Employee Stories | Baylor Scott & White Health

Tammara Allen

Pharmacist | Supermom

Tammara Allen, pharmacist at BSW Medical Center – Plano, keeps busy as a mother to 10- and 11-year-old girls in club sports and orchestra. But as she juggles the adventures of motherhood, she also works to prioritize self-care. “My girls are my right and left lung,” she said. “They keep me grounded by reminding me to live in the moment. They keep me going. They are still at the age where they feel invincible, and that inspires me to live more in the moment as well.”

Starting each day with a sense of gratitude and prayer helps Tammara stay present. “I try to not take my health for granted,” she said. So, whether it means going on a walk during her lunch break, practicing soccer as a family after dinner, or exploring the underwater world by scuba diving with her father, Tammara looks to incorporate healthy activities into everyday life.

She also makes sure to start each day with a 5:30 a.m. workout. “I look at that time as therapy, to start my day on a high note,” she said. In addition, it gives her time to care for herself before navigating her day.

As a busy mom always on-the-go, Tammara also appreciates how the MyBSWHealth app helps her stay on top of her family’s health. “Being able to communicate with my physician through the portal makes care all the more accessible,” she said. And as a pharmacist, she also sees the app’s benefit from behind-the-scenes. With the ability for patients to add messages to their prescription order, the pharmacy team can better anticipate pick-up times and refill status. “We really try to treat every patient who walks in our pharmacy as family,” she said.

Manage your prescriptions, schedule an appointment, message your doctors and more through the MyBSWHealth app. If you are enrolled/planning to enroll in a BSW medical plan, be sure to link your employee account to your MyBSWHealth account for in-app access to the Baylor Scott & White Health Plan.

Danielle Ortiz

Patient Service Specialist | Gardener

When Danielle Ortiz received some seedling trays as a Christmas gift in 2019, her first thought was that she’d never have time to plant them. But a few months later in spring 2020, she—like many others during the COVID shutdowns—suddenly needed new ways to stay busy. “It really kept my family and I sane during such an unpredictable time,” she said. “It helped to focus on something so simple and straightforward: Plant. Water. Tend.”

As the plants took off in size, gardening grew into a family activity, too. Danielle’s father built the family two raised garden beds, allowing them to give the plants more space on their apartment balcony. And her then 7-year-old daughter suggested they add in more plant varieties, as well. Because Danielle and her husband already had a small business selling homemade salsa, her daughter suggested they also grow the vegetables needed for the recipe.

“We weren’t eating that many fruit and vegetables before, but now the garden makes it easy,” Danielle said. And when they moved into their house, the backyard offered even more space to try new things—like a baby watermelon that just sprouted the other week, or the long-term investment of an avocado tree that will take a few years to produce fruit.

Caring for her family’s health goes beyond their fresh pantry, too. With two teenage sons and a daughter, Danielle has turned to the BSWH 24/7 virtual urgent care time and again. “The first time I used it, I really didn’t know what to expect,” she said. But by the end of the online visit, she was a newfound fan. “I received the prescription my daughter needed, and a follow-up appointment booked in case she didn’t improve.”

Make sure you get the right care at the right time. Check out Where to Go For Care chart to see the care options available, depending on your health need.

Andrew Tennison

Emergency room tech | Basketball/Workout Enthusiast

Even though Benjamin Franklin was specifically talking about fire safety when he said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” … the wisdom of the age-old adage applies to all areas of life.

Just ask Andrew Tennison, emergency room tech at Baylor Scott and White Medical Center Mckinney . He knows that by taking small steps for his health now, it helps prevent bigger problems later. Because he works nights (7 p.m. to 7 a.m.) three days a week, the unusual sleep schedule makes it more challenging to stay on top of his physical activity and eating choices.

“Making sure I work out before going to work keeps me consistent,” Andrew says. “I have everything prepped and packed and ready to go beforehand. Then I can shower and go straight to work.”

