Sounds” which is full of music by the Piano Guys, 2Cellos, and Lindsey Sterling, just to name a few. Based on these preferences Spotify often will prompt me for other groups that are similar to include, so it does get changed up from time to time, but instrumental is always what is playing when I am not in my meetings.
How do you fill your evenings?
Once my workday ends, I always check in with my kids, which includes my human kids as well as my pets. I have one daughter at home and two that are away at college so jumping on a video call with my older two or at a minimum bombarding them with text messages happens most evenings.
I have a loyal coon hound, Luna, that always welcomes some attention. I also have two cats, Jackson and Ruby, and a corn snake, Hadies, who probably couldn't care less if I checked in with them or not. Finally, I have 7 ducks, “My Lucky Ducks”, that I will visit. Every evening my daughter and I will collect their eggs and make sure they have all the water and food they need. I feed them oats and greens similar to what you would feed chickens, but they're also meat eaters and will eat the bugs in my garden. At family get-togethers I'm always the one that makes the deviled eggs; people love them because duck eggs are so big and you can never have enough deviled eggs.
I am a member of and on the board of Emmett Community Playhouse, so during performance periods my evenings also include rehearsals and performances for our community. We usually do three to four a year, with at least one geared towards kids. This year we competed for the first time in Boise at the Idaho Community Playhouse Association and won, then moved on to the regional competition in Oregon. Although we didn't come out on top in that particular competition, it's worth noting that the team that defeated us went on to achieve national victory. So, while we may not have won, we can take solace in knowing that we lost to an incredibly talented and successful group. It was an awesome experience to compete with people outside of our state and see and connect with other Playhouses.
I know you're very busy and have lots of meetings. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, I appreciate it.
Absolutely! Thank you for interviewing me, this was fun.
OSIS is made up of a team of dedicated professionals who provide support to Community Health Centers (CHCs) all over the United States. We hope Sarah's insights gave you a glimpse of a day in the life of an OSIS Quality Consultant. To learn more about the work of OSIS and the daily routines of our team members, be sure to stay tuned for the next Day in the Life blog post.