Real Threats, Real People, Real Impact

In my role, I have had the unique opportunity to work with multiple departments. In my experience so far, I have worked alongside the Operations teams in the rental division—shoutout to the offices I worked with in Southern California! I’ve also spent time working with the People team and got a view of what they do. And most recently, I have been with the IT team. It has been eye opening to see so many different jobs and how they all fit together. As I’ve bounced around, I have learned many things about each job and how they are done. My biggest takeaway has been this; every job is the most important job.

Ultimately everyone at Med One is working towards the same goal: make medical equipment available. Achieving that goal is a process that takes trust and teamwork and is a culmination of the hard work from everyone in the organization. One person, or even one department, can’t do it on their own. Everyone owns their part of the process and is responsible for that work. No one team is above another because every step in the process is equally important.

One thing that has stuck with me as I have gone through each of these roles is the reality of it all. Somewhere out there right now, a patient is recovering on a mattress that we delivered. A nurse is relying on equipment that we cleaned and calibrated.

A hospital working with equipment we helped finance. What we do every day leads to helping people that are in need; and every role at Med One has a part to play in that.

Working as a driver, I had the opportunity to go into the hospitals and personally bring the equipment to the rooms of patients. The relief and gratitude from nurses showed me the importance of what we do. They know the equipment will help their patient. That moment is the culmination of work from many different people along the way. From equipment purchasers, to salespeople, biomeds, operations managers, dispatchers, drivers, and everyone in between, each person along the way fulfills their role in order to get to the end point—the equipment helping a patient. The process is slightly different on the leasing side of things, but the end goal is the same, we provide medical facilities a way to better serve their patients.

As I worked with the People team, I saw a different, but no less important part of the process. They work every day to help things run smoothly in our organization and overcome any obstacles that we face. From onboarding, to training, to benefits and wellness, the people team work to establish a good culture and make sure everyone at Med One is taken care of. They make sure the individuals throughout Med One have what they need in order to succeed at their role.

Moving into IT has been a humbling introduction into the real-world issues that this team and our company faces. Of course, the help desk is always there to assist employees with any technical issues that come up, which is super important in its own right, but the IT team does a lot more in addition to that. Anytime a new employee joins the company, the IT team provides them the equipment they need and helps with the setup of that equipment, which includes creating accounts and logging in to the many different systems we use. Whenever any new software is used in the company, the IT team assists in the setup and rollout, and with all kinds of other side projects that come up. On top of all of that, they are the gatekeepers of our data.

We’re all aware of the many security threats around us and the constant reminders can get old quickly if we don’t see the need. At times in my career, I’ve thought it may be a little bit dramatic or overkill to go along with some of the security protocols we have to follow (needing to use a verification word or multifactor authentication) which adds another step in the login process and takes extra time. When you’re going about your day, trying to do your job it can get annoying having to verify over and over or to feel like you have to be on alert for a random phishing test. During my time in IT, I have seen that those things are necessary. The threats that we are facing every day are real. The bad actors that try to get in our system are relentless and their methods are always improving. To combat this, we have to be relentless and alert in our defense so that we can all stay safe.

No one person or team is more important than another and we all have to be locked in to achieve success.

In all honesty, I don’t know a ton about IT, cyber security, or all of the threats we are facing; I still have a lot to learn and a long way to go. But I do know this: the security protocols our IT team puts in place are protecting against more than just minor inconveniences and temporary issues. They are protecting trust. The trust that our partners have in us and our ability to provide what they need, the trust in our reputation and the Med One Way, and ultimately protecting our ability to help real people that need real help.

In my time at Med One I have seen firsthand the real impact this company has. And the job that creates that positive impact is your job. Every role at Med One is the most important one in the company. Whether we are talking about keeping our data safe or assisting in the process of providing medical help for a patient, the thought is the same. You and your job are absolutely essential, and so are the people all around you. No one person or team is more important than another and we all have to be locked in to achieve success.

When you take an extra minute to double check that an email is actually from the person it says it’s from or when you report an email that doesn’t feel right, every action you take, no matter how routine, you are really making a difference. No matter what your role is, remember that you are making a positive impact in the lives of real people every day.