Mother and Daughter Bond through Working at Fresenius Kidney Care

Some professional fields seem to have a generational calling. Children following the same career trajectories as their parents, siblings going into the same field, or whole families running a single business. Neither mother Joni Jordan, nor daughter Rosa Sandoval, anticipated working with dialysis patients, but both have found professional homes with Fresenius Kidney Care — Jordan as an insurance coordinator and Sandoval as a travel dialysis technician.

Starting a New Career in Dialysis

For matriarch Jordan, coming to work for Fresenius Kidney Care wasn’t a clear path. She had worked in a factory before making the decision at age 35 to go back to school to earn her associate degree so that she could move into an administrative role. She landed a job as a patient account representative at a Fresenius Kidney Care center in Ocala, Florida, in 1999.

Jordan went on to become an insurance coordinator and earned her bachelor’s degree at 50 years old using the Fresenius Medical Care tuition reimbursement program, when it became a company-wide job requirement for insurance coordinators. Today, Jordan is responsible for assisting with the insurance needs of people on dialysis at 10 centers in Florida. She enjoys speaking with patients daily to help them understand and maintain their insurance. “I think to myself, if my family member was going through this, I would want them to know how to navigate their insurance coverage,” says Jordan.  
 

Joining the Family Business

Jordan’s daughter, Rosa Sandoval, had an early introduction to dialysis: “My mom had been working at Fresenius Kidney Care since I was 12,” she says. “I grew up with it.” By her early twenties, Sandoval didn’t have a clear career path and was interested in working as a dialysis technician, but feared she wouldn’t be able to cannulate, the process of inserting a small needle into a patient’s access site. She soon realized she had a talent for working with people on dialysis, and that her fears were misplaced. “I can cannulate anyone,” she says with pride.

It's been 10 years and Sandoval thoroughly enjoys her daily interactions with patients. Since starting in Gainesville, Florida, she has gone on to become a travel dialysis technician, currently working out of a Fresenius Kidney Care center in Janesville, Wisconsin.

Her desire to travel was inspired by one of her patients, a former photographer. While dialyzing, he’d show her pictures he’d taken from around the world. “He would talk about his journeys, and that’s when I started thinking about becoming a travelling dialysis technician,” she says. This is just one example of how patients and their care team form bonds over years of getting to know each other.

Working with Patients: A Common Calling

Jordan and Sandoval work in different aspects of patient care, but both find meaning from forming relationships with people on dialysis. As an insurance coordinator, Jordan calls her patients monthly to check in and ensure they’re doing well. She’s formed connections with many people on dialysis, and recommends they call her with any questions.

Sandoval has seen firsthand how much her mom’s dedication to patients affects their care. Once, while working at a center in Omaha, one of her mother’s patients came in for treatment while he was visiting family. “I thought, what a small world,” Sandoval recalls. The man appreciated the monthly calls he received from Jordan, which Sandoval relayed back to her mom. Jordan always loves hearing from patients and was tickled by the coincidence.
 

Opportunities Ahead

Sandoval will soon move on from her travel position in Janesville and hopes to find a dialysis assignment at a Fresenius Kidney Care center in Hawaii. After spending this past winter in the Midwest, Hawaii’s warm, sandy beaches are appealing.

Both women have found rewarding careers in a field that offers them the ability to make connections with people on dialysis and the satisfaction of knowing they directly improve the lives of the patients they work with.

If you’d like to join Joni and Rosa in a robust career helping those living with kidney disease, please visit jobs.fmcna.com.