Quick thinking and immediate action on the part of Team Schein Medical are credited with saving the life of an infant in El Salvador.
By Laura Thill
Behind every good sales rep stands a team: a fine-tuned, well-coordinated group of support reps and service reps who step in whenever necessary to ensure that promises are met, and important products are shipped and received. It’s an important role – one that, on occasion, has been known to save a life.
Down to the wire
Last summer, heart surgery was imminent for Dana, a baby girl living in El Salvador. Gift of Life Los Angeles – a non-profit organization dedicated to saving the lives of children with congenital heart disease around the world – was intent on making that happen. But without a monitoring device and heart medication that was no longer available in El Salvador, the organization could not follow through. That’s when they reached out to Henry Schein Medical.
On August 27, 2014, Melissa Deitz, a Minnesota-based special account service rep, received an email from Brenda Small, assistant to the executive director of Gift of Life. “Brenda first emailed Alan Feldman, a Henry Schein field rep, and received his out-of-office reply,” Deitz recalls. “ Alan would not be returning until September 2nd.” As it turned out, Deitz was Feldman’s backup. “I was covering his territory in his absence,” she explains. “Alan and I have been working together since he joined Henry Schein in 2004.” Small had called to inquire whether Henry Schein carried the monitoring device Gift of Life required, and if so, how much it cost, she notes. “We exchanged multiple emails that day to ensure we could help health happen for those in need.”
Rob Raylman, executive director of Gift of Life, was scheduled to fly from New York to El Salvador four days later, says Deitz, and he needed the monitoring device before he left the country. “Understanding the gravity of the situation and the impact we could make, Brenda asked that I order the product and have it delivered the following day,” she says. “With help from our reliable and trusted vendors, the product would be shipped Friday for Saturday delivery to ensure help was on the way when needed.
“Brenda also helped ensure that the proper medication would be delivered on Saturday, August 30,” Deitz continues. “Because this medication was already stocked in our Indianapolis facility, I was able to work with my colleague, Wendy Klein, who could help process this order onsite. We knew this medication would require a physician license to be compliant, and with Rob and Brenda’s help, we obtained the necessary documentation.”
Klein is a Nevada-based medical sales support team rep. “Our team assists medical field sales representatives in placing orders, tracking orders and troubleshooting situations on accounts and orders,” she says. She, along with other customer care representatives, assist field sales representatives. “We are their back-up and assist them with behind-the-scenes work by calling vendors, looking into the status of orders, tracking down orders and [overseeing] various other responsibilities to ensure reps and their customers are taken care of and issues are resolved,” she says.
Klein was somewhat new to the job when she received the call from Deitz. “I have worked in medical sales support for approximately 18 months,” she says. “I was immediately drawn to the challenge of learning medical products, working with Henry Schein reps and understanding the unique company culture and how Team Schein Members interact with customers. I enjoy assisting customers and working with fellow Team Schein Members.
“I am Melissa Deitz’ backup,” she continues. “This particular evening, Melissa was scheduled to be off. She notified me of this order and asked that I please keep an eye on it to make sure it cleared the necessary channels in order to ship.” As it turned out, Deitz stayed on top of the situation in spite of her day off. “Even though it was her day off, Melissa and I kept in contact on this order. I provided her with updates throughout the day to ensure the order was progressing to the warehouse for shipment.” Because the order was being shipped to a new location, it needed to go through the credit department. “It did so without any problems. Then we needed to contact verifications and provide them with a brief synopsis of the situation to ensure all procedures were followed.” As a result of this teamwork, both the monitoring device and the medication were delivered that Saturday by noon.
A sense of purpose
Gift of Life is the real hero in this story, according to Deitz and Klein. “What they do for children in El Salvador is truly amazing and inspiring,” says Deitz. Having played a role in saving Baby Dana’s life has been a source of motivation for them. “No matter how frustrating the situation might become, at the end of the day, all the work we do together as a team can result in a baby, a child or any person being saved by our company’s efforts to make every order ship and resolve any situation,” says Klein.
“I like to think that every day we have a positive impact on the medical industry across the world, as well as our neighbors next door,” says Deitz. “Our goal as a company is to help health happen, and we pride ourselves on making sure that gets done.
“Learning about Dana gives us a sense of purpose in our daily lives,” she continues. “I’ve been in this field for nearly 15 years, and this was the first time I’ve heard that my efforts helped save a life. It may be another 15 years before I hear another story of a life saved, but that’s okay. I will continue to go that extra mile, because whether I hear about it or not, I’m in this industry to do my part saving lives. Together with Team Schein, we hopefully can continue to make that happen.”