Happenings

Announcing our 2023 Spring CX Award Winners

The Customer Experience (CX) recognition program launched in October 2019 by recognizing associates across our organization who are "ALL About Service." We would like to congratulate and recognize our Spring 2023 Award Winners for their outstanding achievements. These associates were selected to represent their respective divisions because they embody the characteristics of our CX Program. They consistently exceed performance metrics, go above and beyond to ensure customer issues are resolved, create a loyal "fan base" of customers, turn negative situations into positive ones, and receive positive customer feedback.


Financial Operations: Zachary Dedonis

During his 11-year career with the company, Zachary Dedonis has consistently provided excellent customer service to his colleagues, management, senior leadership, auditors, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). He has been promoted to Accountant IV and is responsible for submitting various financial reports for the Jurisdiction M Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) Part A line of business. He is always available to help others and management receives positive feedback about his efforts beyond his core responsibilities. These attributes demonstrate  Zachary's commitment to customer service and Palmetto GBA's success. Congratulations on your outstanding customer service, Zachary!


RRB Operations: Christina Harper

Christina Harper is a Public Affairs Specialist who has been working with Palmetto GBA for more than 30 years. Her role includes handling congressional, CMS, and Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) matters, conducting second-level screenings, following up on customer service surveys, and managing complex inquiries from beneficiaries. Christina's vast knowledge and experience are invaluable to the RRB Specialty Medicare Administrative Contract (SMAC) Customer Service department. She has built strong relationships with both internal and external customers and is a valuable resource for staff across the RRB operation. Christina has received numerous compliments from beneficiaries and the RRB staff for her excellent assistance with their escalated inquiries. Congratulations, Christina, on your outstanding customer service!


JM A/B MAC Operations: Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson, a Medical Reviewer III, consistently exceeds departmental performance standards and is always available to assist her team. She goes out of her way to ensure timely communication with providers from the Data Strategy team. Customers often praise Janet and recognize her hard work, dedication, and resourcefulness as being key to Palmetto GBA's success. It is the commitment of employees like Janet that ensures excellent service to both internal and external customers. Congratulations, Janet.


Systems & Support: Santosh Kadukuntla

Santosh Kadukuntla is an accomplished Senior Developer and a respected leader of the Front-End System (FES) team. His technical expertise and experience with Agile have made a positive impact on the team. Santosh's strong analytical skills enable him to explain complex problems and solutions to team members at all levels of experience, as well as to management and customers in a business-friendly manner. He has played a key role in the Enhanced Trading Partner Online Experience (ETPOE) project, which involves upgrading the Customer Service and Support Center (CSSC) websites. Santosh's leadership on this project has provided clear direction to the team and resulted in quick solutions for our customers. He volunteers for research tasks to help keep the project moving forward and provides valuable advice to his team to resolve technical problems. Santosh has completed architectural diagrams and has gained momentum within the team for coding efforts. He interacts with internal and external customers, answering questions and finding resolutions to any issues that arise. His consistent approach to finding issues and improving processes has a positive impact on the customer experience. We appreciate Santosh's commitment to providing the best possible customer service each day. Congratulations on your achievements!


JJ A/B MAC Operations: Shemeka White

Shemeka White, a Customer Service Supervisor, plays a crucial role in ensuring the success of the newly implemented New Hire Onboarding process. She ensures that new hires feel welcomed, understands their job expectations, and have access to adequate resources to excel in their positions. Additionally, Shemeka assists Customer Service Advocates (CSA) with any inquiries they may have and professionally manages escalations. Her knowledge, dedication, and commitment to the department's success exemplify great leadership. Shemeka is always willing to take on any task with a cheerful outlook and sees it through to completion. Her friendly demeanor, ability to empathize with both internal and external customers, along with excellent customer service skills, makes her deserving of recognition. Congratulations, Shemeka!


Support Operations: Valerie Williams

Valerie Williams is an asset to the National Supplier Clearinghouse (NSC) as a Provider Enrollment Analyst. Under the new NPWest contract, she continues to excel in her role by exceeding both internal and external metrics. She is always willing to help her teammates and the provider community by volunteering for additional duties. 

Over the years, Valerie has built valuable relationships with Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) providers. She works closely with many large-chain suppliers to ensure that their enrollment needs are met, and their concerns are addressed. She also guides them to ensure that NPWest's workload is not adversely affected by their actions. Valerie's expertise and knowledge are highly valued by the contacts at these suppliers.

Since November and the transition to the new contract, Valerie has received several "kudos" from providers she assisted on customer service lines. Although she is not responsible for processing their applications, she takes ownership of their issues and works diligently to solve their problems. Valerie provides clear direction and information about their applications or the enrollment process, improving the customer service experience. Congratulations, Valerie, on your dedication to helping others.


Support Services: Rebecca Wagner

Rebecca Wagner is an Appeals Specialist who regularly volunteers for various projects and currently manages multiple types of appeals. She is often requested to assist with issues referred by other departments or escalations, as well as completing adjustments for cases referred by Contractor Medical Director (CMD). To ensure complex appeals cases are completed accurately, Rebecca communicates with both the appellant and concerned party to obtain additional information. She always follows up to ensure completion and communicates the results.

Rebecca is committed to upholding quality standards and improving communication with customers. She proactively identifies areas in our letter-writing system that need enhancements and provides written descriptions and screenshots to facilitate understanding. Additionally, she rearranges her schedule to ensure appeals are completed in a timely and accurate manner. She is always willing to assist her colleagues and participate in workgroups, sharing her knowledge and ideas for improvement.

Rebecca’s extensive appeals experience and dedication to meeting customer expectations make her an asset to the Part B Appeals team and our customers. Congratulations, Rebecca!