September Employee Spotlight: Fiorella Montoya Hidalgo

My name is Fiorella Montoya Hidalgo, and I am a Registered Nurse and one of the Utilization Management Supervisors here at Kepro. I am a remote employee currently working from my home office in Florida.
Whenever I get the chance, I love to spend time with my family at the beach. A few of my favorite beaches to visit are Hollywood Beach, Marco Island, and North Bay Village. One fun fact about me is that my name means "little flower" in Italian.

I initially pursued nursing because of my grandfather. He had a tremendous impact on my life. As a child, I spent summers in Kendall Regional Hospital in the late 1990s. The nurses I encountered during that time showed me that being a nurse was so much more than a person's medical skills and training alone. It was their heart and compassion that made all the difference.

I earned my Bachelor's from South University-Georgia and have worked as a community and palliative care nurse in pediatrics and geriatrics. I've been a supervisor for community care programs for several years. I joined Kepro in October 2021. My role at Kepro is supervising the Behavior Analysis (BA) Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) Care Coordination Program operations and supporting the MDT Care Coordinators. This pilot program specializes in helping families navigate the prior authorization process of their child's BA services.

Communication is vital, especially when ongoing daily changes in processes or policies exist. A typical day consists of ensuring the MDT queues are compliant, following up with applied behavior analysis (ABA) providers and providing guidance to the care coordinators on specific issues that may come with a client's services. What brings joy to what we do daily is knowing that we all participate in helping a child obtain quality ABA services. Our role may be small in the scope of care, but these programs will significantly impact the child's life. Knowing that we all have the same intention and service to our community drives the team to do the best we can and allows us to work hand in hand towards the same goal.

I enjoy working with my teammates and taking constructive feedback to improve or resolve issues. I interact with members when needed when the team requires additional support, as there may be difficult situations to navigate when caring for a special needs child. It is often in those one-on-one moments with parents that create those memorable and special connections. Handling these aspects of life feels better when you know you're not alone.