Profiles in Telehealth: Kelsie Hernandez - Operations Lead

Get to know Wheel Operations Lead, Kelsie Hernandez!

What’s your role at Wheel?

As an Operations Lead at Wheel, I help solve problems and build the processes that enable clinicians to see patients today and as we grow in the future. My main focus is matching clinicians to client opportunities and monitoring clinician metrics to improve their Wheel experience.

What’s your background? What did you do before working with Wheel?

I was born in Puerto Rico but raised in Virginia with my parents and two brothers. I studied Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech (go Hokies!) and then started my career in technology consulting for federal clients in Washington, DC. I loved living in DC and used every weekend I could to explore the museums, food scene, breweries, and nature in the area.

After DC, I moved to the Chicagoland area and received my MBA from Northwestern. It was during these two years that I fell in love with startups and out of love with cold weather. After grad school, I joined a seed-stage coffee startup and moved to Austin with my husband, Don, where we’ve been enjoying the food truck culture and sunny skies.

During free time, you can find me cooking and hosting dinner parties, hiking with Don and our pup Clifton, or by/in/on the water in some capacity when it’s hot out.

Why did you join the Wheel team?

I joined Wheel in February 2021 because I was looking to join a startup where I could personally make an impact. I was also looking for a company with a meaningful mission that was using technology to change the way an antiquated industry works.

I love working in the startup environment - every day is different and you get to build something from the ground up. We work to solve difficult problems, which is both challenging and rewarding. My typical week includes syncing up with my team, looking at data to make decisions and find opportunities for improvement, engaging with clinicians, and working with other teams (product, sales, etc.) across the company.

What’s your recent Wheel Moment of Reward?

One of my favorite things about working at Wheel is the direct impact one can make and how quickly it can happen. Although I’ve only been here a few months, I’ve been able to find opportunities for improvement and implement solutions to incrementally improve how we work. For example, my team has been testing new ways to communicate with clinicians to see which content and methods are most effective.

The most rewarding part is when we receive clinician feedback about how they noticed the change and how it improved their experience. Small improvements make a big difference over time, especially when they affect an ever-growing network of clinicians. It’s fun to know we’re working on the foundation of something that will become much bigger in the coming months and years.

What do you think the future of healthcare holds?

After a push in relevance and acceptance due to the pandemic, I’m eager to see telehealth continue to grow in popularity and usage. I’m particularly excited to see the increase in access to behavioral health services and the evolution of society’s perception of mental health to something that can be more commonplace and accessible.

As an operations person, I’m also excited about how telehealth is increasing the efficiency of which care can be received as technology and policy continue to evolve, saving both clinicians and patients valuable time and resources.

Thanks, Kelsie, for all your hard work with The Wheel Team! We appreciate everything you do.

Interested in joining our team? Check out the latest career opportunities with Wheel!

Get to know other team members through prior staff profiles with Kevin Jordan - Enterprise SDR, Amanda Simoni - Operations Manager and Veronica Haslam - Clinician Advocate.