From the desk of Kristin Waltman, Chief Operating Officer for Carolina Speech Pathology
In my current position as Chief Operating Officer, I have the opportunity to witness each department’s collective contributions to the overall success of our company. As one of the original employees at CSP, I have seen pretty amazing transformations over the past 14 years of my tenure. I have also seen unwavering principles that root our company in excellence, and these roots are best described as our Core Values.
Of CSP’s four Core Values, the one that speaks to me greatly is “Serve Well.” To me, serving well means being altruistic and caring for others selflessly. When I began my career in healthcare as a speech-language pathologist, caring and showing compassion for my patients and their families was my passion. There was no more extraordinary gift than seeing my patients smile and even cry with joy when they made progress, or watching their loved ones celebrate the achievements that came from hours of hard work. Sharing in these special times felt better than any form of tangible compensation.
As my career progressed to a management level and eventually to a leadership position, I had concerns and reservations about missing out on the patient-therapist connection and sacrificing the opportunity to serve others in the same capacity. However, I have discovered equally rewarding ways to serve others well, and with an even greater reach. Facilitating the delivery of the highest quality of service to our customers is rewarding.
I enjoy troubleshooting with our customers so that they can serve their caseloads resourcefully and collaborating to find valuable solutions to support top notch patient care. Our service is vital to patients with dysphagia, and knowing that we are providing this service to maximize each patients’ quality of life makes my job extremely rewarding.
Caring for our employees is also a means of serving others, and before this point in my career, I could not have imagined it to be such a fulfilling part of my work life. I have been a part of the hiring and training process for every single one of our current and past employees. CSP has minimal turnover, and I think this is because we have a culture of caring and compassion for one another, and it starts within our leadership team. I love knowing how much our employees enjoy their jobs, and it is important to me that they know how much they are cared for here at CSP.
With my 14th work anniversary coming up in December, it is wonderful to reflect on how my role at CSP has supported me in continuing to do what I love: serving others well. We look forward to upholding this “near and dear” Core Value every time we get to work with you and your patients.
Best,
Kristin Waltman, M.S., CCC-SLP
Chief of Operations
