Joni Callis     

Brand Marketing Specialist, Cook Medical LLC 

Joined AHRMM in 2014

Joni Callis is not your typical AHRMM member. She has never worked in a hospital, nor does she have a background in supply chain. Joni works in marketing for the Customer Support and Delivery operational unit at Cook Medical. In her day-to-day job she supports her Cook team by finding ways to enhance the customer experience and journey. As a unit, they want to make sure that their customers have the tools they need to be able to work with Cook Medical successfully – whether that’s solutions for purchasing, delivery, inventory, or better communication.

Joni was first introduced to AHRMM in 2014 when she started working at Cook Medical – incidentally, she was also introduced to the healthcare supply chain industry at that time. She’s taken a rather circuitous route to get here, but Joni thoroughly enjoys working in healthcare supply chain; she finds it fascinating, and believes it’s an especially exciting time to be working in the field of healthcare. Healthcare supply chain has been a rather sharp learning curve for Joni, as she studied custom homebuilding, interior design, and apparel merchandizing in college. When she graduated from Indiana University, the recession was in full swing and the housing market had crashed. She had to come up with a Plan B! During this period Joni had gotten married and moved to Bloomington IN, which happens to be home to Cook. She interviewed with the company and accepted a job offer at Cook Pharmica, where she served as operations coordinator with some marketing responsibilities. Her interest in and knack for marketing led her to apply for an open position at Cook Medical, which is how she ended up in her current position as brand marketing specialist.

Despite the sharp learning curve, Joni really loves her job. “I am part of an amazing company that truly understands putting patients’ needs first. At Cook, the patient is always at the heart of what we do; they provide the pulse for our work, and that keeps us going. By keeping that focus and putting the patient at the center, it helps us make unbiased decisions.”  Joni was drawn to Cook largely because of its culture, which values hard work and is patient-focused.

After hearing about her father, who Joni cites as her primary influencer, it seems natural that she was drawn to a company with Cooks’ ethos. “My dad’s example taught me to have a strong work ethic; how to be driven, but lead fairly and humbly.” Her dad is retired now, but Joni describes him as a great leader – thoughtful, a good listener, empathetic to the needs of his staff, always willing to go out of his way to help. “Dad is always intentional and thoughtful – he doesn’t just react; he takes a total inventory and then makes a decision. And he always has a smile! He believes it is important to set a right attitude and culture.

“Largely due to the work culture at Cook, I feel like I have the best people to work with. The best part of my job is supporting our teams internally to better understand how to help customers and patients.” Even though she doesn’t work directly with patients, Joni knows she positively impacts community health, and that gives her much satisfaction.

As for what she finds most challenging, Joni says, “As a company, we need to envision where things are moving and how the healthcare landscape is going to look years from now. The healthcare industry is changing so rapidly…which makes it exciting and a great time to be new to it, but also a little daunting. Coming in to the field of healthcare and supply chain and not having a formal education or degree in either one can be intimidating. I am learning an incredible amount from people who have been in the industry for a long, long time. Sometimes, having studied apparel merchandising, I think, ‘why can’t we do things like a retailer would?’  But healthcare is so complex!” She finds herself listening a lot and absorbing as much information as she can to help her understand the nuts and bolts and nuances. That is where AHRMM has been most helpful.

“I listen closely when I’m in meetings with experts at Cook and at AHRMM.” Cook Medical has been a CQO partner for years, and as such Joni gets to sit in on AHRMM’s CQO Advisory Council meetings. “I love being connected to what collaborations are going on and seeing how I and/or our organization can get plugged in. I have also had the opportunity to attend the 2015, 2016, and 2017 annual conferences. At every conference I have been able to grow my understanding of healthcare supply chain and create/grow meaningful relationships.”

A common thing Joni hears in her conversations and meetings is that no health system is the same, which adds to the complexity and challenge.  “Each partnership is unique. Things can go one way in working with one trading partner, and we learn from that experience, but things will never plateau or be the same in other situations, so the question becomes ‘how do you keep up and how do you stay connected?’ And that’s why AHRMM is so important. AHRMM is the answer to that question.”

Joni uses several AHRMM resources in her position. “My go-to resource is the Knowledge Center on the AHRMM website. It is one of my top bookmarks! I also rely on the case studies, white papers, and Supply Chain Strategies & Solutions articles.”

As far as education, Joni’s top pick is the AHRMM annual conference. “I understand the gravity of the changes in healthcare supply chain best when I am able to listen to key influencers speak and share new ideas at the AHRMM conference. It’s the right venue to bring all of the right people together. I’m very impressed with the organizations, the individuals there, the conversations that are happening. There are some wonderful case study presentations. It stimulates my thinking– if they can do it we can do it! I love the face-to-face interactions – there are a lot of hallway conversations, lots of introductions that you can’t get anywhere else.”

“From a marketing standpoint, AHRMM gives companies broad exposure. There are many opportunities for suppliers to get their name out there! The AHRMM team is easy to work with; they want to facilitate relationships and see both sides succeed. The CQO summit brings in different speakers –that opportunity alone is wonderful – there’s nothing else like it. I have really amazing conversations there.” Like many of us, Joni feels that at work, tied up in your day-to-day activities, it’s difficult to slow yourself down and seek out connections and resources. “AHRMM’s annual conference gives you permission to pause, connect, and learn. You can’t beat in-person conversations!”

As someone new to the healthcare supply chain, Joni has found great value in being part of a professional association. “My AHRMM membership provides me the tools and relationships to be able to have a deep understanding of what is going on in the industry so I can help my organization make informed decisions.” Asked to describe her AHRMM membership in ten words or less, Joni distills her thoughts to this: “A strong connection to the healthcare supply chain industry.”

Joni is dedicated to her job and applies herself wholeheartedly, but she has a holistic approach to life and likes to take time to relax and spend time away from the office. Toward this end, she takes horseback riding lessons, and hopes to have her own horse someday. The activity nicely combines two of her great loves – animals and the great outdoors. She finds something extraordinary about connecting with horses and having to speak to them and influence them with her body. She’s found it challenging at times, as they can be stubborn, and they have the upper hand when it comes to size! Still, she’s learned patience and a sees it as a lesson in building trust. She’s found it’s taught her valuable experience she can translate to other parts of her life; she’s learned to be more comfortable with being assertive and confident in her instincts. At the end of the day, though, it’s really about freedom and letting go. “Nothing compares to riding full out, just you in the saddle with your horse, moving forward, having fun – the wind in your hair and the sun on your face.”

In addition to horseback riding, Joni is also passionate about music, interior design, and Pilates. A little known fact about Joni is that she is a certified mat Pilates teacher! Aside from work and family, that’s how she occupies her time.

Perhaps taking a page from her father’s book, her personal motto is “laugh every day and be kind to one another.” Those are good words to live by.