How Shepherd Eye Center has maintained its culture of family through nearly 50 years.
By: JULIE GOUGH-NELSON, MS, KEVIN N. MILLER, MD,
Ophthalmic Professional May 1, 2016Vol 5, Issue May 2016Page(s): 12-14, 16, 18
Staffing
Surviving and thriving in Las Vegas
How Shepherd Eye Center has maintained its culture of family through nearly 50 years.
BY JULIE GOUGH-NELSON, MSPHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN N. MILLER, MD, SHEPHERD EYE CENTER
In nearly 50 years of business in Las Vegas, NV, Shepherd Eye Center has been through virtually every positive and negative experience associated with running an ophthalmology practice of its size. In times of growth, the acquisition of like-minded practices and the addition of much-needed subspecialties has allowed for practice expansion.
Yet, during economic downturns, Shepherd Eye Center has weathered the storms without ever laying off a single staff member, thanks to the flexibility and dedication of seasoned employees. (See “Facing the downturn together,” page 18.)
“In the midst of an ever-changing medical and financial landscape, Shepherd Eye Center has created a culture of family among the staff, making it a place where new employees want to be and current employees want to stay,” says Steven O. Hansen, MD, FACS, president of Shepherd Eye Center. “From baby showers to company picnics to fundraising efforts among staff for a sick coworker, these interactions show the depth of the relationship of our staff.”
John R. Shepherd, MD, founded the practice in 1968. Since then, Shepherd Eye Center has grown from a single doctor to a practice with 13 ophthalmologists, approximately 160 staff members and four locations. (See “The Shepherd Eye Center Timeline,” page 16.)
Steven Hansen, MD, (right) views the eyes of 10-year veteran Melanie Mendoza, COA, from behind a laser.
John R. Shepherd, MD, founded Shepherd Eye Center in 1968.
Acquisition transitions
Credit much of the growth of the practice to successful acquisitions. With each of these transactions, Shepherd Eye Center maintained its values and family culture, even when it acquired Ophthalmic Associates, a sizable local practice, in 2009.
“Merging with OA was definitely a challenge,” says Christina Kennelley, current practice administrator and once a scribe to Dr. Shepherd. “We had only ever brought on one or two doctors at a time. This time we had four doctors and over 30 employees to assimilate. Overall, the transition was a success thanks to a lot of transparency about the pending changes.”
In the time between the announcement of the acquisition and the actual acquisition, staff from Shepherd Eye Center would visit the merging practice and vice versa. “When we visited the merging practice, we would use lunch, paired with personal introductions and Q & A sessions as a nice icebreaker between the groups,” says Ms. Kennelley. “When staff visited Shepherd Eye Center they would shadow an employee in order to learn the pace they could expect.” A large majority of the employees chose to be a part of merger with Shepherd Eye Center (and each retained his/her date of hire related to seniority).
In each of Shepherd Eye Center’s acquisitions, Ms. Kennelley advised the other practice owners and physicians to be upfront and honest with their employees from day one. “There is often uncertainty among the staff about how the merger will affect their employment,” she says. “It is crucial to assure them from the beginning if you plan on retaining them through the transition in order to lessen anxiety.”
Danielle Daniel, Kim Heikkinen, and Yanet Russell (above) represent 10, 30, and 20 years with Shepherd Eye Center, respectively.
Attracting and retaining doctors and staff
While the hiring and retaining of doctors and staff is largely the same across the board, there are some differences between doctors, existing staff members, and merging staff members. “When it comes to hiring doctors, it’s evident that ophthalmology and medicine are their passion and career,” Ms. Kennelley says. “This is not always true of all employees.”
Jasmine Peterson, COA (standing) looks over patient information with Cerina Bauer, COA.
Emily Fant, MD, examines a patient with the help of technician Eric Valdivia.
The doctors of Shepherd Eye Center participate in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge during a September 2014 employee picnic.
With the help of consultants and headhunters, Ms. Kennelley identifies the trends in the industry related to physicians’ expected salary and benefit requirements, as well as the other immeasurable qualities of life they seek out from that perfect job (potential for job growth, recreational and cultural offerings, proximity to family or friends, programming for children, etc.)
Overall, Shepherd Eye Center looks for the qualities that any employer would seek: a great work ethic, commitment to compassionate patient care, high ethics, and an overall fit with the company culture. While it’s definitely a bonus if a prospective employee comes from an ophthalmic background, a lack of prior experience in this specialty does not necessarily disqualify a candidate. And, being hired for a specific job description does not necessarily mean that that’s where the employee will remain long term.
