BBGH appoints Lisa Hillyer as new Human Resources Manager
Lisa Hillyer, HR Manager
Human Resources all-consuming task for current two person department at BBGH
Box Butte General Hospital (BBGH) has been looking for the best person available to fill its open Human Resources (HR) Manager position. Who better than someone who already knows the department well?
Lisa Hillyer has been the HR Assistant at BBGH for years, having on boarded at BBGH in 2002. With 13 years under her belt, she was the best qualified individual, according to Chief Operating Officer Lori Mazanec. “When Lisa applied for the position, after it had been open for nearly two years, I was pleasantly surprised,” Ms. Mazanec said. “I immediately knew I would extend an interview to her. With Lisa’s 13 years of service with BBGH and her vast background and knowledge in HR, she was the right fit to move into the manager position. I am very excited to be able to work with Lisa in her new role and assist in grooming her leadership skills to fit the management level. Lisa is a great advocate for the hospital and I am excited about the direction the HR department is headed.”
Ms. Hillyer said she applied for the position, “because I love working at BBGH and love working with the people here.” Her qualifications for the job have long been evident, as highlighted by her being intricately involved in the electronic data base improvements that have been implemented over the past few years to streamline HR record keeping and services. She and her husband, Ben, have a daughter, Lynette, who is attending Laramie Community College. Ben is a retired BNSF Car Shop General Foreman.
Surrounded by just a few of the secured boxes of employee records they have to keep on file are Human Resources Clerk Stefani Baribeau at left, and Human Resources Manager Lisa Hillyer. The two manage to keep HR best practices over a BBGH hospital staff nearing 300 employees.
Box Butte General Hospital currently has just two people in its Human Resource (HR) Department: Manager Hillyer and HR Clerk Stefani Baribeau, who will have been in her position for a year in October. Another person will be hired to fill the opening that occurred with Ms. Hillyer’s advancement. The pair manages the Human Resources for a hospital staff of 270 employees. If every position now open were filled, that count would rise to as many as 300 individuals. That’s a far cry from the approximately 120 employees the hospital had when Ms. Hillyer first came on board in 2002.
BBGH has long promoted that it’s The Greatest Place to Receive Care, to Work, to Practice Medicine. “That’s why we focus on hiring individuals who know that everyone who works at BBGH, from cooks and maintenance employees to nurses and health care providers, are key components for providing the best care we can give to our patients,” Ms. Hillyer said. “And to do that, we look for individuals who show initiative and are committed to taking ownership of their responsibilities, including stepping in to make things right for patients, their families, and fellow employees when warranted. Everyone at BBGH is empowered to do that.”
BBGH currently has 27 positions open in all kinds of disciplines, including dietary staff; environmental services; nursing; etc. It’s very easy to apply for any one of those positions. People interested in working at BBGH can check the hospital’s current jobs listing by going here to our Careers listing.
So what does an HR department do? Human resource management (HRM, or simply HR) is designed to maximize employee performance of an employer's strategic objectives. HR departments typically undertake a number of activities, including employee recruitment, training and development, performance appraisal, and rewarding (e.g., managing pay and benefit systems). HR is also concerned with balancing of organizational practices with requirements arising from governmental laws. For the HR Department at BBGH, that means they have to comply with laws coming from state and federal agencies, especially those pertaining to the health care industry.
“We send out all the new hire letters, conduct the pre-employment process (background checks, drug screens, surgicals, etc.); hold an open enrollment every year to go over available benefits (health insurance, pension plans, etc.) and determine if the employee is eligible for them,” said Ms. Hillyer. “We really enjoy doing all the employee recognition programs we have at BBGH, including the Employee of the Month’s Winners who Inspire a New Direction (WIND) program; Employee of Year; Departmental Traveling Trophy; the annual Recognition Dinner (which also honors those who received new credentialing, degrees, etc.); Hospital Week; and the Employee Picnic each summer. We also do other things as needed.” She said the employee recognition programs at BBGH are designed to show employees how much the hospital values them as individuals. “We really want them to know how much we care about them,” Ms. Hillyer said. “That goes for all our employees, both day and night time shifts.”
The HR Department keeps track of all employee evaluations, The Joint Commission tracking, and assists in tracking licenses and certifications (e.g. medical providers, nurses, radiologists, etc.). It also has to keep up with all the changes that occur each year via state and federal regulations. “We really have to keep on top of form changes, staying abreast of law changes (specifically HR law) and making sure we interpret those changes correctly,” Ms. Baribeau said. “That can be hard at times. Health care is changing all the time. It’s really been changing since the Affordable Care Act was passed.”
Asked what she enjoys about her job, Ms. Hillyer said, “Something I really enjoy is conflict resolution. I have to be completely impartial when conflicts may occur, say between a manager and an employee or between one employee and another. I just like helping employees understand what the other person is trying to say, trying to be there for employees, management and BBGH as a whole. It makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something when I’m able to help resolve conflicts.” Ms. Baribeau said the part she most enjoys about her duties is meeting all the new employees. “I get to know employees prior to them being hired,” she said. “It’s interesting getting to know them before they come on board.”
Box Butte General Hospital is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
