Coach of the Quarter – Jessica DelCastillo

Jessica DelCastillo is an excellent Accounting Manager who leads and coaches her team to enhance their skills. She values team members who are interested in progressing and helps them reach their goals. Jessica ensures quality by seeking input from her team and other areas before making decisions. Jessica motivates her team to generate innovative ideas to improve processes. She encourages open communication through monthly team and 1-on-1 meetings to discuss developmental goals and progression requirements. Jessica is collaborative and assists other areas with tasks they do not understand. She provides them with the tools and information needed to accomplish the task. Jessica considers everyone's point of view before making decisions and asks the right questions to get to the source of any issue. Her ability to promote her team to be the best they can be makes her an exceptional coach. We congratulate her on being named our Coach of the Quarter.

Team of the Quarter – Part B Voluntary Refunds Team

Over the past year, the Part B Voluntary Refund team has demonstrated unwavering dedication and a strong commitment to delivering exceptional performance. From January to April 2023, the team diligently screened more than 5,000 iFlow Document Control Numbers (DCNs), while achieving a perfect score on their external measures and maintaining an impressive average individual Quality Control (QC) score of 99.32%. The team's commitment to the mission, vision, and values of Palmetto GBA is evident in their daily work. Members of this team genuinely care for and support each other, and their efforts are truly deserving of congratulations. Well done, Part B Voluntary Refunds Team!

Team Members: Brigitte Baxley, Courtney Bonner, Leanne Brown, Bonnie Castillo, Ashley Chestnut, Sandy Collins, Heather DeRita, Faith Dodgens, Georganna Enlow, Courtney Faison, Amanda Gonzalez, Kaity Hughes, Susan Jones, Nina Lester, Lisa McKenzie, Nikki Nicholson-Lloyd, Ellen Pittman, Susan Singletary, Tia Smith, and Diane Tomlin

Process Improvement of the Quarter – SUMIFs and Xlookup Invoice WIP & Forecast File

Before the process improvement, accountants had to manually enter invoice amounts and Project Status Report (PSR) amounts onto multiple tabs in their invoice work in progress (WIP) and forecast files. This took an average of 3.08 hours per accountant, depending on the complexity of the invoice WIP and forecast file. The manual data entry also led to potential errors, which could cause the accounting supervisor or Accountant IV peer reviewer to reject the invoice. This resulted in additional time spent by the accountant to correct the errors and resubmit the invoice package for review.

After the process improvement, the monthly invoice WIP and forecast files were improved by using SUMIFs and/or XLookup formulas to extract data from Excel versions of the PSR and/or invoice. This reduced the time spent by the accountant on invoice preparation and the number of times the invoice had to be reviewed. The use of Excel formatted PSR and/or invoices and the SUMIFs and XLookup formulas decreased the accountant's average time spent on an invoice WIP and forecast file to 1.75 hours. The annual combined time saved using these formulas was 491 hours. The quality of the files also improved with fewer errors. As a result, the SUMIFs and Xlookup Invoice WIP & Forecast File improvement were awarded the Process Improvement of the Quarter for improving quality and efficiency.

Team Members: William Clinebelle, Denise Dearing, Oliver Ganyson, and Towanda Prior

Associate of the Month (January) - Martha Roberts

Martha Roberts, a Lead Business Analyst, takes great pride in her work. She assists providers daily, responding to requests through emails, voice calls, and messages. Martha takes the time to listen to their questions and provides thoughtful answers. Her recent efforts have earned her high praise from a provider who said, "Martha has been so helpful and responsive to my questions and requests. I feel like she truly understands what I am asking her." Martha's secret to success is putting herself in other people's shoes. She takes the time to learn the process so that she can help in the most efficient way possible. Her attention to detail has helped her team perform quality checks and make necessary edits on projects to meet and exceed quality standards. Martha's hard work and dedication to improving her department, team, and herself are truly admirable. Congratulations, Martha!

Associate of the Month (February) - Felicia Givens

Felicia Givens, a Contract Administration Specialist, was instrumental to the process of implementation of subcontracts after the award of the new Jurisdiction M (JM) contract from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). She dedicated herself to collaborating with both internal and external stakeholders to ensure that all contractual requirements were met, products were aligned with their intended purpose, and parties fully understood the terms and conditions. Felicia thoroughly reviewed all agreements for completeness and sought out any missing information from stakeholders. She implemented checks to ensure that the new agreements adhered to the highest quality standards and reflected any changes in corporate directives for exercising option periods and providing funding. Felicia maintained constant communication with her customers, taking notes and implementing changes even after the products had been finalized. She also initiated the process for amendments or modifications. Congratulations to Felicia for being awarded our Associate of the Month.

Associate of the Month (March) - Ashley Chestnut

Ashley Chestnut, an Accounting Technician III is a valuable member of the Voluntary Refund team. Ashley prioritizes customer service and never compromises quality over quantity. She is dedicated to assisting providers with any questions they may have and ensuring that their claims are adjusted appropriately. Ashley's professionalism and confidence in her work reflect her years of experience in the department. We are proud to announce that she has been awarded our Associate of the Month. Congratulations, Ashley!