Please tell us about your role and responsibilities.
I am the Senior Contract and Sourcing Lead supporting the Tower Health Supply Chain Department in the Purchased Services & Goods for the Maintenance, Repair, and Operations category for all Facilities Management Departments under Tower Health. These facilities include Reading Hospital, Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences, Drexel University College of Medicine at Tower Health, Pottstown Hospital, Phoenixville Hospital, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, TowerDIRECT, Tower Health at Home, multiple Tower Health Urgent Care sites, and multiple Tower Health Medical Group sites. I manage a Book of Business with an estimated 400 reoccurring annual contracts. This number does not include the annual contract requests that are submitted for one-time purchases of services and goods and capital purchases.
My responsibilities include but are not limited to performing analytical tasks in support of securing savings and streamlining processes; providing data driven recommendations and best industry practices that support internal business decisions related to costs, risk management, contract terms and conditions, vendor selection, SOWs, and RFPs; strategic sourcing and system-wide contract standardization with an emphasis on co-terminating contracts; keeping an open business mind to solve complex problems as there are many solutions, ideas, and compromises that can be used to achieve a resolution; managing the entire life cycle of contract administration from the solicitation of bids and proposals to vendor negotiation and contract execution; work closely with Value Analysis, Risk Management, Legal and IT Departments when a contract requires their input, approval or in preparation of an RFP; monitor and evaluate vendor performance and continually engage with vendors to build upon a professional business relationship.
How did you get started in supply chain?
I began my career in supply chain while serving in the United States Marine Corps as a Contract Specialist. While being a Marine was very challenging with multiple moves up and down the East Coast and two overseas middle east deployments during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, professionally it was very rewarding. I knew that I most certainly found a career that I could enjoy until I retired.
What is a recent project that really stretched you and your team?
Recently, the Supply Chain Department changed their Contract Management System. The prior system used was based off multiple management systems. Although the previous system was effective, it was time to utilize a more efficient contract management tool that integrated the multiple systems we were using. The IT Department worked with the Supply Chain Department to revamp a system already in use by IT that could be revamped into a Contract Management tool with very little increase in cost. This innovative thinking not only brought about significant savings, it brought the Supply Chain team together to collectively share ideas and process improvements for the new system. The IT Department and the consultants used the information provided to build upon the existing system that was technically not meant to be used as a contract management tool. Within a few months, the team successfully created a contract management tool tailored to the needs of our Supply Chain Department.
From this experience, I learned that you don’t have to be the smartest person in the room. Your ideas for process improvement and efficiency are just as important as those of the individual next to you. We all had a common goal and worked together to share our ideas and create conversations around what would work best. It was like a scientific experiment where all our ideas were utilized in some way or another to create the contract management tool we are using today.
What about now? Is there a current or upcoming initiative you are excited to be working on?
I was recently assigned to be the sole contract administrator for the entire book of business for all Facilities Management contracts. The significance of mentioning this is at one time, this book of business was handled by four contract administrators. Around the time Tower Health sold a few hospitals and Urgent Care facilities, the contract administrators went from four to two. During a recent realignment of Supply Chain personnel, Supply Chain Leadership selected me to manage all Facilities Management contracts by myself. While challenging, this initiative led me to reevaluate my work process and to find ways to be more efficient. This is exciting because I’ve been empowered and entrusted to effectively manage my own contract portfolio. In time, I will self-evaluate my progress and create my own case study to show what worked, what didn’t work, and what I could have done better.
Is there a source of motivation for the work you do in the healthcare supply chain?
I was raised in the projects less than one mile away from Reading Hospital. Three of my sisters were born in Reading Hospital. My dad and I would walk from the projects to Reading Hospital to visit my mom after the birth of my first sister and thereafter with each sister, we would walk to visit my mom and the newborn sister. I vividly remember how nice the nurses were and that was my first introduction to doing what you love and the sense of gratitude of serving your community.
At the time, I didn’t know what doing what you love or what a sense of gratitude meant, but I knew I was treated in a way that made me feel good. Little did I know I would one day have the opportunity to work at Reading Hospital doing something that I love and feeling the sense of gratitude for serving my community. There is something about providing a service behind the scenes that impacts the lives of thousands of patients and their family members that motivates me in my role today. I was recently promoted to a Senior Contract and Sourcing Lead. The promotion made me feel like my contributions matter. Serving my community and making sure that I do not fail them is what motivates me in my role today.