Get to know the women of WellSky making a difference in our industry and our communities
March is Women’s History Month! To celebrate, we are honoring women at WellSky who are making a difference in health and community care. These women are outstanding leaders and innovative thinkers, and we are thrilled to have them on our team.
Mia Cotter
What do you do here at WellSky? What continues to excite you about being a part of the WellSky team?
As one of my managers said, “Project managers are the quarterback with a big team who helps make the plays.” As a project manager, I am facilitating calls and schedules to keep projects flowing and on task. I am the client relationship person, who assists in creating a positive space. I could not do my job without the consultants that are with me on the projects keeping the train rolling. I am excited to be on teams that really collaborate and care about the work they are doing. I am also an ambassador for the Multicultural TRG, so it means a lot that WellSky has other avenues that we can participate outside of the billable work.
Is there a woman in your life – either personally or professionally – that has had a profound impact on you?
There are many women I find inspiring and have an impact every day! If I had to pick today, I would pick good friend Michelle. Michelle is an attorney, and I was her paralegal for a year and a half. Michelle always guided me to be the best employee and person as possible, teaching me new methods of learning and showing by example every day. Most importantly, I learned to not to be afraid of using my voice and how essential it is to use it often. I was able to take all of Michelle’s lessons as a coworker and friend and translate my skills to healthcare IT. I do not think I could be where I am now without her being there to support me!
What advice have you received that changed your perspective or helped you achieve success?
The best advice I have received is to “go slow to go fast.” It may seem a bit backwards, but going slow at the beginning of learning and new experiences allows you to really learn and dig into “why” and “what” you need to be doing. Once you really get the processes and understanding down, you can go faster in your role and create and cultivate great things within your work. This also applies in your personal life too! Take a moment before rushing through things and think before you act so quickly.
Danni Dasko
Senior manager, WellSky Professional Services
What do you do here at WellSky? What continues to excite you about being a part of the WellSky team?
I manage a team of consultants in the CarePort business. Our consulting team is built of subject matter experts responsible for implementing our suite of solutions with new and existing clients. What excites me about being a part of the WellSky team is working with such an amazing group of teammates that consistently support and motivate each other to grow and succeed.
Is there a woman in your life – either personally or professionally – that has had a profound impact on you?
Yes, my mom. When I was a little girl, I was so fascinated by her sales career and always wanted to be just like her. When my mom’s company moved her remote, she set up a desk outside of her office with a phone and a note pad for me to be her “secretary.” I would pretend to answer the phone and mimic anything I had overheard my mom say on her work calls. I have continued to mimic my mom by following in her footsteps and creating a career path of my own. I have never stopped learning from her and go to her for both personal and professional advice daily. A few of my favorite things my mom has taught me is to work hard, don’t be afraid to ask for what you want and deserve, and never stop having fun.
What advice have you received that changed your perspective or helped you achieve success?
Never stop asking questions.
Holly Lyons
Senior client success executive
What do you do here at WellSky? What continues to excite you about being a part of the WellSky team?
My role is to be a trusted adviser to my strategic clients by fostering relationships and partnering with them to help grow their business and reach their goals through WellSky solutions. My focus is on client satisfaction, client retention, and revenue growth. I continue to be excited about WellSky because of our unique position in the market and our ability to provide our clients with the best tools to give the highest level of care to their patients across the care continuum. WellSky teammates have an opportunity to make a positive impact every day on the clients we serve and I’m excited and proud to be part of that.
Is there a woman in your life – either personally or professionally – that had a profound impact on you?
The person that has had the most profound impact on me both personally and professionally would be my mom. My mom and dad owned their own business when I was growing up and I watched her run the daily operations while raising three daughters and juggling all the things that come along with that. I think there are years she went without sleep! She never missed a school or sporting event and managed to be involved in all the things that were so important to me and my sisters while keeping their business running successfully. She instilled in me the significance of loyalty, commitment, work ethic and overall, always choosing to do what is right. She always had faith and family as her compass in all that she did, and I strive every day to follow in her footsteps and instill those same values in my kids.
