Her Story
About Ganell
I've been in healthcare for about 5 years, starting in 2020 when the pandemic really push-started that for me. Being in college, my mom's a nurse, so it's always kind of been within our family. I really jumped straight into it as soon as I could and I've been in it ever since. Today, the main thing that I do is I work with providers to help get claims paid for Medicare Marketplace and Medicaid Marketplace. I work with providers closely to make sure that our members across the state get access to health insurance and healthcare services, whether that's dentistry, orthopedics, or you name it. When providers have any issues with providing that care, they kind of come to me and I work with them. I went to the University of Central Arkansas where I was a scholar with their Honors College, Schedler's Honors College, and I studied biology to start because I wanted to be a doctor. However, I remember a meeting with one of our senators when I was in a group called Presidential Leadership Fellows, and she started talking to me about politics and how the laws really influence healthcare and the access that you get. Following that, I also did a service project to help increase food insecurity on my campus. From there, I kind of re-managed my whole life, to be honest. I remember I changed my thesis senior year. I was working in the pharmacy at that time, and I wrote my thesis on a different business model for creating access to medications and how insurance companies can work with pharmacies and patients, creating apps and to monitor medication adherence and blood pressure and blood sugar to make sure that the patient isn't unnecessarily getting sicker than they have to. If we continue to stay on our medication, then we have less hospital visits and we don't have to incur more costs. That makes insurance happy, that makes people happy, and that makes doctors happy. So working with them to push different initiatives has been a major part of what I want to do and what I continue to do. I have just been accepted to law school and I am wanting to study healthcare law to kind of increase that further and go further with that, so I'm excited.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Ganell
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say my mom, my family, they pushed me to continue to be the greatest person that I can be, and I try to be there to support them as well. My mom's a nurse, so healthcare has always kind of been within our family, and that really influenced my path. They've been there supporting me through everything, from my time in college to my work in healthcare, and now as I prepare to go to law school.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received was if you don't succeed today, don't let it affect your tomorrow. This advice has been really important to me, especially in healthcare where things can be challenging. It reminds me to keep moving forward and not let setbacks hold me back from what I want to achieve.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say always trust yourself and don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Sometimes, we are trailblazers, and this might seem scary, but you have to be willing to step out into uncharted waters. It's important to have confidence in yourself and be willing to take those risks that can lead to new opportunities and growth in your career.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I would say some of the biggest challenges in the healthcare industry is that we all want things to be so divided. You know, patients only thinking about patients, doctors only thinking about themselves, and insurance companies only thinking about themselves, but really, we should be trying to work all together. So I think one of our biggest challenges is to meet in that collaborative space and work towards improvement. If we can get everyone working together, patients staying on their medication, insurance companies supporting that, and doctors providing the care, then we can reduce unnecessary costs and improve outcomes for everyone.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I would say family, perseverance, and compassion are the values most important to me. Family has always been central to who I am, with my mom being a nurse and healthcare being part of our family tradition. Perseverance is critical because you have to keep pushing forward even when things are difficult. And compassion is essential because I feel like you have to care about people in this profession, and if you don't, it's kind of hard to be in it. These values guide everything I do, both personally and professionally.
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