When I first started there I was an analyst.
Things really didn't change.
My team stayed intact.
What does that mean for me?
I've been working,
so there was a lot of uncertainty for me.
I was brought under the tent
and told that we were having this partnership with Optum.
And so it caused a lot of anxiety for me
trying to figure out, what does that mean?
I was very nervous on
what's my day in and day out really going to feel like?
What's the culture really going to feel like?
What would it be like working for a for profit entity?
At Catholic Healthcare West and Dignity
we spent so much time focused on the mission.
We had the sisters highly involved in decision making,
and the board, prior to the rebrand to Dignity Health.
And there was just a huge focus on patient and community.
Mission alignment is critical.
It's even been built into the customer formation process now
as a formal checkpoint,
where we sit down and analyze each other's cultures and behaviors
and ensure that we can talk about any similarities and differences
to ensure we have a good working relationship in the future.
Everybody heard the same message.
They were hearing it both from
a cohesive team between Boulder executives
and Optum executives.
The welcome website went up
and that had a whole lot of information in it.
Gradually, as we got further into it,
the concerns were eased.
And so you felt like you truly were a partner
rather than just, this was happening to you.
It's going to open up a lot more opportunity
for advancement opportunities,
as well as just opportunities to try out new types of roles
that you wouldn't typically see in these smaller organizations.
My life a year ago is totally different than it is now,
and it's definitely due to the opportunity that was given to us.
I want a better health system in the future.
I do think that the work I do here can help meaningfully accelerate
some of the changes that are needed
to make this a better health system for everyone.