Stefanie Ruiz joined Nirvana Healthcare Management Services (NHMS) in 2003; her nineteen-year tenure certainly qualifies her as a veteran employee. Her base of operations is 523 Park Avenue (Orange). Her original position was Supervisor, Front Desk, which entailed substantial responsibility, including inventory management and purchasing; staff training on data entry software; electronic medical records maintenance; patient insurance claims status verification; and prior authorization documentation for multiple medical procedures.
In 2019 Ms. Ruiz was promoted to Regional Manager, responsible for all business operations of a multi-disciplinary medical practice with seven locations and a staff of 150. Stefanie has developed cost centers for four of these locations; she oversees new-hire recruitment, training, and evaluation; liaises with clinicians, vendors, and building maintenance; modifies staff training in compliance with new or revised state and federal regulations; developed the non-CCM Department along with Castor. In collaboration with clinicians and administrators, she conducts team-building activities. Professional certifications include HIPAA Compliance, Health Compliance, AAPC Healthcon, and OSHA.
Ms. Ruiz appreciates the robust communications among colleagues and departments. “We are a family-oriented organization that values, promotes, and benefits from teamwork.” Stefanie firmly believes that NHMS distinguished itself during the Covid-19 crisis. She remembers: “Dr. Salerno gathered enough PPE for his staff so that we could safely serve not only our patients but also others who asked for assistance by going out into the community every day from March 2020 to September 2021.”
“Dr. Salerno stockpiled Covid swabs so that our clinicians could safely conduct on-site testing. He voiced his concerns regarding the lack of unified strategies and publicized his suggestions for improving the system via the news media. Newark officials were so impressed with our program that the city’s health agencies partnered with us to conduct city-wide Covid testing. I and other administrators were on the front lines supporting the daily efforts of our physicians and nurses. I am very proud of Dr. Salerno’s activism and how all of us came together—a family helping other families! We did the work that needed to be done. It was one of our proudest moments!”
