Tiffany Sanchez, Director of Operations for Hopscotch Primary Care, knows—happy providers lead to happy patients. And that’s good for everyone.
“My ultimate goal is to make sure our market teams are well-equipped to provide quality care, ensure care continuity, and ongoing accessibility of care to our patients,” she recently explained, adding, “I’m the organization’s privacy officer, so I also handle compliance, as well as our real estate matters. I’m responsible for programming and design for our clinics.”
“My domain is very broad,” she admitted, noting the long list of items on her purview. But, she both enjoys and thrives in this vital role in the Hopscotch family. Tiffany keeps her eyes on the prize. She understands her overarching mission is, as she puts it, to “help to make sure our clinics are all well-oiled machines, so we can provide quality care to our patients.”
She’s been with the team since the very beginning and has seen the Hopscotch mission transform from inspired vision to reality.
Today, it’s because of passionate, mission-aligned people like Tiffany that Hopscotch has been able to fulfill and expand its vision of providing top-quality care to underserved communities and populations.
Not one to rest on her laurels, Tiffany’s continues to seek out new opportunities for collaboration and expansion for Hopscotch. Her goal is to attract and keep top-notch healthcare providers by offering incentives that showcase how much they’re valued.
That’s why she spearheaded Hopscotch’s partnership with the National Health Service Corps (NHSC).
We recently caught up with Tiffany to learn more about this collaboration and its unique benefits and opportunities for clinicians and healthcare providers who want to feel valued while providing care to communities in need.
She was happy to share more about why she pursued this innovative initiative and how it has positively impacted the Hopscotch mission so far.
Learn what Tiffany had to share and how you can benefit from this partnership if you’re a healthcare provider looking to make a real difference in the world while feeling valued and supported.
Tiffany Sanchez on Hopscotch’s partnership with the National Health Services Corps and how it benefits Hopscotch clinicians
Hopscotch:
We’re so excited to connect with you today, Tiffany, and to learn more about Hopscotch’s collaboration with the NHSC! We want to start by learning more about why you were interested in pursuing this partnership between Hopscotch and NHSC. Tell us more about why and how this partnership came about.
Tiffany:
As Hopscotch continues to expand its presence in rural and underserved communities (both in North Carolina and in future geographies), working with the National Health Service Corps to get our clinics approved as NHSC sites marks a huge milestone for us.
It’s something I’ve been working on for close to a year now. The achievement underscores our ongoing commitment to our patients, providing quality care to those in areas with limited access.
Our mission aligned so perfectly with NHSC’s mission, because they focus on supporting healthcare providers who are dedicated to serving rural and underserved communities. I believe working to make sure all our clinics are NHSC-approved reinforces our dedication to this cause.
Ensuring there are enough quality providers to work in these communities represents a natural and significant progression for Hopscotch Primary Care.
As of now, I’m proud to say that of our eleven clinics in North Carolina at present, seven of them are currently NHSC-approved. We also have plans to continue the process to obtain approval for our remaining sites during the next application cycle. This effort is a huge testament to our effort to improve healthcare access in the area.
For a site to be eligible for NHSC accreditation, it must be designated as a Health Professional Shortage Area, or HPSA. This designation is given to specific areas, groups, and healthcare facilities that are identified by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as having shortages of health professionals.
These designations are critical for identifying areas in true need of healthcare services, such as those that we provide to our patients. They are also important for directing resources and personnel to those sites to help make sure we’re able to continue to provide quality care for those who need it most.
Hopscotch:
Can you share more about the NHSC’s mission and how it aligns with Hopscotch’s values?
Tiffany:
Hopscotch’s overall mission is to provide quality care from quality providers to patients who are in critically underserved areas. The NHSC is dedicated to finding providers who are committed to serving patients within those areas with limited access to those types of resources.
One of the most significant benefits of the opportunity for us, specifically, is that it allows primary care clinicians to have their student loans repaid, in exchange for committing to serve in these rural communities with limited access to care. Given the impact that this can make for providers, it helps us attract top talent.
It can be difficult to not only find providers, but also providers who are aligned with our mission and, to take it a step further, who are sometimes willing to move to these areas to provide care. Our collaboration with the NHSC helps us address this.
Hopscotch:
Why do you think healthcare job seekers are wise to pursue career opportunities with Hopscotch Primary Care?
Tiffany:
The main thing is that our mission means we’re looking to make a real impact; we’re not just here to provide healthcare, we’re to provide quality healthcare and to make a difference within communities. Also, we’re not going anywhere. We’re here for the long run.
We have a full quality of care model, where we’re not only concerned with caring for issues as they come up but also mitigating issues from arising to begin with and caring for our patients for years to come.
For providers who are looking to join a very mission-oriented organization within communities that need it, Hopscotch is definitely the place for them.
We’re picky with the providers we bring on and the locations we select. We’re selective because we need to be in order to provide the best care in the right areas for our patients. Growing too fast, you can lose sight of that, so we’re intentional with our growth as an organization. When you add in the NHSC, it’s a huge win for everyone.
Hopscotch:
Why are loan repayment programs for healthcare professionals important, especially now?
Tiffany:
Traditionally, where you have underserved communities, you also have underpaid providers. So it can be hard to drive talent to those areas, especially if they’re not from there.
