Scheduling can be a thankless job. It requires precise attention to detail and incredible patience in order to accommodate the availability and requests of more than thirty staff members. Fortunately for Bradenton Health Care in Bradenton, FL, they have the best of the best.
“Scheduler of the Year” is an award presented to one individual by OnShift, an online senior care scheduling system. The staff at Bradenton Health Care unanimously nominated Mae Prater for the award because of her dedication to not only her position, but to the people around her. With Mae, the entire care center seems to run like clockwork and her hard work did not go unnoticed – with over 100 nominations across the state of Florida alone, including a wide variety of healthcare providers similar to Consulate, Mae was picked as the winner.
“I was so excited I couldn’t believe it,” Mae said. “The award is so special to me because it shows people what I do. I’ve been doing it for so long, I have an enormous sense of pride for what I do, and I’m beyond thankful.”
Mae started her career at Bradenton Health Care 25 years ago and has worked there ever since. Before adopting the new system, Mae saw many different systems incorporated, and even had her own system for coordinating schedules with a paper trail; a far less convenient way of keeping things in order. “As a staff coordinator it gets difficult keeping track of everybody’s schedule from day to day, but it’s great to have a new system where you can click a button and have everything in order,” Mae said. “It completely changed the culture of how we work.” Mae embraced the culture change and worked hard to use it to the fullest extent, including spending time with every employee to help them learn and utilize the new program and keep track of their individual schedules.
Mae’s talents extend beyond scheduling. In fact, she was a CNA before becoming Bradenton’s staffing coordinator – experience that she still puts to work when the team needs a hand. One evening during a particularly busy shift, Mae volunteered to assist a very busy nursing staff. It was a hectic time, but Mae’s passion for helping her Bradenton family let everyone know they were all in this together, even when things got difficult. No matter the task, Mae consistently rises to the occasion. “She absolutely loves what she does, and everyone can tell,” Krisan
Altamirano, the Human Resources Coordinator at Bradenton, said. “Employees look up to her. Whenever there’s a need, she’s finding a solution. Having Mae a part of Bradenton Health is truly an honor.”
Mae’s commitment to her position and to those around her is evident through more than the OnShift award, it’s recognized and appreciated by every Bradenton employee she’s helped by keeping the things we sometimes don’t even think about running smoothly day in and day out. Mae told us her plan is just to continue being the best scheduler she can be. “I love people. I love working with the patients,” she said. “I always want them to have someone to count on, especially if that person is me.”
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