by Pamela Mooman
Call it a family tradition, or an
internal drive to help others, or
a strong sense of duty, or all of
the above. But for one reason or
another, JoAnne Santa Cruz, Director
of Staffing for BCMS Staffing Services,
has been working to make lives better
for most of her life.
“My mother is a Registered Nurse,
and she has been Director of Nursing
for several hospitals, so I got into
medicine that way,” Ms. Santa Cruz
says. “I’ve been around medicine my
whole life.”
Ms. Santa Cruz volunteered as an
EMT in Schertz, and still feels a strong
calling for Emergency Medical Services.
In 1994, she was involved in a threemile,
200-plus vehicle pile-up.
“I jumped out and was right in
the middle of it,” she says. “If there’s
an accident, I get this urge to stop
and render aid. That’s my kind of
thing. I’m able to handle those situations.
I’ve taken that experience
and am able to remain calm in stressful situations.
“I like being in medicine. And working with BCMS Staffing Services
is just another aspect of it.”
As Director, Ms. Santa Cruz oversees
all business activities, ranging
from client contact and preparing
agreements to billing issues and coordination.
Before joining BCMS in
September 2007, she worked for
11 years as an EMT in the office of a
pulmonary specialist. She says her
favorite aspect of her work at BCMS is
getting to know clients and applicants
on an individual basis.
“Being in EMS was rewarding,
where I was actually saving lives,” she
says. “This is different, but I’m still
making a difference in a person’s life,
whether I’m placing a person in the
right job or taking stress off a client
by supplying the right person to help
out in the client’s practice.”
BCMS Staffing Services supplies a
variety of qualified personnel, including
receptionists, Medical Assistants,
clerks, Physician Assistants,
billing specialists, collectors, LVNs
and RNs. Staffing Services is working
to be able to provide pharmacists
and CNAs in the future. Ms. Santa
Cruz says they also can help clients
with radiology needs and all the
specialty fields that a medical practice
may need.
“At BCMS Staffing Services, we do
what we claim to do,” she says. “We
provide top-notch service to our
clients. We automatically do background
checks prior to sending staff
to clients. We stand behind our work.
We have high standards to live up to.
We’re part of the Society.”
Ms. Santa Cruz is excited about
Staffing Services’ mentorship program,
in partnership with San
Antonio College. Beginning in the
Spring 2008 semester, BCMS Staffing
Services will place three students as
externs in physician offices for an
entire day. Half of the day the student
will work as a free extern, and the
other half will be spent working as a
paid employee.
“This is a win-win situation for
both the students, who get the experience,
and for the physicians, who get
an eager employee for a full day while
only paying for a half day,” she says,
adding that there is an active list of
physicians who are interested in
being part of the mentorship program.
She and a professor from San
Antonio College will visit the physician
offices before the student extern
arrives and monitor the process
throughout the externship to ensure
the arrangement is giving the most
benefit to all involved.
When Ms. Santa Cruz leaves the
office, she retires to a 10-acre homestead
in Devine. She has five children,
ranging in age from 6 to 17, and
keeping up with her family, which is
involved with 4H and FFA activities,
takes up most of her time. Besides
enjoying family pets and raising livestock,
she says that they are involved
in antique tractor restoration, a project
dear to her 17-year-old for an
FFA scholarship.
Despite her busy work and family
schedule, Ms. Santa Cruz still maintains
her individual interests, such as
reading and obtaining knowledge.“I love learning,” she says. “One of
the things I’m very interested in learning
more about is forensics.”
For more information about the
BCMS Staffing Services mentorship
program and other services, call the
Staffing Services office at 301-4362
and ask for JoAnne Santa Cruz.
Pamela Mooman is editor of San
Antonio Medicine.
Editor’s Note: As some of the employees of BCMS Staffing Services are new, we will
introduce staff members in upcoming issues of San Antonio Medicine, highlighting
the services that this organization provides, as well as the individuals working on
behalf of physicians and, ultimately, the city’s residents.
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