This month, we’re excited to spotlight Kristen Young, a Center of Excellence (COE) Lead at our Albuquerque office, serving patients and employees throughout New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona. Over the past four years, Kristen has grown from Medical Records Analyst to team leader, bringing H.E.A.R.T. and expertise to everything she does.
Before joining Giving Home, Kristen spent a little over 30 years as a radiological technologist, working in hospital emergency rooms, urgent care clinics, and a workers’ comp clinic. But after COVID, she was exhausted and feeling burnt out. She told her husband, “I don’t know what I’m going to do in the future, but I can’t do this anymore.” Fortunately, she spotted an ad for Giving Home early in her search. After reading reviews and learning more about the company, she thought it might be a good fit and decided to give it a try.
Caretaking has always been a familiar part of Kristen’s life. When both of her grandparents faced serious health issues, they moved in with Kristen’s family. She took on frequent responsibilities like cleaning their in-law apartment, helping with dinner, and managing grocery shopping, while also learning a lot from the professional caretaker who cared for her grandmother during the day. Those early experiences shaped her understanding of what it means to show up for someone who needs support.
Kristen started her Giving Home journey as a Medical Records Analyst, ordering and reviewing patient records to identify conditions that could be covered under a White Card. She supported patients across multiple offices and quickly developed a deep understanding of the claims process. Before long, Kristen began writing consequential illness letters (CQs) for the Farmington office, using the knowledge she’d gained from reading medical records to create compelling cases. “It was a lot of fun,” she shares. “I knew how the process worked and what to look for. It let me know the patients in a different way. Not just reading their records but actually figuring out how different conditions impacted their lives.” She also enjoyed attending patient appreciation lunches and getting to meet those same patients face-to-face whose lives she had directly impacted.
Today, as a COE Lead, Kristen’s role has expanded to encompass everything she’s learned along the way: medical records analytics, impairment ratings, and project management. Beyond her own caseload, much of her day is devoted to supporting her team and ensuring they have what they need to succeed. She prefers to think of COE not just as Center of Excellence, but as a Circle of Excellence — a reflection of how her department stays connected to patients throughout their journey at Giving Home. For COEs, it’s not about doing their part and handing an individual to the next department; it’s about being a constant presence across the entire process, from ordering medical records and triaging their case to help the technical writers identify causation diagnoses to working with Authorized Representatives and reviewing impairment ratings every two years.
What Kristen values most about this role is her team. She remembers something Bobby Bunch, Regional Director of Outreach, once told her: “Monday through Friday, we spend more time with each other than we do with our families.” That perspective stuck with her. If her team is going to be successful, they need to love and respect each other the way they do with their own families. And her team shows up with that mindset every single day, giving everything they have and always keeping patients at the forefront. “They are just an amazing crew, and to be able to work alongside them every day is just such an honor.” While Kristen loves her Albuquerque colleagues, she also holds a special place in her heart for the Farmington team. As a smaller office, she feels they don’t always get the recognition they deserve, and the relationships she built there while writing CQs continue to mean a lot to her today.
The leadership culture at Giving Home has also been transformative for Kristen. Though she had held successful supervisor positions in her previous jobs, it wasn’t until she came to Giving Home that she truly learned how to lead well. “When I came here,” she shares, “I learned the right way to lead people.” Through mentorship and training courses, she’s developed a leadership style rooted in care and respect. Bobby’s encouragement to treat coworkers like family also shifted her entire approach. Now, she doesn’t hesitate to tell her team she loves them, that she’s honored to work alongside them, and that her favorite part of the job is celebrating their achievements.
Outside of work, Kristen and her husband of 32 years love spending time in the kitchen together. They share their home with two dogs — a ChiPin named Mr. DiCicco (“Chico”), inspired by the movie Coneheads, and a Chiweenie named Trina — as well as a bird named after Alanis Morissette. The couple also enjoys camping (or more accurately glamping, thanks to the dogs). Even after more than a decade in New Mexico, they are excited about the abundance of places left to explore. Both Kristen and her husband are cancer survivors, a journey that deepened their bond tremendously. “I’m pretty proud of the fact that we both kicked cancer’s butt, but prouder that we helped each other through it.”
Every role Kristen has held has been one of service to others, and she continues that track record at Giving Home by making a meaningful difference in the lives of our patients and team members. Thank you, Kristen, for your compassion, commitment, and positivity. We’re proud you’re part of the Giving Home family!
