Meet Angeles

Angeles Sanchez is a Customer Service Team Lead for the Specialist Team at Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA). She has been with us for several years now, and she has made an impact not only in our patient's lives but in the lives of her colleagues. Angeles is a perfect example of how every role at FMCNA plays a vital part in people's lives.  From offering words of encouragement to patients to brightening the mood with jokes in the office, Angeles is definitely a superhero in her role here! Read more to learn about her story.

LET’S HEAR WHAT ANGELES HAD TO SAY:

Q: Tell us about your career progression with FMCNA.

A: I started as a Certified Pharmacy Technician assisting the Customer Service Inbound team. A month later, I was moved to backup for the Spanish/Bilingual Team. After 5 months, I was moved to the full Spanish Team and part of the Outbound Team as a senior certified pharmacy technician.

Two years later, when we moved to a new location, a new team was created, and I was part of the Spanish Outbound Dialer Team and assisting our Device Team as a backup. About 2 years ago, I got promoted to my current position as Customer Service Team Lead for the Specialist Team.

• I’m the Team Lead for New Patients, Travel, Patient Emergency Line and Pharma. I also work as the backup for the Spanish and Devices Teams.

Q: What do you love about your job?

A: I love that I get to help people, whether my teammates, clinical partners, or patients. I wake up every day knowing that I make a difference, that I’m responsible for giving somebody a better quality of life… that I’m saving a life. For me, it's not about how much money we can make or how fast I can work. It’s about how many lives I can change and how many smiles I can give along the way.

Q: What do you love most about your team?

A: I call my team the “Miracle Team.” Everyone gives 200% to make sure every patient and clinical partner is taken care of.  The camaraderie is incredible, and they jump to help and assist without reservation. We are a big family, not only my direct team, but the entire office is a unit that works together. If somebody is happy, we share the happiness. If somebody is sad, we cry together and give them strength.

Q: How have you influenced change or made an impact in your role?

A: My colleagues say I always make them smile and feel relaxed. I’m an empath, and when I see somebody in pain, it’s automatic for me to try and find a solution or at least a way to ease their suffering.

I always have a phrase, joke to give, and when nothing else works, I listen and let them be heard. I’m known in the office to be the bookworm, baker, and the “pun master” I send monthly emails full of jokes and puns to make them laugh. After all, laugher is the best medicine!  

Q: How has your career evolved or continued to inspire you since you started with FMCNA?

A: There is no better inspiration than seeing patients keep going despite adversity.  If they can keep going despite their illnesses, struggles and hardships, I know I can keep going and be the best I can for them.

I can’t save the world or make renal diseases go away, but I can give them a better quality of life. I try to learn as much as possible about my company, that way, and I have more resources to share with patients. Learning more about Renal Disease to understand each patient and their individual battle with the illness.

I also try to learn as many languages as possible, and I don’t want anybody to be left out because they can’t communicate in the native language. 

Q: How do you feel that your role is a “vital part” in supporting our patients and our company?

A: I feel like my role has an immense responsibility that I always take to heart. For most people, customer service/call center is just about taking a call, trying to resolve something, and that’s it.

For me, it’s about listening to my patients and partners, making sure I give them the correct product, hearing their concerns, and making all doubts go away. Knowing that I make a difference in their lives and that because of me, they have another day to see their family and friends, another day to share new experiences.

When it comes to my teammates, teaching them new techniques or easier ways to do processes and little tricks to remember things, that’s when I know I’m in the right place and, I know they need me as much as I need them.

Q: What is your favorite story or memory of your time so far working at FMCNA?

A: I have 2 stories that changed me and that I would forever thank FMCNA:

My first call in Spanish was from a woman whose husband was the patient, and since day one, we clicked.

Back then, we had our own patients, and we got to know them well. One day she told me her husband was on the transplant list; I told her, “Who knows? Maybe you can be the donor; that would be a perfect gift” She started crying and told me that she was on the list to get checked because she really wanted it to be the donor.

At the end of the call, I told her that I knew she would be the donor. I could tell the way she loved her husband was very pure.  A few months passed and, when I talked to her again, she recognized me and started crying so loud I could barely understand.

That’s when she said: “you were right, I’m a match, I’m a donor!” That moment I knew dreams came true. I wished with all my heart to make it possible. I wanted nothing more than to see my patients have a transplant.

My second and the one that hit home literally and figuratively was Hurricane Maria in 2017. I was born and raised in Puerto Rico (PR), I moved to Illinois, but my family was back on the island. Our phones were ringing non-stop with calls of people in the states trying to reach their family members in PR and people from PR that barely had anything left, trying to get treatment or at least a clinic to get them help.

While all this was happening, the whole office (and I mean the whole office) stopped by my desk daily to give words of encouragement. I couldn’t reach out to my family for 2 weeks, sadly my birthday was in the middle of this natural disaster, and not talking to my family was hard, but I wasn’t alone.

I had my FMCNA family back me up. No matter how hard I tried to keep a smile, they knew I was sad, but they didn’t pity me. They gave me strength. I worked long hours to take care of every patient; I gathered all information I could and shared them with my teammates and patients. FMCNA was not only giving our patients in Puerto Rico all the help they could find, but they gave me hope that no matter what the world threw my way, I had them to support me… and for that, they have my gratitude!  

Q: What advice would you give to someone considering a career at FMCNA?

A: I would say: Do you remember when you were little and wanted to be a superhero, but you weren’t sure how to be one? Come work for us! We don’t have masks, but we have big smiles, we don’t have capes, but we have big hearts, we aren’t part of the Avengers or Justice League, but we care about people just the same, and best of all, we have the best superpower: we save lives! 

Q: If you had a superpower, what would it be and why? 

A: My superpower would be teleportation. I like learning new things: languages, cultures, and traditions. I imagine myself going worldwide gathering all that information, sharing it with people, and make them feel that they can come to me and feel safe. No matter who they are or where they came from, I could communicate and share any experience with them.

About Fresenius Medical Care

We have become a global leader in healthcare because of the unwavering dedication our people bring to work every day. Whether that means developing new-to-market dialysis technology or educating patients, our team touches the lives of over 190,000 patients through innovative care and profound, personal connections.

With Fresenius Medical Care North America, you will “be the difference,” enabling patients to thrive, providing comfort to families, supporting coworkers so they can realize their goals, compelling our company to achieve through innovation and performance, and driving the development of your career.

Our team is made up of over 70,000 dedicated employees in North America. All of them focus on being the difference and delivering the highest-quality care to people with kidney disease, helping them lead longer, better, and healthier lives.

Why Join our team?

• Rated as one of Forbes’ U.S. Best Employers
• Paid one-on-one training
• Tuition reimbursement
• Comprehensive health insurance
• Paid time off
• 401(K) and much more