Long before Aloha Ray started her career at Samaritan as a receptionist, she had big plans for her professional life and an even bigger reason for pursuing health care as a career.
After a few starts and stops (think pandemic), and staying home to raise her youngest daughter, Ray returned to college to get her medical billing and coding certificates and an associate degree.
“I had the schooling and knew I wanted to do more, to be more involved with patient care,” Ray said. She’s worked at a Samaritan resident clinic since December 2021.
Knowing Ray wanted new challenges, her clinic manager encouraged Ray to pursue certification through Samaritan’s Medical Assistant Apprenticeship Program.
“With hands-on learning at the place of employment, I was being taught real-life things I would be doing in the future,” Ray said. “Now, six months after training, I know I can do this. I can definitely do this.”
And patients seem to agree, often asking for her personally.
Ray laughed, “Oh, they’re like, ‘It’s Aloha! I want to talk to Aloha!’ I really, really enjoy what I do and being able to make a difference.”
Her enthusiasm for her patients and the apprenticeship program is contagious, too.
“I recruited our other apprentice who recently graduated. I told her she just had to do it! With the hands-on training and Samaritan paying for the entire program, it’s amazing.”
Which brings us to Ray’s bigger reason for choosing a career in health care, specifically, a career at Samaritan.
“They saved my dad’s life,” Ray said. “Samaritan is the only place I wanted to work and the only place I applied for a job after I got my associate degree. My sister works here, too.
“Years later when our dad passed, Samaritan was so thoughtful and accommodating. It felt like a family looking out for us. That’s another reason why I love Samaritan.”
Looking for a new job? From housekeeping to nursing and accounting to managing, there are a lot of opportunities to explore at Samaritan Health Services.
