Lilema Stewart, Patient Service Coordinator

Lilema Stewart, a patient service coordinator III at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, recently graduated from the Revenue Cycle Management program.

My name is Lilema Stewart (you can call me Lil) and I'm a patient service coordinator III in the Echocardiology unit at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. I register patients, check insurances, provide customer service, answer the phone—a little bit of everything.

I’ve been at Hopkins for 21 years. I was looking for a full-time job with benefits. My mom worked at Hopkins and suggested I look here (she’s since retired after 33 years as a supervisor in nutrition). I started here as a housekeeper in 1997 to get my foot in the door. I moved to a support associate and secretary before becoming a patient service coordinator in 1999.

I check my email every day and I read the Inside Hopkins email every day. There was an announcement about a career development program called Revenue Cycle Management Academy. It seemed interesting because I do the front end, and I always wanted to know about the back end. So, I applied for the cohort and I was accepted.

There were 12 of us from different areas, such as linen, registration, etc. I learned about different insurances, how the health system operates, how they get the revenue to zero dollars (money recouped). That's the main focus.

The program was two days a week, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, for three months. My manager allowed me to attend.

I completed the program in June. We had a graduation ceremony in June and we called ourselves the Mighty 12!

It was interesting to me. I learned so much. Now, I have the knowledge.

What surprised me the most is after I've done my job and the patients’ bills get submitted for payment, I can see how the billing part works and how the health system collects the money from Medicare and Medicaid for their services. That’s the revenue cycle.

This is something I’d really like to do. But there has to be a job opening in the finance department, you have to apply and be accepted.

In the meantime, I'm going to finish college. I'm pursuing my A.A. in general studies at Baltimore City Community College. I pay for my books and fees and the hospital pays for the class itself, but you have to get a C or better.

There are so many programs we have here at Hopkins. People don’t know about them to take advantage of these opportunities. I am also a mentor to a fourth-grade class at Tench Tilghman.

I think the revenue management cycle program is an awesome program, especially if you want to move up the ladder. I always tell people it's not where you start, it’s where you finish.

--As told to Janet Anderson

Lilema Stewart, Patient Service Coordinator, 5.0 out of 5 based on 2 ratings