The Shepherd Eye Center Timeline
1968 John R. Shepherd, MD, founds Shepherd Eye Center in Las Vegas.
1992 As part of his exit strategy, Dr. Shepherd brings Steven O. Hansen, MD, on board to carry on the vision and mission of the practice.
1994 Shepherd Eye Center opens an office in the Summerlin community of Las Vegas.
1995 Steven N. Montgomery, MD, joins the practice.
1998 Dan L. Eisenberg, MD, joins the practice as the glaucoma specialist.
2001 Robert B. Taylor III, MD, joins, bringing his refractive specialty to the practice.
2003 Shepherd adds a third office in the Green Valley neighborhood of Henderson.
2005 Francis G. Noll, MD, joins as a medical ophthalmologist.
2006 Ravi K. Reddy, MD, oculoplastic specialist, and Joseph Shalev, MD (now retired), merge Eye Institute of Nevada with Shepherd Eye Center.
2008 Judy Craythorn, MD (now retired), merges her practice, Desert Medical Eye Center, with Shepherd Eye Center.
2009 The practice acquires a local practice, Ophthalmic Associates, adding four physicians, including another glaucoma specialist and a pediatric ophthalmologist.
2012 Carolyn A. Cruvant, MD (medical ophthalmologist), joins from her own solo practice.
2014 Raymond B. Theodosis, MD, and Brian D. Alder, MD (corneal specialist), join the practice within a month of the fourth office location grand opening.
2016 Shepherd Eye Center now includes 13 doctors, approximately 160 staff members and four locations.
“When I started with Shepherd Eye Center I began as a tech, but then I worked to get both my COA and COT certifications,” says Kim Heikkinen, a 30-year Shepherd Eye Center employee. Now, Ms. Heikkinen is the information technology director.
Shepherd Eye Center is committed to making opportunities available for its staff, including cross-training into different departments and promoting up the ranks, which appeals to many employees. The practice even pays for employees to take certification tests and provides a bonus and wage increase when they pass the tests. Employees’ career paths vary — those who started out at the front desk or checkout and have moved up into accounting and human resources positions or have evolved into techs, scribes, scrub techs, and RNs.
Weathering the downturn together
Much of the growth of Shepherd Eye Center occurred from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s. Unfortunately, the rapid growth that brought about the addition of many new doctors, staff, and office spaces slowed in 2007. As the U.S. economy entered crisis mode, many individuals were left without employment or health insurance. While patients still used Medicaid and Medicare, practices across the United States found a decreasing number of appointments booked by privately-insured patients and those seeking elective procedures.
As patient volume continued to shrink, Shepherd Eye Center leadership had a tough choice to make: either lay off employees, or ask for flexibility so that everyone could keep his or her job. The ultimate decision was to retain all staff but reduce the workweek from five to four days. The practice maintained benefits on all employees, but even with staff working fewer hours, overhead was high. As employees voluntarily left, positions remained unfilled.
As the economy began to rebound, administration guaranteed a return to full, five-day workweeks. For the practice leadership and staff, the sacrifice was well worth it.
“It was definitely a crunch for families to have mom or dad, or both, losing hours at work,” said Yanet Russell, COT, Shepherd Eye Center 20-year veteran and the only registered ophthalmic ultrasound biometrist in Nevada. “But it was a whole lot better than the alternative, which was being out of a job altogether.”
A family that stays together
But really it’s the family-like culture that keeps people here long term. Even employees acquired through acquisitions quickly become part of the Shepherd Eye Center family. “There is definitely a focus on family here,” says Danielle Daniel, tech and facilitator, who joined the practice from the merger with Ophthalmic Associates. “You not only have your family at home, but you have the family you make here at Shepherd Eye Center. Employees really care about each other. That was evident when I made the transition, and it made it so much easier to acclimate.”
Christina Kennelley, practice administrator, is a 27-year veteran of Shepherd Eye Center.
Steven Montgomery, MD, joined Shepherd Eye Center in 1995.
“There is no magic formula for how we’ve been able to achieve our success,” adds Ms. Kennelley. “We are lucky to have had a leader like Dr. Shepherd that set the tone for the practice when it began. By keeping his vision of always putting the patient first, and making sure we hire doctors and staff that believe that as well, we’ve been able to recruit and retain really excellent employees. We are ready to embrace the challenges and opportunities that the next 50 years may bring.” OP
Julie Gough-Nelson is the marketing director at Shepherd Eye Center in Las Vegas, NV. She received her MS in Health Communication from Boston University. In her spare time she enjoys sharing her health-care perspective on the blog, HealthComU.
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