VP: HMA Regional Service Center To Hire More Soon

Dec. 13--With continued growth in mind, Health Management Associates' new Arkansas Regional Service Center in Fort Smith is set to hire 150 more associates in January.

The move will fulfill a pledge made earlier this year to provide at least 500 jobs at the new location, which serves 23 hospitals and 150 health care providers in eight states. There are now 358 associates employed at the center on Phoenix Avenue, with 30 current openings.

Speaking to Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce members Friday at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, Shannon White, Health Management's assistant vice president of revenue cycle, said the center "will continue to have growth" and talked of the benefits of centralizing the service centers.

Fort Smith Mayor Sandy Sanders said he was pleased to hear of Health Management's growth and the variety of jobs offered at the service center.

"I was glad to see that many positions are open and the way things are growing at the center," said Liz Martin of Peachtree Hospice, which leases space at Sparks. "It benefits our community to have these jobs that provide good employment."

Although Health Management still has three other regional service centers across the country, it has been centralizing some of its service centers and other shared business services consistent with industry best practice, Director of Operations Christine Crowley notes.

"Basically, we are not a call center in the area," White said. "I do want to make sure of that. And that's not to downplay any call center in the area. But we are a very diverse center."

White said this type of center is also known as a "shared service environment." White said the local center provides services such as scheduling in eight states and pre-arrival services for benefits.

"This day and age with health care, many different insurance companies require authorizations, require certifications, require referrals, something all the time to make sure it is in place before the bill is paid," White said.

For example, from the Fort Smith center, associates schedule services for patients at Dallas Regional Medical Center. After the patient receives care, the center makes sure the insurance company gets the bill through both electronic filing and paper filing. Some associates are certified professional coders, knowing specific codes in billing for reimbursements, and others are also certified to advise people on the Affordable Care Act.

"Some people think we fold up paper all day and stick in envelopes. It's not as simple as that," White said. "Unfortunately, health care has become very complex in regards to billing, so you have to have a very certain skill set."

About 90 percent of the employees at the regional service center are female, and White said they are looking to provide child day care at the facility in the future. It takes between a year and 18 months to train an employee, and the center has seen 17 internal promotions to leadership roles while having a 20 percent turnover rate.

"I do think it's safe to say that when we talk about how many we've hired, you as my fellow peers and local employers if you get to hire one of my associates that has been with me longer than a year, you win," White said. "Because you're getting a very skilled individual. We take a lot of time to train."

In regards to centralization of service centers, White said it has helped streamline operations and Health Management saved $1.9 million by integrating nine facilities in three states into the Fort Smith center. Redundant positions also were eliminated during the transition this year.

The Arkansas Regional Service Center is a subsidiary of Health Management, having formed an independent tax identification in January 2013. Sparks Regional Medical Center in Fort Smith and Summit Medical Center in Van Buren are also independent entities under the Health Management umbrella, White said.

Community Health System of Franklin, Tenn., is in the process of purchasing Health Management for approximately $7.6 billion, including the assumption of outstanding indebtedness. Once the merger is complete, the group will be the largest for-profit health care provider in the country.

White noted that she did not relocate from Health Management's home office in Naples, Fla. She was born and raised in Fort Smith, and lives on local farm land with her husband and two children.

Melissa Humphreys, a sales representative with Tec Staffing of Fort Smith, said White's presentation on the service center was very informative.

"What was most interesting to me I think was learning about the many types of different positions that they have there," Humphreys said. "I think a lot of people's impressions were that it was just a call center."

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