Meet the Expert: Kelly Phillips

Jan 15 11:34am | Kristin Eggebraaten | @keggebraaten

Every few months, we try to introduce you to a member of our team that you wouldn’t likely get to meet when you come to Mayo Clinic. One of those positions is our Patient Appointment Services Specialists (PASS) staff. Our appointment staff talk with patients on the phone and answer those initial questions patients have when they first contact Mayo Clinic for their transplant appointments. They also create those complex schedules that you are familiar with for transplant evaluations, follow-up visits and post-transplant care.

This group is skilled and knowledgeable in not only transplant-specific appointments, but on all the appointment areas around Mayo Clinic. As I am sure you all know, transplant patients touch almost every area of healthcare including all the testing and specialty consultation areas. Our scheduling team has to understand these other areas, know the order that the tests must be scheduled in, know the preparation that patients need for each test, and know how to contact these areas and schedule all of those different types of appointments. We couldn’t be as efficient or as seamless as we are without this incredible team of schedulers.

Today, we introduce you to Kelly Phillips. Kelly is one of our Assistant Supervisors of our PASS team in Minnesota. Kelly has been with our transplant team for about 5 years and is a critical part of our scheduling and management groups. We asked her some questions recently, and here’s what she had to say. Kelly Phillips, Assistant Supervisor

Describe your PASS team's job and your role on the care team.

The PASS play an important role in serving the needs of the patients. The PASS answer a wide variety of phone calls, schedule complex itineraries some having over 50 orders to coordinate in a 4-5 day time period. I am one of two Assistant Supervisors on the team, and we each primarily support 2 different organ groups. I support Liver and Bone Marrow and ensure that their resources are up to date as well as easy to navigate, plus many other tasks. I also assist in answering phone calls and scheduling as needed.

What is the best part about your work? What makes you go home from work feeling like you made a difference?

The best part about my work is seeing an opportunity for improvement and being able to collaborate with the PASS, nurses, physicians and others in order to see it come to fruition.

Describe one of your favorite or most rewarding work experiences.

I started at Mayo Clinic as a PASS moving up to a Lead PASS then was able to further my career and become an Assistant Supervisor all while staying within the Transplant Center. This has been an amazing journey for me. Over the last many years working at Mayo Clinic I have had many rewarding work experiences it is hard to just name one. I am very proud to have had the opportunity to stay within the Transplant Center and continue to grow my knowledge as well as my career.

What is the most challenging part of your job?

I find that there is never enough time in my day. There are constantly exciting new projects happening that make scheduling easier on the PASS as well as creating a better experience for the patients. Life in Mayo Clinic Transplant is fast passed. It takes a lot of organization and drive to keep up with it all, but in all honesty, I would not have it any other way.

What does a typical work day look like for you?

My day consists of meetings mostly. In between meetings you can find me in my emails, working on upcoming projects, pulling reports, and digging into the workload to either help assist in scheduling or navigating tasks to the PASS if action is needed.

Is there anything else you would like patients to know about the Transplant PASS Team?

The PASS team go above and beyond to ensure patient satisfaction. They are truly an amazing team, and I am so proud to work with them!

What do you enjoy doing on your time off from work?

When I’m not working, I enjoy playing games, baking, and watching scary movies (no matter the time of year) with my daughter. I enjoy creating different craft projects and putting together puzzles. I have 3 puppies that keep me plenty busy as well. There is never a dull moment in my house.

What questions do you have for our scheduling teams?

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