Amber Specialty Pharmacy Employee Earns Company’s Highest Honor

• August 13, 2019
• Amber Specialty Pharmacy
• Amber Specialty Pharmacy

Dealing with complex medical conditions can be overwhelming, frustrating and sometimes frightening. But for patients of Amber Specialty Pharmacy/Hy‐Vee Pharmacy Solutions, a subsidiary of Hy‐Vee, Inc., help and support is often just a phone call away – and the person on the other end of that line is Jennifer Faulkner.

Faulkner, a senior fulfillment pharmacy technician at Amber Specialty Pharmacy/Hy‐Vee Pharmacy Solutions, is known for providing exceptional, personal customer service to each and every patient. She keeps her eyes out for refills for patients, and picks up the phone if she doesn’t see them come through when expected. And she’s known to do just about anything to make sure her customers get the medication they need, when they need it.

Legendary Customer Service Award

Faulkner’s dedication to caring for her patients is why fellow employees, family members, patients and Hy‐Vee executives gathered at the Amber Specialty Pharmacy offices in Omaha to surprise Faulkner with the Legendary Customer Service Award. The award recognizes exemplary achievement in providing service that exceeds customers’ expectations. Only 11 winners are selected each year from among more than 80,000 Hy‐Vee employees across eight states. The surprise ceremony also was livestreamed to other Amber Specialty Pharmacy/HPS locations across the nation – Des Moines; Chicago; Houston; San Bernadino, California; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Buffalo, New York; Richmond, Virginia; and two offices in the Dallas area.

“Jen’s care and involvement with her patients truly is legendary,” said Aaron Wiese, vice president, Hy‐Vee, and president, Amber Specialty Pharmacy. “She guides her patients to the lowest cost options for their medications, and answers their questions to help them find solutions. She is one of the hardest workers I know and is relentless in doing everything she can to make sure her patients feel like they are in good hands.”

Dedication to Patients

Faulkner delivers personalized, caring service to every patient she serves. When a pediatric patient’s out‐of-pocket costs for a specialized medication totaled more than $2,500, Faulkner searched for grant funding and found a source that would cover the entire cost. The patient’s father took an afternoon off work and drove two hours to Omaha to thank Faulkner in person for her help, and still sends her Christmas cards nearly six years later. When a patient for whom Faulkner had been providing medication to aid in fertility treatments for several years called, co‐workers walked into the pharmacy to find Faulkner crying tears of joy on the phone as the patient shared she was pregnant. That patient, too, has Faulkner on her Christmas card list.

Contributions to the Company

Candidates are nominated for the Legendary Customer Service Award by their co‐workers, and winners are selected by a panel of Hy‐Vee’s top officers. Nominations are evaluated on the employee’s overall contributions to the company in nine areas: passion for customer service, attitude, initiative, teamwork, problem‐solving skills, dedication to Hy‐Vee fundamentals, communication skills, professional image and self‐confidence.

“Jen would move heaven and earth for any patient or co‐worker,” Hy‐Vee Pharmacy Solutions pharmacy manager Amy Adams wrote. “She has the biggest heart and genuinely cares about her co‐workers and our patients. This is the way she was built and the way she operates.”

Hy‐Vee’s Chairman, CEO and President Randy Edeker said Faulkner demonstrates exactly the type of commitment to customers that Hy‐Vee leaders had in mind when the Legendary Customer Service Award was established in 2006.

“Jen lives out the things Hy‐Vee stands for in everything she does — caring, helpful and dedicated service to our customers. Her nominators pointed to example after example of her dedication to her patients, her co‐workers and the work she does,” Edeker said. “This award honors the best of the best from among our Hy‐Vee family, and Jen is most deserving of this recognition.”

Customer Service Hall of Fame

Faulkner and the other 2019 recipients of the Legendary Customer Service Award will be inducted into Hy‐Vee’s Customer Service Hall of Fame and receive a coveted Legendary Customer Service name badge and a custom‐designed ring to commemorate the honor. They will be guests of honor at Hy‐Vee’s service award dinners in October, which honor employees for longevity of service. They also will be recognized at Hy‐Vee’s annual stockholders’ meeting in December. And finally, their photos will be prominently featured on the side of Hy‐Vee trucks, showcasing their helpful smiles to millions of travelers across the Midwest.