He also finds that the exercise—whether it’s a basketball game with friends or weight-lifting—benefits his workload, too. “Interacting with patients means moving, pulling, lifting. Keeping my body in shape means I can better help others,” he says. “Plus, it gives me more energy to stay alert throughout the night.”

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In addition to the risk of tiredness during the night shift, Andrew also guards against another nighttime foe: eating junk food. As our bodies get tired, they can crave more sugar and carbs. Added to that, it is usually only fast-food places that stay open all hours.

“For people who work nights, you have to meal prep. There is no other way,” he advises. “You may want to eat healthy in your heart-of-hearts, but without prior preparation you will be only left with all of the bad options like burger and pizza."

Planning ahead also helped him this past March when he had some dental work pop up. He was having some tooth pain and fretted about the unexpected medical expense. But then his wife reminded him that he had money in his Health Savings Account (HSA), which he hadn’t really needed to use before.

“Even though I was only putting in a small amount each paycheck, it added up over time,” he says. “It is the best thing ever … it saved me a lot of headache and stress!”

Plan ahead for your own life expenses! Sign up for one of our spending accounts – Flexible Spending Account (FSA), Health Savings Account (HSA) or Dependent Care FSA – this enrollment. Find more details on the Health > Spending and Savings Accounts page.

Lisa Keesler

LVN | USA Pickleball Ambassador

Since discovering pickleball six years ago, Lisa Keesler, LVN at The Brenham Clinic, has quickly become an advocate for the game. In 2018 she worked with The City of Brenham’s Parks & Recreation department to convert two underutilized tennis courts into six pickleball courts—now home to their almost 200 club members. Just this year, she helped get new pickleball clubs started in the neighboring towns of Navasota, Caldwell, and Burton.

“As a USA Pickleball Ambassador, our job is to reach out to the communities and keep spreading the word,” Lisa said. Ambassadors are volunteers who have pledged to promote the sport in the local area that they represent. They work with communities, clubs, and various recreational facilities to guide and help build pickleball programs for all to enjoy. The main prerequisite is a love of the sport and the desire to share the game with others. Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America, but many people are still unfamiliar with the game and the rules. “It’s like badminton, tennis and ping pong got together and had a baby,” she explained with a laugh.

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Her passion for pickleball stems from the various ways it benefits her—allowing her to be active, offering a stress reliever, and providing a family-like community of fellow players. Lisa plays most evenings of the week after work, typically with her doubles partner Vicki Bruce. “Lisa gets a lot of satisfaction teaching other people,” said Vicki, noting how Lisa will take time to teach anyone who wants to learn. “She pours back into the new players all the time.”

Even though she thrives on teaching others, Lisa isn’t afraid to keep on learning too—on the court and at work. Each annual enrollment for BSW benefits, she has used the virtual benefits counselor “Ask ALEX” for assistance. ALEX is a quirky and interactive chatbot that offers personalized benefit suggestions based on the information a user provides.

“Each year he has helped me make better decisions, and figure out what is right for me,” Lisa said. “I never quite understood the Flexible Spending Account (FSA), but ALEX’s explanation gave me the confidence to enroll—a decision I’ve not regretted!”

Now when colleagues ask her for advice on their own benefit selections, she will point them to ALEX. “He really does empower you to tackle this with confidence.”

Make your benefit selections confidently as well! Turn to Ask Alex to help you compare plans, review options and make the choice right for you.

This site summarizes the programs and benefits available to employees and their eligible dependents. Official plan documents, policies and certificates of insurance that contain the details, conditions, maximum benefit levels and restrictions on benefits govern our benefits program and are available on this site. In case of a conflict between this site and the official documents, the official documents prevail. The information on this site isn't a guarantee of benefits. Baylor Scott & White reserves the right to modify or terminate its employee benefit plans and programs at any time for any reason.

Click here if you have feedback on the website or need to report an issue. All other questions and issues, please contact the corresponding resource on the Need Help page.

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