Coach of the Quarter – Satish Palakurthi

Satish Palakurthi, a Senior Developer, is a highly regarded member of the eCommerce Webapps team as a mentor and leader. When discussing projects, he listens intently and provides valuable guidance and assistance when needed. Satish partners with team members and other departments to help identify and implement a resolution to issues impacting our apps and tools. His daily collaboration and direction help focus the team on the project and company goals. Satish is generous with his time and recognition of teammates, giving kudos for a job well done. The Webapps Team and eCommerce management value his contributions and dedication to helping the team meet all challenges. Congratulations, Satish, on being named our Division 34 Coach of the Quarter for Q3.

Team of the Quarter - Systems Security Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Implementation Team

The Systems Security Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Implementation Team is responsible for ensuring that Palmetto GBA associates perform the necessary steps to obtain a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ID within the mandated federal guidelines. This ID is required for access to CMS applications.

All team members were required to undergo extensive background investigations and participate in a three-day onsite, federally contracted training on the digital fingerprinting equipment for the Enterprise User Administration (EUA) and Personal Identity Verification (PIV) processes. This was a completely new and complex project, but it earns team members the title "Contracting CMS PIV fingerprinting operators."

Since starting the process in June 2022, the team has guided 39 associates through the nine-step (including fingerprinting) and 45-day process to obtain CMS access as contractually and federally mandated.

Team Members: LaFarrah Brantley, Lauri Ferguson, Mindy Rawls, and Jason Sumpter

Process Improvement of the Quarter - Automate Competitive Bidding Implementation Contract (CBIC) Daily Environment Check

CBIC performs a daily environment health check to ensure the applications are available and running smoothly. Applications that are down are identified, reported, and resolved quickly to maximize the efficiency and productivity of teams. However, the verification process was entirely manual. The CBIC Web Systems team streamlined the daily environment health checks by automating the verifications using scripts. Additional efficiencies were gained by documenting on GitHub, which provides immediate notification to the support team of any issues identified.

The team reduced a process that took more than an hour each day to less than 20 minutes, earning them Process Improvement of the Quarter.

Team Members: Honey Comer, Kandy Harrell, Stephanie Harvey, Ratna Meda, Ahamed Saklaen, Felix Scherbin, Yared Tibebu, Mohsin Chhipa. Jenelle Burkhardt, and Jamie Potteiger

Associate of the Quarter - Jonathan James

Jon James, a Developer III, plays a critical role in the Call Center Technology Group (CCTG) and helps Palmetto GBA provide excellent customer service to Interactive Voice Response Unit (IVR) users. He often starts work very early before the rest of the team to ensure all systems are functioning as expected. This includes making daily test calls to 11 IVR units in our Columbia and Augusta locations. Jon is always the go-to person for knowledge about systems and reporting, and he plays a critical role in training new associates. He also has a good working relationship with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), CGS Administrators, LLC, and other third-party liabilities. Congratulations, Jon, on being named our Division 34 Associate of the Quarter for Q3.