Sylvia Martinez, Administrator, Altomar Home Healthcare
When it was unpopular for women to achieve academic greatness and lead career-oriented lives, Sylvia Martinez did it. Without much support from her family, Sylvia earned a Bachelor of Science at UTEP and worked as a nurse in the newborn and pediatric intensive care units at Providence Memorial Hospital. For a Hispanic woman in the 80’s, Sylvia’s achievements surpassed everyone’s expectations. Still, for Sylvia, there was more that needed to be done. Sylvia Martinez set herself apart from other women in business when she pivoted her full attention to the need for medical care between patients’ hospital stay and their first few days at home. Recognizing the need to bridge the gap in such common situations led Sylvia to establish Altomar Home Healthcare in 1999.
Altomar Home Healthcare is a full-service Home Health Agency that offers compassionate and professional care to patients ranging from infants to the elderly and the disabled. The highly-qualified staff includes Certified Nurse Assistants, Certified Home Health Aides, Registered and Vocational Nurses, Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists. Su Voz Latina sat down with Altomar co-founder, Sylvia Martinez as she shared her initial fears, experiences, thoughts on Latinas in business and how we can all give each other a boost.
Su Voz Latina: What motivated you to start your own business?
Sylvia Martinez: Seeing the need there was to bridge the gap between being in the hospital and going home; especially when it came to children, the elderly and young adults. As a nurse, people call you and ask you [for help], but once [patients] are discharged, although you can provide them with support, [as a nurse] you can’t really advise them. There was a definite need for adult and children care in the area. Today the hospital stay is shortened. [Patients] barely wake up [from procedures] and the hospital staff is already sending them home. You have to have a really strong support system at home, especially the elderly, who are at risk of going back to the hospital.
SVL: What did it take for you to start your business?
SM: First, there was a need. There had to be a certain passion and drive. It’s like, “OK I’ve been working for other people, but I’d like the opportunity to do it for myself,” but it’s scary. It takes a lot of guts and courage. THAT is the hardest part, convincing yourself, “I can do this.” You have to leave the security of the predictability of your check and take a leap of faith. It’s hard, but it’s convincing yourself that you CAN do it.
SVL: How have you kept afloat amidst the turbulent economy and changes in healthcare?
SM: We felt it with changes in healthcare probably a year or so before everyone else did because Medicare started switching to managed care. When you work with a managed care program, or a private insurance company, everything has to be preauthorized. People switched on us without telling us. We had to reexamine how we were doing things, what was working and what we had to do to catch things earlier. We worked with our employees to reevaluate everything–we had to regroup. The hardest thing for me was saying ‘no’ to parents whose children I’d been seeing for a long time, but whose insurance no longer covered [their care]. It was hard to refer them to other agencies who were better providers for their network.
SVL: What are the key elements to being a successful woman in business?
SM: [Primarily] you have to have a lot of faith; faith in God, in yourself and in other people. I tried to micro-manage at first. I wanted to do EVERYTHING because I would’ve rather done it myself than to give it to someone else. I didn’t think [others] could do as good a job as I did. But then when you get to be exhausted, then you think, “OK I need to show [my employees] what I know.” When you teach somebody what you know, that’s when you really cement what you believe in, what you know, and the wisdom you know that’s not really in the books.” It was embarrassing when my employees did things better than I did.
SVL: How do you differ from other women in business?
SM: It’s basic; it’s living by the golden rule. Loving God above all things and then treating others as you want to be treated. When you do that, it makes a difference in whether you want to take shortcuts or not. I would ask myself, “Do I want to see this patient right now? I’m tired.” [Then you think], “If that was me, and I was coming out of the hospital, I would be scared.” So then you make the effort, you go to your appointment, because that’s what [you] would need. The courtesies [mean a lot]. Take other people into consideration.
SVL: As a Latina, do you feel that your ethnicity harbors or hinders your goals?
SM: It was difficult in the beginning. I have to be honest, even attending college was difficult. People fear failure, but they also fear success. My mother didn’t want me to work, just help out the family. Going to college was out of the question, [my mother would say] “We work, college is for other people,” but I had a scholarship. If I hadn’t stood up to her then, I would’ve never stood up for myself now.
