March 1 was Employee Appreciation Day! We are celebrating our team members all month long by sharing their stories. Meet Denise Hansbrough, Director of Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) for New Story, who is based in the Baltimore area and loves the New Story mission.
What is your favorite thing about working here?
I love the culture. It’s one big team. Everyone gets along and helps each other to be successful on projects and goals. Another favorite is our mission to help students with different needs be successful in their lives.
What keeps you coming to work each day?
There is never a dull movement working in the RCM department. Different challenges make it exciting, for example, when we implement new acquisitions into our billing system, they all have a different way they bill, so finding ways to make it work in our system makes it rewarding. I also enjoy fixing claims issues and finding better processes so employees can work smarter not harder. Most importantly, I love my team and the people I work with directly.
How do you make an impact on student’s lives?
If we didn’t have billing and collections the organization would not see the return on their revenue which would cause employees not to get paid or not to have the funds to staff and improve the schools. The students wouldn’t receive the services and education they need.
Last year, we rolled out our BetterTogether guiding principles. Which one of our values resonates with you most personally and why? (Integrity, Accountable, Collaborative, Inclusive, Supportive)
I like them all, but I would pick supportive and collaborative. I feel that I am there for my employees and support them when needed. Collaborative resonates with me because we all work together so everyone can be successful.
What does a “day in the life” look like for your role?
It’s very busy some days and my hair gets very messy from constantly changing the hat I wear but I love it. I manage the financial operations related to billing and collecting revenue for clinical and education services. I also oversee the credentialing department and cash posting. I find ways to minimize claim denials, reducing the days in accounts receivables and increase collections. I help with implementing new acquisitions into our billing systems and train the new administrative staff in our education billing system known as NetSuite. I am also putting out fires and developing processes and procedures, so issues don’t develop into an inferno. I support my staff, my boss, and other New Story employees that work in our schools.
Can you talk a little bit about your career trajectory and what led you to where you are now?
I have been in the medical field for more than 40 years. I started working in a pharmacy when I was 13 years old, and I knew I belonged in the medical field. I wanted to go to college but didn’t have the funds. I went to the Medix School in Towson where I received my certification in Medical Assisting and Phlebotomy. I was hired by the urgent care facility with whom I did my internship. I then moved on and was an Office Manager for 20 years for a multi-specialty practice and ambulatory surgical center. I worked on getting my medical coding certification and then moved on and helped develop a centralized physician billing office for a hospital and was the manager of all the departments until they were sold.
I knew I needed to get my bachelor’s degree if I wanted to continue and excel in my career in the revenue cycle field. While working full-time I finished my degree. The day I graduated I received a call from a recruiter who said, “I have the perfect job for you! Would you please do an interview?” I refused at first, but she kept pushing. That job turned out to be for New Story. Jonathan Bicknell hired me for the mangers position of RCM which I am grateful for. Since I have been working here, I earned my master’s degree and was promoted to Director of RCM and the rest is history.
What has been your proudest moment or accomplishment in your role?
My proudest moment was when everything clicked on how all the billing works for Applied Behavioral Services and our education billing. Paul Volosov told me it would take a year to understand it all and there will still be things that I will keep learning and he wasn’t kidding. My proudest moments are when we implemented NetSuite for our education billing and finally have it to where it works for our billing and collections needs and developing an RCM process and manual which is now over 200 pages. I joke with Ed when a new process is developed, or an acquisition comes on board, I guess the manual will now be 275 pages.
What is something about you that not many people know?
I have a collection of 40 or more Farmall International antique tractors and one old combine which I help to restore. Our oldest tractor is 100 years old. What does someone do with that many tractors? We donate them to charity events, agricultural shows, weddings, and funerals for display. We also take them to schools so children can learn about the tractors and agriculture. They can climb on them and parents love taking photos of their children on the tractors. We drive them in parades and occasionally I will drive one to our local Walmart or restaurant.
