UAB Student Affairs has exceptional staff members who serve our campus with professionalism, kindness, and integrity. Each month, an employee who exemplifies the Blazer Way is honored based on a pool of nominations presented to the Professional Development Committee. The January Employee of the Month is Melea Hodge, Quality and Information Management Analyst for Student Health Services. Hodge continues to exceed expectations in her role.

What nominators said about Melea Hodge:

Melea joined Student Health Services about a year and a half ago to take on the Quality and Information Management Analyst position. She manages the electronic medical record system. Melea had to learn the EMR system basically on her own. She had to rely solely on the vendor and her previous work experience to answer any questions. Most EMR support groups have multiple team members; Melea is a team of one. She has taken ownership of her Student Health Services role and excelled in it. It is like she was made for this job, and Student Health Services never skipped a beat when this position became vacant due to the retirement of the previous employee.

Melea’s job was demanding enough as it was, but in October of 2023, Melea found herself doing more than just the job she was hired to do. She filled in for the medical clearance person who was on maternity leave. She also took on a portion of the responsibilities of medical referrals. Both positions were very demanding, and students/patients were depending on someone to handle their medical referrals and their compliance for enrollment.

From October through December of 2023, Melea demonstrated excellence by doing the work of multiple roles. There were days when she was very sick but refused to take a sick day, instead she worked from home and worked late hours even past midnight to make sure that student’s health needs were taken care of as well as what they needed to register for classes. She was committed to the wellbeing of students and refused to let them wait on what they needed.

Melea has demonstrated accountability by taking on all of these roles and performing them at the highest level. She has collaborated with the EMR vendor, IT support groups, labs, and several other departments on campus to make the experience as pleasant as possible for students. The amazing thing about all of this is that Melea is the nicest person you could meet, and though at times the tasks became overwhelming, Melea always greets everyone with a smile and a welcoming attitude. She always wants to make a good impression and do the right thing.