What advice have you received that changed your perspective or helped you achieve success?
I have been fortunate to have had several amazing mentors over the years in my career and at some point, they all gave me the same advice on achieving success: No one cares more about your career and success than you do. You are in the driver’s seat of your journey, and you must be the advocate for yourself and what you want out of your role/career/life. Take advantage of opportunities that come your way, create opportunities that show your talents, and always strive to overachieve. You define your journey and that may ebb and flow through different seasons of your life (and that’s okay!) but always be true to yourself and what is important to you.
Katie Patterson
Senior implementation consultant
What do you do here at WellSky? What continues to excite you about being a part of the WellSky team?
I am an implementation consultant for the CarePort solutions and spend most of my time meeting clients that are at the beginning of their journey using our solutions. I educate clients on our solutions for the first time, and assist in making workflow decisions and configuring the solution to meet their individual needs. I get to hear their pain points and help them find a good starting point within our solutions to meet their needs. What excites me about being a part of the WellSky team is the watching the continuous growth of our solutions and the impact they have on our clients and patient outcomes. Our team and solutions are constantly changing and evolving to meet the client base where they are and expanding who can utilize our tools. There is never a dull moment with the ever-changing movement within healthcare, and WellSky solutions are always adapting with that movement.
Is there a woman in your life – either personally or professionally – that has had a profound impact on you?
I’m fortunate to have a solid foundation of strong and amazing women who have profoundly impacted my life. But if I had to select only one option, I would have to select the person who developed me into the person I am today. My mother is truly the person with the most impact on my life. She has taught me about work ethic, staying morally grounded, learning through every difficult challenge, how to be kind and have a giving heart, and most importantly navigating motherhood with my little girl. I credit my success both within my career and personal development to those values she instilled within me.
What advice have you received that changed your perspective or helped you achieve success?
An amazing woman leader once told me that “If you do not receive a ‘yes’ and you are passionate about it, find a way to get to ‘yes,’ because there is always a lesson to be learned with a no or negative response”. She constantly reminded me that at times I have “big ideas” and although I thrive in change and adapt easily not everyone can feel comfortable shifting to new methods or conceptualize ideas into reality. I think this piece of advice has been a staple in career growth as well as personal growth. It shifted my idea of the word ‘no.’ It doesn’t always mean that I should stop, but maybe it means learning to understand the other view or making a concession to my original thought. No is not finite or a door closing but a way of finding a new path. This lesson came when I needed to learn the value of accepting failure, that it can have just as much impact as a positive result because it makes you evaluate the result and improve upon yourself or your idea.
Christy Plommer
Staff software engineer, personal care deployments
What do you do here at WellSky? What continues to excite you about being a part of the WellSky team?
I am the deployments manager for WellSky Personal Care. I used to play ‘sweeper’ in soccer back in the day. Deploying changes to production feels a bit like that. Solutions, QA, developers, project managers, CSE, professional services all do their part to deliver great features and fixes to our clients. I get to see it come to fruition as it heads out the door, as safely and quickly as possible. What excites me about being part of WellSky is working with great teammates across departments, and empowering companies who do the hands-on work of caring for others.
Is there a woman in your life – either personally or professionally – that had a profound impact on you?
Yes. When I lived in Kamloops, BC, I worked for a web design company. My colleague September led a Women In IT program in celebration of International Women’s Day. This was a full day event for 9th grade girls from schools throughout the district, encouraging them to remain in the STEM subjects – and a lot of fun. There were speakers, prizes, small workshops, lunch with mentors.
September’s enthusiasm was infectious and had me coming back for years to help coordinate, mentor, and present.
What advice have you received that changed your perspective or helped you achieve success?
- You’re more impactful than you think you are.
- Breathe…O2 is the best