Being able to incentivize providers by offering scholarships and loan reimbursement options drives them to these areas and also creates a more long-term commitment.
Our initial commitment for NHSC providers is two years, with the additional option to extend past that once that period is reached. Professionally, it’s both long-term and valuable from both an economic and fulfillment perspective.
We’re invested in the quality of life of our providers. Because we’re not just interested in filling positions—we’re interested in attracting top-quality talent, who are here for the long run and ready to ensure our patients get the best quality care.
Hopscotch:
How can Hopscotch talent pursue offerings through the NHSC?
Tiffany:
As of now, providers can visit our website and, under our locations that are NHSC approved, they’ll find an easily accessible link that will direct them to the NHSC site. There, they can learn more about the program, including eligibility criteria.
There are also WorkForce Connect recruitment options through the NHSC site, where our talent acquisition team loads site-specific opportunities. That way, it’s easier for providers to see which are our NHSC-approved sites and if it’s an area in which they’d be interested in working. There are many avenues providers can use to learn more and discover open opportunities with Hopscotch.
They can also reach out directly to our talent acquisition team. We’re very hands-on, and we’re always happy to pick up the phone and chat with someone who’d like more information.
(You can contact Tiffany’s team with provider recruitment questions at: kelsie.beaulier@hellohopscotch.com)
Hopscotch:
How has partnership with the NHSC helped support Hopscotch talent so far?
Tiffany:
The accomplishment has been a major value add to our current provider recruitment and retention strategy and overall reputation as we continue to expand into new rural markets.
When you start to get into these small communities, everyone knows one another and word spreads quickly.
When not only providers but patients start to see these partnerships building and our relationships forming it really allows us to solidify our name within these communities. That not only enables provider recruitment but also helps more and more patients understand our model. And that brings everything full circle.
Hopscotch:
How does partnership with the NHSC benefit Hopscotch as an organization?
Tiffany:
The most critical component is mission alignment.
Both Hopscotch and the NHSC are heading toward the same objective, which is being able to provide quality care to patients and to bring in providers who are thoroughly dedicated to that goal.
Ultimately, the NHSC partnership enhances our ability to recruit top-tier clinicians. That’s the foundation of providing quality care to our patients. Our providers are the ones who help us deliver quality care to communities that need it most.
Hopscotch:
Why are organizations like NHSC important for healthcare workers to have access to?
Tiffany:
I believe that providers who get into this profession are innately committed to providing quality care. Sometimes, they are not otherwise able to consider serving these rural communities because of the lower pay or the fact that there aren’t facilities in place there.
Having NHSC provide these opportunities enables organizations like ours to create these missions that allow us to bring facilities to these areas that need them the most.
For instance, we recently opened our new Hopscotch clinic in Hudson, NC. The care offerings in that area are very sparse and, if it wasn’t for services like ours, the patients there might go without this type of care.
Hopscotch:
Does partnership with NHSC benefit Hopscotch’s recruitment efforts and help Hopscotch stand out to healthcare job seekers? In what ways?
Tiffany:
Yes. You often think of recruitment as the acquisition of talent, but really, our main goal is the retention of talent.
The NHSC shares our interest in finding providers who are committed and willing to commit to serving for a certain period as a minimum. I think it allows us to meet our retention goals and to retain not only quality talent but also talent who are with us for the long run.
Hopscotch:
Our last question is a bit of a long one, so bear with us.
Kari Morris from Hopscotch Primary Care in Boone recently shared that she was initially concerned that Hopscotch might be too good to be true, based on her past experiences in healthcare. She was pleasantly surprised to find that Hopscotch’s promises became her lived experience with the company. How does facilitating partnerships like those with the NHSC showcase and deepen Hopscotch’s mission to offer a better healthcare experience and quality of life to both patients and providers?
Tiffany:
It gave me goosebumps that Kari said that. I love that.
As somebody who comes from the healthcare world, specifically fee-for-service, and has joined with Hopscotch’s value-based care approach, I can say that Hopscotch is not just interested in talking the talk. Anybody can bring on great providers and patients, but not everybody can keep them. And that’s our goal.
When we say we care about our patients, that means we put forth every effort to ensure our care is not only quality but continuous. We want to be accessible to our patients, 24/7. Whether it’s our providers, themselves, somebody supporting the provider, or somebody we’re referring to, we do our very best to practice what we preach. And we’ll continue to do that.
We’re invested in maintaining the culture within Hopscotch, and ensuring that our providers are happy and feel valued. Because that trickles down and translates to the care they provide to our patients.
It was fantastic to connect with Tiffany and learn about her extensive efforts to enhance the Hopscotch experience for providers and patients, alike. With folks like Tiffany on our team, we feel confident about our Hopscotch culture and ability to attract clinicians who believe in our mission and want to be a part of it.
With student loan reimbursement programs from the NHSC and many other employee benefits and incentives—working with Hopscotch is a great way for healthcare job seekers to add value to communities in need while feeling valued for everything they do.
Interested in career opportunities with Hopscotch Primary Care? We’d love to connect! Check out our current career opportunities and apply today! You can also connect directly with our recruitment team for more info.