Behind the Badge: Kelsey Lucas, UVA Hospital Admitting Representative

Anyone who works in healthcare will admit there’s a lot of paperwork involved. Even as a patient, it may seem like there is new paperwork to fill out at every appointment. As we admit patients to UVA Medical Center, additional paperwork captures crucial information for their care.

So who are the people behind this paperwork?

Meet Kelsey Lucas, one of our admission representatives. Lucas and her colleagues work with patients and their insurance companies to ensure that we accurately capture all pertinent information.

An Introduction to Healthcare

 Lucas had always been interested in the healthcare field and becoming an admission representative was a great opportunity to help her understand how a hospital operates. Although she studied graphic design in college, she realized she really wanted to be in healthcare. So she took the job at UVA for experience and hopes to ultimately go back to school to study hospital operations.

“I love the social interactions with multiple departments,” Kelsey explains. “My job has given me the opportunity to meet a wide range of people throughout the hospital.”

Creating A Positive Experience For Patients

The admission representative may be the first person a patient has contact with when arriving at UVA. Lucas’ goal is to create a stress-free experience.

“Since I have direct contact with patients and their families, I will do what I can to help achieve my goal of providing a positive experience with UVA,” she says.

UVA Hospital Admitting

Learn more about what to expect when you or a family member is hospitalized.

Admissions representatives interact with several types of patients and visitors:

• Pre-admits are people who are having planned surgeries in the near future.
• SAS, or Surgical Admission Suite, patients are being admitted and going straight into planned surgeries.
• Waitings are people who came from home or their doctor’s office to be admitted but do not necessarily need to go through the emergency department. Many of these types of patients are unplanned stays.
• Families of patients work directly with admission representatives to fill out paperwork on behalf of the patient.
• Bedside patients have already been admitted, and admissions representatives visit them in their rooms.

“For every patient, I go over their demographics and get the appropriate forms based on their insurance,” Lucas explains. “I make sure their information is accurate – changing addresses or updating phone numbers when necessary – and alert their insurance to notify them that the patient has been admitted.”

The “waitings” are special cases. After completing their paperwork, these patients may have wait for a room to be ready.  Admission reps are responsible for making sure they get admitted. Lucas takes a personal interest in these patients, frequently touching base with them to inform and update them on their admissions and just to ensure they are still doing okay.

Lucas is a Virginia transplant and is grateful for her time at UVA so far. “I’ve met a variety of people in many departments,” Lucas says. “These are bonds that I really treasure. Some of these people I expect will be lifelong friends, and they make work enjoyable.”