The Faces Behind the Voice: Cook Children’s Call Center Team

By Reilly Ternan

You always hear how important a first impression is to any successful relationship. For Cook Children’s, it’s the people answering our phones that often set the tone for our families.

"Our Call Center is often the first point of contact for our patients," says Kaysey Pollan, Director of Environmental Safety and Emergency Management. "Our operators do a phenomenal job of upholding our Promise, even over the phone."

Every team at Cook Children’s plays a crucial role in shaping the patient experience through their interactions.

Our Call Center operators are the patient communication backbone of our organization. Their responsibilities include answering questions, fielding and transferring calls, relaying vital information, providing physician and clinic answering services, and managing code calls. This includes both medical centers, the 165 primary clinics during after hours, and the entire physician’s network paging system. They are an integral part of the organization, to say the least.

Kenneth Bonner, Call Center Manager for the past two and a half years, calls his team “a switchboard” as they are always shifting gears to a new caller with a new question or concern. This team connects patients to the care that they need by answering their questions or directing them to someone who can. This team juggles its major responsibilities by creating and maintaining a family-like culture. Kenneth prides himself in maintaining that culture of the team to serve patient families as best they can.

“Our team is like a family environment and people love that culture,” says Kenneth. “Everyone feels like they are with their family here.” 

It’s important this team feels comfortable with one another because sometimes they have to receive unexpected news and be the bearer of bad news for others. Neither of which is an easy task. 

“If we take care of each other, we can take better care of our patient families,” he says. “It’s like a circle of growth.”

This team often has to help families in times of need. They like to counter “uncertainty with comfort” and guide families to the help they need. “You are important at Cook Children’s, no matter what role you play,” says Kenneth.

Many individuals on this team live out this family culture daily. Bernita Keys celebrated her ninth year as a Call Center Representative this past July. As described by her peers, she constantly “exudes what the Cook Children’s culture entails…always happy, always helpful, loves our patients and families.”

“Whatever the case may be, from our parents to our employees, our entire medical staff, we are here for all and whoever may need our assistance,” says Bernita. “I enjoy it all. It’s such a delight that feeds my heart with the utmost joy. I just love adding those little extra smiles.”

Nelnora Johnson, Call Center Supervisor, has served on this team for 13 years. She has played many roles from operator, to lead, to supervisor. 

“Throughout all my years, this culture has felt the strongest,” says Nelnora. “We can laugh, we can talk, we can release stress, leaning on each other and resting between calls. At the end of the day, it is all about the Promise and helping our patients.”

This team truly does it all and wears many different hats every day. 

“We understand that the Patient Experience includes every interaction our patients and families have within the organization; this includes a successful experience when calling Cook Children’s,” Kaysey beams. “We are so proud of the job our operators do to ensure our patients and families are met with a calm, friendly, and helpful voice on the other end of the line.”

The team's dedication our Promise is irreplaceable. 

“Their empathy, efficiency and professionalism not only provide crucial information but also reassure patient families that we are here for them in their time of need,” says Megan Chavez, Vice President, Cook Children’s Patient Experience. “The Call Center team is an essential part of delivering compassionate care.”