Rhonda Washington, patient financial advocate at Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Center, was tired of being “behind the scenes” in her former job. She knew she was helping others with prior authorizations for their health care, but working remotely had lost its appeal.

“I wanted to see a face,” she says. “I wanted to smile. I wanted to greet somebody because a smile can change somebody’s life.”

That’s when she noticed a position open at Eskenazi Health Patient Access Services. “It’s in me to want to help,” she says, “and the opportunity came, and it was at the right time too.”

As a “detail person,” Washington likes taking time with her patients, going over verbally and sometimes in writing what they need. As she puts it, “I meet them at their level. That’s how I like things explained.”

Her diligence won Washington a Top ACTS of PRIDE nomination in August, an employee recognition for extraordinary service. The nomination was based on her assistance of a patient who had health coverage but kept being told services were out of his network. Washington reviewed his case, discovering that he was signed up for a second insurance he didn’t recognize. Her investigations confirmed that he’d been a victim of fraud. She told him steps to take and what he’d receive in the mail, making sure he had records of everything, including faxes she’d sent along with the confirmation pages.

By the time he left, Washington’s shift was already over, but she stayed behind to share the information and relevant phone numbers with her supervisors to help protect other Eskenazi Health patients from the same fraud.

The patient she assisted “still comes back,” Washington says. “He was like, ‘You have been such a great help.’ But never in a million years had I thought that I would be acknowledged for something that I do.”

While she doesn’t mind compliments, Washington wanted to dodge the attention that came with the nomination for the Top ACTS of PRIDE award because her time at Eskenazi Health is “more to me than just a job; I want to serve,” she says.

Often, patient requests for her help are less involved. Her unhoused patients sometimes just need to use a tablet to write a letter or for her to write it for them, she explains. Sometimes one missing form is the only thing standing between her patients and insurance coverage. She likes solving problems. “You can’t help everybody,” she says, “but I’m going to help who I can.”

She’s particularly glad to be working in mental health, having learned about the struggles it can cause for some of her loved ones. “I think mental health is really just — it’s important,” she says. “I wanted to understand it better.” Working with Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Center patients means she’s able to “brighten their day, to let them know we all deal with it; it’s just a matter of to what extent we deal with it and what we do with it.”

After discovering many of her patients were unhoused and/or struggled with substance use disorder, Washington worried that some people would only see their diagnosis. “So I look beyond that,” she says. She’s found it instructive to hear her patients’ stories. “Everything’s not what it seems,” she says. “People don’t wake up and say, ‘Hey, I want to do drugs.’”

Understanding how rooted people’s problems are in their histories helps her connect with them, Washington says. She’s so impressed with patients just for walking through the front door, taking that first step toward improving their lives.

Putting patients at ease is a priority for Washington, who was recently promoted to a team lead role. Luckily, making visitors comfortable comes naturally to her, she explains, since she’s a “silly person.” She is known for planning odd outings and events. Her most recent is a plot for friends and family members to wear inflatable costumes for a bowling night.

Washington’s combination of empathy, humor and attention to others’ needs makes patients eager to work with her. “I still get emails and calls from people that I’ve helped a year ago,” she admits.

Asked to explain which of the patients she’s served stand out, Washington pauses, then says, “All of them do.”