Meet Beth

Beth Young is a Senior Director of Learning Development and has been with Fresenius Medical Care North America for four years. Beth is a known learner and is dedicated to not only the growth and development of her team but of colleagues across Fresenius Medical Care. Read on to see how Beth uses her passion to be a vital part of our organization! 

LET’S HEAR WHAT BETH HAD TO SAY:

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

A: Developing and preparing talent to be successful in their current and future roles is a vital part of our success as an organization. Our team designs, develops, delivers, and measures learning for Fresenius Medical Care North America.

A vital part of delivering the highest standard of quality care to our patients is dependent upon skills and capabilities. We assist the company in achieving this goal by providing quality learning programs that inspire, cultivate, and advance the careers of our employees. 

Q: Describe an experience or feeling that stands out when thinking of your career with FMCNA.

A: An experience that stands out for me as I think about my career with FMCNA involves my commitment to the annual Kidney Walks with my team. Each year, there is a group of us that attend to show our support for those who currently live with Chronic Kidney Disease and in honor and remembrance of those who lost their battle.

Being part of this campaign to expand the public conversation from kidney disease to kidney health is critical. Being involved in advocacy efforts, walks, and groups like FRE-PAC help me personally contribute to positive change for the kidney community. The ability to affect change, keep hope alive, and be a positive light for both employees and our patients fulfills both my career and my personal need for giving back to the community.

It's all about hope; giving patients a look at the bright side, a vision of their future, and reminding them that they can accomplish their goals and dreams. I am extremely grateful that I work for an organization where I can have a powerful effect on direct patient caregivers and patients through my work.

Q: Do you feel you or your team/department leads, innovates, succeeds? If so, how?

A: How I lead and innovate. Personally, I make time for my growth and development. It is important that as a learning leader for FMCNA, I understand how our landscape is changing and that transformation is required to be aligned with and outpace the rate of change. This means demonstrating swift execution, strategic thinking, and agility. It also means establishing relationships with other internal learning leaders and collaborating with all areas of the business. Growth also requires that I be receptive to feedback from my leader, my team, and my clients. I make it a habit to seek feedback, listen, and learn from others.

How the team innovates and succeeds: I am focused on ensuring that each of my direct reports has a development plan - a plan to continue learning and growing, a commitment to staying current, and trying new things. We are re-skilling and up-skilling to keep pace with emerging trends. Having development plans, giving the team members stretch assignments & visibility is my commitment to them.

Together, the team succeeds by acting with collaboration, trust, and accountability. We succeed by listening to the needs of our customers, serving up quality content, and continuously improving design based on feedback, trends, and efficiencies. We all place a strong focus on serving leadership within our team and it has positively impacted our ability to deliver results.

We make Innovation possible in several ways:

• we read, collaborate often, and ask ourselves where we can implement change now, as a quick win and in the future.
• we take inventory frequently – meaning that we ask what we should start, stop, or keep doing
• we are curious, asking more questions than ever and considering solutions with a no-limits mindset.
• we allow for debate and disagreement, and from that, we take the best ideas, plan, and execute.
• we hold each other accountable for results and serving leader behaviors

Our collective success comes from all the above plus resilience and perseverance. We support each other when one team member is down, and we all fly in the same direction!

Q: Do you feel that your role allows you to be a partner in caring? If so, how?

A: My role does allow me to be a partner in caring. I take the lead from our highest-level leaders who frequently remind us to love each other, love our teams, and love our work. There are many ways that I have been able to demonstrate my partnership in caring at FMCNA.

Here are just a few that I have been privileged to participate in:

• When COVID-19 first began, I had a strong desire to support our heroes on the front lines. I reached out to my leader and other leaders to find out how I could help. The learning team quickly came on board and loved the idea! We adopted four clinics and planned activities that showed care, compassion, and love. We developed a weekly schedule for sending cards, food, artwork, and all kinds of goodies to them. This was our way of demonstrating appreciation and gratitude to those on the front lines every day serving our patients. The program became formalized and is now known as Helping our Heroes!
• I had the opportunity to partner with a terrific group of Fresenius colleagues to design and implement resources for better coping with COVID-19. This team, from different areas of the business, came together in support of employees across FMCNA who were struggling with everything from stress, time management, personal wellness, child-care, physical fitness, and, most importantly, finding a moment of joy. Through the work that we did and the resources we made available; employees had places to find a plethora of materials for help. The work of our team was extremely rewarding!
• I personally stay in touch with many of our heroes on the front lines through the Fresenius KC Strong site where we collaborate and can post messages of hope.
• The EE Hub to Go app has been a great way to be a partner in caring via the ability to comment and contribute to articles and offer words of encouragement.
• Finally, the capability to use the HEROES platform has been and continues to be fantastic! This tool allows me to acknowledge the great work of my team and those colleagues in other areas of the business.

Knowing that my team and I can energize the future by providing leaders with the tools they need to grow and fuel their passion for patient care is beyond satisfying. I feel blessed to be part of this great organization!

Q: Do you feel that you have a powerful effect in your role?  If so, how?

A: I do have the ability to make a powerful impact in my role. Using the frameworks of Leading with Values such as the master clock, asset-based thinking, and a no-limits mindset, my goal is to inspire and motivate the team every day. Positivity creates energy and excitement not only for our work in the learning space but also for those we serve – our employees. This energy cascades from our employees to our patients. We are very connected to those who directly serve them. The powerful effect comes from knowing that our work influences the behavior, capabilities, and growth of those that care for others in need. 

Q: Have you experienced professional growth with personal meaning in your role? If so, how?

A: I have been with Fresenius for four years and in that time, I have grown both professionally and personally. Joining an organization with a culture of serving leadership has significantly changed me and my perspective. I am more focused on the growth and well-being of my team ensuring that they are provided with support, opportunities to stretch and make an impact on the business.

We think and define our greater goals together and then accelerate our efforts toward the achievement of those goals. Being a leader in this culture is extremely rewarding. It is hard to describe the joy of watching your team flourish by working together, establishing trust, and demonstrating personal and team commitment.

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 more than 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 64,000 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 to 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