SVL: How do you see the future of Latinas in the business world?
SM: Honestly, they’re already doing it, they’ve been doing it. We have a very strong matriarchal society. When my grandfather passed away my grandmother made burritos and sold them at the construction sites and different places. She did what she had to do to survive. They’ve already done it, [we] do what we need to survive.
Watch Sylvia in action as she lets us in on her favorite pastime!
hen it was unpopular for women to achieve academic greatness and lead career-oriented lives, Sylvia Martinez did it. Without much support from her family, Sylvia earned a Bachelor of Science at UTEP and worked as a nurse in the newborn and pediatric intensive care units at Providence Memorial Hospital. For a Hispanic woman in the 80’s, Sylvia’s achievements surpassed everyone’s expectations. Still, for Sylvia, there was more that needed to be done. Sylvia Martinez set herself apart from other women in business when she pivoted her full attention to the need for medical care between patients’ hospital stay and their first few days at home. Recognizing the need to bridge the gap in such common situations led Sylvia to establish Altomar Home Healthcare in 1999.
Altomar Home Healthcare is a full-service Home Health Agency that offers compassionate and professional care to patients ranging from infants to the elderly and the disabled. The highly-qualified staff includes Certified Nurse Assistants, Certified Home Health Aides, Registered and Vocational Nurses, Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists. Su Voz Latina sat down with Altomar co-founder, Sylvia Martinez as she shared her initial fears, experiences, thoughts on Latinas in business and how we can all give each other a boost.
Su Voz Latina: What motivated you to start your own business?
Sylvia Martinez: Seeing the need there was to bridge the gap between being in the hospital and going home; especially when it came to children, the elderly and young adults. As a nurse, people call you and ask you [for help], but once [patients] are discharged, although you can provide them with support, [as a nurse] you can’t really advise them. There was a definite need for adult and children care in the area. Today the hospital stay is shortened. [Patients] barely wake up [from procedures] and the hospital staff is already sending them home. You have to have a really strong support system at home, especially the elderly, who are at risk of going back to the hospital.
SVL: What did it take for you to start your business?
SM: First, there was a need. There had to be a certain passion and drive. It’s like, “OK I’ve been working for other people, but I’d like the opportunity to do it for myself,” but it’s scary. It takes a lot of guts and courage. THAT is the hardest part, convincing yourself, “I can do this.” You have to leave the security of the predictability of your check and take a leap of faith. It’s hard, but it’s convincing yourself that you CAN do it.
SVL: How have you kept afloat amidst the turbulent economy and changes in healthcare?
SM: We felt it with changes in healthcare probably a year or so before everyone else did because Medicare started switching to managed care. When you work with a managed care program, or a private insurance company, everything has to be preauthorized. People switched on us without telling us. We had to reexamine how we were doing things, what was working and what we had to do to catch things earlier. We worked with our employees to reevaluate everything–we had to regroup. The hardest thing for me was saying ‘no’ to parents whose children I’d been seeing for a long time, but whose insurance no longer covered [their care]. It was hard to refer them to other agencies who were better providers for their network.
SVL: What are the key elements to being a successful woman in business?
SM: [Primarily] you have to have a lot of faith; faith in God, in yourself and in other people. I tried to micro-manage at first. I wanted to do EVERYTHING because I would’ve rather done it myself than to give it to someone else. I didn’t think [others] could do as good a job as I did. But then when you get to be exhausted, then you think, “OK I need to show [my employees] what I know.” When you teach somebody what you know, that’s when you really cement what you believe in, what you know, and the wisdom you know that’s not really in the books.” It was embarrassing when my employees did things better than I did.
SVL: How do you differ from other women
in business?
SM: It’s basic; it’s living by the golden rule. Loving God above all things and then treating others as you want to be treated. When you do that, it makes a difference in whether you want to take shortcuts or not. I would ask myself, “Do I want to see this patient right now? I’m tired.” [Then you think], “If that was me, and I was coming out of the hospital, I would be scared.” So then you make the effort, you go to your appointment, because that’s what [you] would need. The courtesies [mean a lot]. Take other people into consideration.
