In sports, numbers and teamwork can play a big part in success on the field. In her role as Administrator of Sports, Orthopedics & Spine (SOS) in Jackson, Tennessee, Kay Jordan is finding those two elements equally as important to success in the clinical setting.
Originally from Memphis, Jordan began her career as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). When she found that numbers were not adding up to exactly what she wanted in a career, she decided to try corporate accounting for a large grocery chain in Memphis. When it closed she took her numbers game to the healthcare field and found the perfect combination that was right for her.
“I liked accounting but you just do not get a lot of personal interaction like you do in healthcare,” said Jordan, who earned her accounting degree from Memphis State. “I love helping others in need and interacting with people. Healthcare gives you plenty of opportunity to do that. It is an exciting business to be in and ever changing.”
Jordan found that management was an area she worked well in and when an opportunity in Jackson opened with West Tennessee Healthcare, Jordan made the move, which eventually led to her role at SOS. “While working for West Tennessee Healthcare helping them acquire practices, I met Dr. Keith Nord and helped to get his practice started which then led to me coming to work for his practice,” said Jordan. “Having an accounting degree can be a big help in managing practices since no matter how busy a practice is, if you are not managing your funds, you won’t survive.”
At SOS, Jordan enjoys a close relationship with the practice owners and enjoys a hands-on approach to management. “We have a fabulous group of physician owners who are an integral part of our management team which makes decision making easier than in a giant corporate structure,” said Jordan. “We have tremendous respect for one another, value one another’s opinions and work as a team.”
Jordan also places high regard for the people who work at the clinic. “Any person’s success is dependent upon the employees they work with. It is important to provide others with the teaching and training necessary to empower them to do their job at a higher level,” she said. “If you do that everything works. The whole is only as good as its parts and each one of those parts has value.”
With a staff that includes six physicians, 43 employees that cover multiple office sites and a physical therapy clinic, Jordan takes teamwork and she relies greatly upon the team in managing it all and keeping the focus on the patient. “Team is the word around here. You have to listen to those who are on the frontlines, to their ideas, suggestions and to their stressors,” said Jordan. “The best ideas usually come from our employees. I want them to feel like they have a voice in how we do things and how things are run. They are the ones who are keenly aware of what is going on with the most important people here, our patients. We want our patients to feel welcome, comfortable and have a positive experience while in our care.”
The SOS team is bracing to face the challenges the change in legislation will bring and are bracing for the drastic impact it will have on practices. “I can see a new healthcare delivery system emerging and not knowing exactly what that is going to be is a bit daunting,” said Jordan. “We have to stay fiscally sound in the midst of declining reimbursements and more regulations. There is an exhausting amount of legislation that has had some negative impacts, especially on smaller practices. The financial requirements associated with some of these changes are huge, such as an Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system that must meet stringent requirements. Trying to navigate all those and still take care of patients is a challenge.”
To meet that challenge, Jordan has looked to her team. “We have looked at why we do things and refined the overall process to ensure that everything has value,” she said. “We have more requirements to meet with fewer resources so wasting time is not an option. Technology has helped us do this by saving time and money. We are always looking for technological advances that will make our jobs easier and less complex.”
Jordan sees the clinic weathering the storm and being a part of the process of what healthcare will become. “Our physicians and I have gotten more involved with the legislative process so that legislators will be more aware of the medical side of business which we hope will help them when they vote on issues that impact our business,” she said.
One testament to the power of teamwork that Jordan is proud of, was when the clinic migrated to EMRs. “We expected a disaster,” she said. “We introduced it gradually but throughout the entire process we were able to make the transition, treat patients and never even had a blip on our financial radar. Our staff, doctors and clinical managers were engaged in the entire process and embraced it. It was quite an accomplishment.”
On her personal scorecard, Jordan lists her MBA in Medical Group Management from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, which is a very specialized degree to hold. She has also been accepted as a Fellow in the American College of Medical Practice Executives. Jordan has shared her wealth of knowledge in the classroom, teaching five semesters, three on campus and two online, at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Ky. “I taught financial and information management in medical practice and even developed the coursework for it,” she said. “It was a real challenge but one I enjoyed. I learned so much from the students, from the questions they ask and the way they approach things. It was so different from what you do every day.”
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