Forty Under 40: Stephanie Allen

Stephanie Allen has always had a passion to help others, but that desire grew stronger when she saw home health aides take care of her grandmother, who had Alzheimer’s and colon cancer.

“I saw it as a serving, compassionate field,” she said.

Originally from Atkins, Allen graduated from Arkansas Tech University with a nursing degree in 2011. During college, she managed a gym and realized she might enjoy the business side of health care. After graduation, she worked as a nurse for St. Mary’s Regional Hospital in Russellville and then transitioned to do marketing and business development for Mercy Hospital in Fort Smith. In 2015, she became the physicians’ relations manager with Northwest Health System in Rogers, then moved into a director role in July 2016 at Northwest’s Wound Care  & Hyperbaric Center. Under her leadership, the center received the Clinical Distinction Award and the Excellence in Patient Satisfaction Award, for patient satisfaction greater than 97%.

In January, she joined McDonald Eye Associates as practice administrator. In her first 60 days, existing patient census doubled and revenue increased. Other new processes led to streamlined workflow, increased productivity and decreased patient wait times.

Allen said her goal is to be seen as a dedicated leader in the transformation of healthcare and “to be recognized as an industry expert as [her] career and education continues to expand.”

She will finish a master’s degree in healthcare administration at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith (UAFS) in May 2019. In addition to her day job, she has accepted an adjunct faculty position with UAFS, where she hopes to “take what I’ve learned from my healthcare experiences and make an impact on upcoming healthcare professionals.”