Arlene Aguilar

I've had a lot of mentors that I've looked up to. One of them was Jerry Whitaker, who was our CEO at the North Texas Area Community Health Center, the nonprofit organization where I worked. She was someone I absolutely admired and looked up to during my time there. While I didn't share specific advice she gave me during this call, she was an important role model in my career, particularly during my seven years working in the federally qualified health center sector serving low-income families.

Learn as much as you can - that's one of my professional values. Don't cut corners or try to backdoor things. It doesn't always seem like the long way is the best route because you want to see something more immediate. We all have responsibilities, we all have a life to live, and we've got to make our ends meet, but when you put in the work and you take the time to learn, and you even experiment with something that you think you might like, you know, if you get an opportunity to volunteer on your spare time, see if it's really for you. Once you find something that you love, you'll never work a day in your life. And I live that. There are days that exhaust me, but I still come to work and show up every day because I do love what I do. When you can find something that you feel is rewarding, not just because you're getting a paycheck, but rewarding because it's something that you believe in, then it will show in your work. Hard work does pay off.

To be honest, we're working with a broken system in workers' compensation. The system is broken and it does need some fixing. The biggest challenge is reaching so many people with limited resources and not being able to change the circumstances or the guidelines and the laws behind it that are actually going to help people. People do get help, but sometimes things are delayed. Sometimes we're getting things wrong, and it's not necessarily something that someone's doing wrong, but it's the way that the guidelines are written. Medical authorizations have to be followed in accordance with ODG guidelines, and if something isn't updated in ODG, then we're going to miss the queue when it comes to authorizing care or even picking up compensable body parts or conditions that, according to ODG, are not work-related but in the context of the claim actually were. As a self-insured employer, being able to make those decisions based on medical reports when we have support that something is compensable, but ODG is telling us it isn't - being able to make that override or do what's right on a case-by-case basis is something we can do. But for employees to understand that, and for those who can't get the things they need covered, finding that median and sticking with it is also another challenge. We live in a system where sometimes employees think they can add other stuff that they know isn't work-related, so finding that median is difficult. Being the voice of pushback is also difficult and challenging - how do you do that with compassion when you've got somebody who's still in pain and they still need medical treatment and they can't get it covered under their insurance? How do you deliver bad news like that and still help them in that situation? If it's not just our insurance that won't cover something and their personal insurance won't either, what other resources are available to them that will help reduce their costs out of pocket? Those are the big challenges.

One of my most important professional values is to learn as much as you can. I believe in continuous learning and growth throughout my career. I also value hard work and taking the time to do things right rather than cutting corners. Finding work that is rewarding not just because of a paycheck, but because it's something you believe in, is incredibly important to me. I want my knowledge and skills to be used to their full potential, and I want to make a difference and be a contributor. I also have a strong sense of fiduciary responsibility - in my current role, I'm responsible not only to our injured workers and employees but also to our taxpayers, because their dollars are paid directly into these claims. Compassion is another key value, especially when dealing with people who are in pain and going through difficult times, whether they're recovering from injuries or dealing with mental health challenges from traumatic experiences.