Ashley Graf

If you are doing nothing but taking care of a patient every single day, then you are ultimately doing your job the right way. Patient care always leads to success in my way of the world and the things that I do, and if you have one or two success stories a week with patients, that's the ultimate win. My core values center on my team and making sure that I am the best leader for them, and that we function as a team as a whole. Accountability is huge, as well as making sure that I get in there and I will not ask anything of them that I will not do myself. I show up in a way that I think I've never had a manager, a regional manager, show up for me. Getting in the field, to the ground, being frontline with my team, being involved every single day and being available to them, as well as assisting with anything that I can assist with, whether it be helping my service reps do deliveries to patients, setting up a non-invasive ventilator or invasive ventilator in the hospital, or just simply going out and doing what we refer to as a care check on a patient to see how they're doing. That's my number one goal with my team. Teamwork in general is huge for us. I'm nothing without the team that I have behind me.

The greatest piece of advice that I have received within my current career is, if you are doing nothing but taking care of a patient every single day, then you are ultimately doing your job the right way. Patient care always leads to success in my way of the world and the things that I do, and if you have one or two success stories a week with patients, that's the ultimate win.

Don't give up. If it is something that you want, every single day, keep fighting for it. I work in a very male-dominated industry, and there are very few women in the role that I am currently in. I am one of 16 regional managers within my company, and out of those 16 regional managers, 4 of us are women. So, there are not many. So, if you think you can do it, don't stop hustling, keep doing it, you'll get there.

The challenges right now are definitely the challenges that are happening in the world, the changes with insurance, Medicare and Medicaid, and the reductions to the Medicare and Medicaid plans. That heavily impacts a lot of our patient base, unfortunately, and it makes a difference on the care that they are able to receive, and that is all insurance-based. It is not anything that we do. Our hands are pretty much tied by what insurance allows, so that makes it difficult. It feels like we just can't do everything that we should be doing for a patient, because insurances like UnitedHealthcare have come in and said, we're going to put stipulations around certain things that these patients can have or do, or the requirements that are needed to qualify. With that comes the struggle of having to work with our providers, the referrals that send us those patients, and having to help them understand, okay, this is what Medicare requires from you to qualify the patient for the equipment that you have deemed necessary for them, so we're having to be a resource to our doctors and make sure that they understand the rules and regulations that are put in place by insurance, and how we overcome some of those objections with them to get their patients, and ultimately our patients, the care that they need.

My core values center on four things. One, my team, and making sure that I am the best leader for them, and that we function as a team as a whole. Accountability is essential, as well as making sure that I get in there and I will not ask anything of them that I will not do myself. I show up in a way that I think I've never had a manager, a regional manager, show up for me. Getting in the field, to the ground, being frontline with my team, being involved every single day and being available to them, as well as assisting with anything that I can assist with, whether it be helping my service reps do deliveries to patients, setting up a non-invasive ventilator or invasive ventilator in the hospital, or just simply going out and doing what we refer to as a care check on a patient to see how they're doing. That's my number one goal with my team. Teamwork in general is huge for us. I'm nothing without the team that I have behind me. In my personal life, my kids definitely come first. I have a 10-year-old and a 7-year-old, two boys, that keep me very busy. I am a sports mom through and through, so if you don't find me at work, you will probably find me at a football game or a baseball game. I thoroughly enjoy reading, and I love spending time with my friends and my family.