Teresa Alvarado: Practice Manager, Keller, TX-
Our employees are all patient care champions, but some go the extra mile and we want to give them the recognition they deserve. They embody the PPOA values known as S.I.T.E. – Safety, Integrity, Teamwork, Empathy – which informs our service to patients and the community through high quality health care.
PPOA’s Practice Manager of the Keller clinic, Teresa Alvarado has gone that extra mile. This pandemic has been tough on everyone but instead of letting it get the best of her, Teresa has gone above and beyond to make sure everything continues to run smoothly. She represents all of the values we have here at PPOA.
Teresa was born in McAllen, Texas surrounded by beautiful palm trees in the Rio Grande Valley. Ironically she grew up in Muscatine, Iowa surrounded by cold snow and dead trees, but still loved that Midwest charm. She studied Health Information Management at Black Hawk College in Moline, Illinois. Eventually she made her way back to Texas and has been there for about 5 years now.
Teresa has worked in the medical field for 25 years. She started her journey as a Medical Assistant for pediatrics for about 9 years and then continued as a Medical Assistant for another 3 years in family practices. She then expanded her healthcare knowledge into the insurance field. She was a medical insurance manger for 3 years and then went into coding and billing for 4 years.
Finally Teresa made her way to the PPOA family in August 2016. She originally applied to work as a Medical Coding specialist but was hired as a Practice Manager for the Keller location instead. As a Practice Manager Teresa has many duties. Some of her duties include assuring patients are correctly scheduled, reaching out to patients regarding procedures, clinical visit requirements, issues or concerns, assisting with the check-in/out process, addressing any concerns or tasks providers or medical assistants may have, and she even helps triage patients.
She has been an asset to the Keller team, “Teresa works very closely with Dr. Heil and the staff at Keller and goes out of her way to make sure all patients have a great experience. The past few weeks as the clinics have been short staffed Teresa has stepped in and assisted in patient triage while also managing the clinic and ASC schedule very efficiently. There isn’t a task that Teresa won’t take on. During the COVID19 crisis Teresa remained diligent and focused on the success of the Keller clinic,” says Rhonda Boysen, Regional Director Clinic Operations.
Teresa holds herself at a high standard for patient care, “It is an honor to have someone trust me with their health, it is a privilege and I always keep that in mind. Providing care with true empathy is hard to find, I make it my mission to make each and every patient feel that they are a person, not just a dollar sign walking into our office,” Teresa says.
PPOA applauds Teresa for her hard work and thanks her for all that she does. She is truly a Patient Care Champion.
