Page 6 - SFHN March 2021

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ACHE of South Florida

Spotlight

ACHE of South Florida

Member Spotlight:

Karen Alba, VP/GM, JKARE

BY VANESSA ORR patients who have developed
pulmonary issues as a result
As the co-owner of of COVID-19. “Things have
JKARE, a company that gotten even more challeng-
offers clinical respiratory ing now with providing res-
care services and home piratory care because of the
medical equipment and sup- lack of benefits and coverage
plies in Miami-Dade and from some insurances,” she
Broward counties, Karen said.
Alba is responsible for mak- Originally from the
ing sure that patients with Republic of Colombia, Alba
respiratory issues and is a huge believer in the
chronic conditions have Karen Alba power of education. She
access to the care they earned her bachelor’s degree
need. The mother of a son with cystic in business administration in her home
fibrosis, she also serves as a patient advo- country, and earned an MBA in healthcare
cate in Tallahassee, FL and Washington, management from the University of
DC, working with policymakers to pro- Phoenix. She completed a paralegal pro-
vide insight into the needs of people with gram at the University of Miami, and also
chronic conditions. earned a real estate license.
Alba began the company in 2010 with “When my son was diagnosed with cys-
her husband, who is a respiratory thera- tic fibrosis, I wanted to do something dif-
pist. “We were looking for ways to help ferent than real estate—something that
cystic fibrosis patients and realized that would benefit the cystic fibrosis communi-
these types of services were not only ty,” she said. “That’s when I changed my
needed by the cystic fibrosis community, professional path and started learning new
but by other groups as well,” explained things so I could build a business with a
Alba, who also serves as the company’s purpose.”
vice-president and general manager. “We Alba credits her membership in the
started JKARE and little by little, we were American College of Healthcare
able to grow into helping other segments Executives (ACHE) for providing her with
of the community.” the information she needs to make her
The company now provides care to peo- business a success.
ple with cystic fibrosis, COPD, pulmonary “One day, I received something in the
fibrosis, ALS and other neuromuscular mail from ACHE, and I realized that I
diseases and more. In addition, Alba has could learn a lot by joining,” she said.
spent the last 10 years advocating for the “ACHE has helped me with managing the
well-being of these patients. business, as well as implementing new
“In the beginning, no one wanted to tools to be ready for changes in the indus-
cover the services we provided, so I start- try.” She adds that her attendance at the
ed with insurance companies and ended ACHE Congress in Chicago in 2016
up in Tallahassee talking to Medicaid,” helped her restructure her business to
she said. “I explained how my husband weather those changes.
provided care to our son, who has a She also appreciates the networking
chronic condition, and how that care, opportunities that ACHE provides.
including a daily regimen of respiratory “The networking events have really
therapy, kept him out of the hospital for helped us grow the company and become
more than a decade. recognized in the community by health-
“They started believing me, and now care professionals and referral sources,”
the insurance companies are willing to she said of the company’s sponsorship of
review coverage on a case-by-case basis,” ACHE of South Florida. “People who you
she added. “Not only are they covering the want to know about your company attend
services we provide, but even services that those events, so from the standpoint of a
they didn’t previously cover.” business owner, there are a lot of advan-
When some health insurance regula- tages.”
tions required that those with chronic con- Alba adds that she is constantly
ditions go out into the community for impressed by the information she gleans
occupational, physical, speech and respi- through the organization.
ratory therapy, Alba went to battle. “I “Every time I receive ACHE’s emails or
called everybody to get that rule changed,” magazines, I find something that I can
she explained. “People making policies apply to my business,” she said. “Whether
behind a desk do not know how their you’re learning about how to improve
decisions affect people; every single day is patient care or increase patient satisfaction
a challenge for our patients, and I’ll con- or how to run your organization in a dif-
tinue to advocate to protect them.” ferent way to add revenue, there’s always
Alba’s current focus is on how the serv- something you can apply to your business
ices that JKARE offers will work for and your life as a professional.”

6 March 2021 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News