Every year, Boston Orthotics & Prosthetics gives Employee Owner Awards to employees who best exemplify the ideals of being "Employee Owners."
In determining the winners, Boston O&P asks employees which of their teammates they would nominate to receive an award, and asks the previous year's winners to review the submissions and make their recommendations for who they think should receive the awards.
This year's winners of the Employees Owner Awards are Sheryl Williams, Jason Leoncello, Ayla Munoz, and Kaitlin Rivest.
There are two additional awards we also want to recognize:
- The Rookie of the Year Award, which goes to a new employee who best exemplifies the ideals of being an employee owner. This year's winner is Deshonne Rusinko from our Pittsburgh team.
- The Unsung Hero Award, which goes to the employee who goes about their work every day exemplifying employee owner characteristics without a lot of recognition. This year's Unsung Hero is from the Production Team, Jose Martinez.
Congratulations to all the winners and nominees!
Below is a write-up on why each of these individuals who won Employee Owner Awards were nominated and selected.
2018 Employee Owner Award Winners
Sheryl Williams, Senior Billing Specialist
Sheryl has supported Boston O&P for 18 years. Sheryl started with our company as an Administrative Assistant/Office Manager in Burlington and then took on the role of managing the Massachusetts Administrative Assistants.
With Sheryl’s vast knowledge of both office procedures and billing, she was a perfect fit for our billing team as Senior Billing Specialist. She has gone above and beyond daily since she has joined the company by contributing ideas, training employees, and always trying to think how we can improve our processes.
Sheryl is committed to following and improving the standard billing process. She is willing to take the time to answer any billing or administrative questions, and show employees the correct procedures, which makes her a go-to person.
Sheryl is always trying to improve processes and be more efficient. She is always on board with trying something new or taking part in a meeting to discuss the success of the clinic and the company as a whole.
Sheryl is an integral part of our team and we are very lucky to have her dedication and knowledge!
Jason Leoncello, Spinal Team Lead, Manufacturing
Jason has been with Boston O&P for 13 years. Jay’s energy is infectious and he approaches his work with open ears and actively listens to all ideas his team offers. He knows the key to success is by doing the right thing and supporting his team. He is not afraid to do the dirty work and takes an active role in managing the spinal production line.
Jay has tried different methods to work on the production flow and the manpower to keep that flow moving. He is respected for his technical talent, strong focus work ethic and a general easygoing, mild manner. He continues to grow in the company in a positive way and enjoys learning new philosophies with Lean.
Jay has a bright future as an exemplary performer with Boston O&P!
Ayla Munoz, Clinic Lead, Maryland
Ayla has been with Boston O&P for a little over two years. Ayla has shown an unflappable resolve to improve the system currently in place between the Maryland offices and their main referral source HSC. She has developed organizational systems that assist in scheduling and improving the patient care experience.
As the sole Admin in her area, she does an excellent job of maintaining relationships with Shawn Koehler (other practitioners as well), referral sources, her management team and she is not afraid to reach out when support is needed.
Ayla is ensuring the success of the Maryland offices and Boston O&P as a whole. She is steadfast in monitoring patient's progress, paperwork and working closely with her billing specialist in order to follow standard procedures. Ayla truly practices the Lean principles every day. Considering how many offsite clinics there are, she really helps alleviate a lot of the stress and makes the clinics run smoothly and efficiently.
Kaitlin Rivest, CPO at Boston Children’s
Kaitlin is approaching four years of helping patients. She began her career here at Boston O&P as a Resident and in her short time has made her mark on this company.
She is always willing to lend a hand to help her colleagues with patients and actively keeps the camaraderie within the office by building strong relationships with all members of the Boston Children’s Hospital team.
She is committed to process improvement. Kaitlin has taken an active role in the A3 Scoliosis team by keeping task lists and holding people accountable. She wrote the order form guidelines and secured a patient model for upcoming courses. She has volunteered to teach the Boston Brace 3D® course and has provided the demonstration and voice over for the scanning videos.
She also plays an active part in the training and recruitment of our Residents. She always volunteers, with a smile, her time to allow shadowing and is always willing to provide positive feedback and constructive criticism when needed. So excited to see what she does next!