In celebration of Availity’s 25th anniversary, we’re highlighting associates whose impact and dedication have helped shape who we are today. Through this special Associate Spotlight series, we’re honoring the people behind our story—past, present, and future.
In this Q&A, we’re proud to spotlight Suzanne S., who shares reflections on her journey, the moments that mattered most, and what continues to inspire her as part of Availity.
What are you most proud of from your time at Availity?
I believe that being part of the team for the development of the ARIES processing system was one of the most interesting times at Availity. Building from the ground up enabled Availity to take a giant leap forward in transaction processing capabilities. It also enabled the storage of much more transaction data for use in research tools for ACS and other analytics.
When did you join Availity, what was your first role, and what do you remember most about your first year?
I joined Availity in January 2005 as a contract Business Analyst and converted to an employee in April 2005. The thing I remember most about the first year is that every month, the IT team (only about 15 people) would go out to lunch to celebrate the team members whose birthdays were that month. Great mini-team building!
How has your job changed since you started?
The shift from developer-centric transaction implementations to standard templates in EPDM has been a huge leap forward in reducing time and costs for implementing new payers and transactions.
When you think about our Core Values, which one resonates the most with you, and which do you think will propel us through the next 25 years?
‘Be All In’, ‘Do the Right Thing’, and ‘Own the Outcome’ are the values I utilize on an everyday basis. I think that ‘Do the Right Thing’ will always resonate with our customers and payers.
What are three words you’d use to describe Availity today?
Innovative, Forward Focused, Committed.
What’s a time Availity’s reliability or recovery made a difference (for a provider, plan, or patient experience)?
I believe the Availity response to the CHC breach incident made a huge difference for providers and health plans. The implementation of the Lifeline and Welcome Aboard initiatives provided stability in the health care industry to keep transactions flowing between providers and health plans. Great example of ‘Do the Right Thing’.
What’s one “tiny way” your team removes friction from healthcare that most people never see?
The Health Plan Services Delivery team works closely with Health Plans for implementing new transactions and/or new payers. We guide them through business overviews, demos, and implementation questionnaires, to the completion of the trading partner configuration and user acceptance testing. This leads to a quicker implementation delivery timeframe and enables our providers an ever-expanding payer list for transaction submissions!
Pick one industry moment you lived through. How did your team or Availity adapt, and what did we learn?
The industry moment I remember most is the move from 4010 to 5010 in 2011/2012. The entire IT department was involved, from doing crosswalk mapping documents, to redesigning the portal UI screens, and then the development and testing effort. It required a tremendous amount of coordination and multiple rounds of planning. Everyone had a part in getting us across the finish line by the mandate date. One thing we definitely learned is that it is never too early to start preparing for these upcoming industry mandates.
Over your tenure, what habits or mindsets helped you build a career here? What advice would you give yourself or others on their first week here?
I think my attention to detail (3-inch blade of grass focus) has served me well in my various roles here at Availity. The piece of advice I would give is to always speak up and ask questions – there are no stupid questions!
Who mentored you in the early days, and what craft or standard did they pass down that still defines us?
Mary Lou Short – she was the go-to expert on all things X12. I owe all my knowledge to her!
Thank you, Suzanne, for your dedication and the impact you’ve made in helping shape Availity’s story over the past 25 years!