SVL: As a Latina, do you feel that your ethnicity harbors or hinders your goals?
SM: It was difficult in the beginning. I have to be honest, even attending college was difficult. People fear failure, but they also fear success. My mother didn’t want me to work, just help out the family. Going to college was out of the question, [my mother would say] “We work, college is for other people,” but I had a scholarship. If I hadn’t stood up to her then, I would’ve never stood up for myself now.
SVL: How do you see the future of Latinas in the business world?
SM: Honestly, they’re already doing it, they’ve been doing it. We have a very strong matriarchal society. When my grandfather passed away my grandmother made burritos and sold them at the construction sites and different places. She did what she had to do to survive. They’ve already done it, [we] do what we need to survive.hen it was unpopular for women to achieve academic greatness and lead career-oriented lives, Sylvia Martinez did it. Without much support from her family, Sylvia earned a Bachelor of Science at UTEP and worked as a nurse in the newborn and pediatric intensive care units at Providence Memorial Hospital. For a Hispanic woman in the 80’s, Sylvia’s achievements surpassed everyone’s expectations. Still, for Sylvia, there was more that needed to be done. Sylvia Martinez set herself apart from other women in business when she pivoted her full attention to the need for medical care between patients’ hospital stay and their first few days at home. Recognizing the need to bridge the gap in such common situations led Sylvia to establish Altomar Home Healthcare in 1999.
Altomar Home Healthcare is a full-service Home Health Agency that offers compassionate and professional care to patients ranging from infants to the elderly and the disabled. The highly-qualified staff includes Certified Nurse Assistants, Certified Home Health Aides, Registered and Vocational Nurses, Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists. Su Voz Latina sat down with Altomar co-founder, Sylvia Martinez as she shared her initial fears, experiences, thoughts on Latinas in business and how we can all give each other a boost.
Su Voz Latina: What motivated you to start your own business?
Sylvia Martinez: Seeing the need there was to bridge the gap between being in the hospital and going home; especially when it came to children, the elderly and young adults. As a nurse, people call you and ask you [for help], but once [patients] are discharged, although you can provide them with support, [as a nurse] you can’t really advise them. There was a definite need for adult and children care in the area. Today the hospital stay is shortened. [Patients] barely wake up [from procedures] and the hospital staff is already sending them home. You have to have a really strong support system at home, especially the elderly, who are at risk of going back to the hospital.
SVL: What did it take for you to start your business?
SM: First, there was a need. There had to be a certain passion and drive. It’s like, “OK I’ve been working for other people, but I’d like the opportunity to do it for myself,” but it’s scary. It takes a lot of guts and courage. THAT is the hardest part, convincing yourself, “I can do this.” You have to leave the security of the predictability of your check and take a leap of faith. It’s hard, but it’s convincing yourself that you CAN do it.
SVL: How have you kept afloat amidst the turbulent economy and changes in healthcare?
SM: We felt it with changes in healthcare probably a year or so before everyone else did because Medicare started switching to managed care. When you work with a managed care program, or a private insurance company, everything has to be preauthorized. People switched on us without telling us. We had to reexamine how we were doing things, what was working and what we had to do to catch things earlier. We worked with our employees to reevaluate everything–we had to regroup. The hardest thing for me was saying ‘no’ to parents whose children I’d been seeing for a long time, but whose insurance no longer covered [their care]. It was hard to refer them to other agencies who were better providers for their network.
SVL: What are the key elements to being a successful woman in business?
SM: [Primarily] you have to have a lot of faith; faith in God, in yourself and in other people. I tried to micro-manage at first. I wanted to do EVERYTHING because I would’ve rather done it myself than to give it to someone else. I didn’t think [others] could do as good a job as I did. But then when you get to be exhausted, then you think, “OK I need to show [my employees] what I know.” When you teach somebody what you know, that’s when you really cement what you believe in, what you know, and the wisdom you know that’s not really in the books.” It was embarrassing when my employees did things better than I did.
SVL: How do you differ from other women
in business?
SM: It’s basic; it’s living by the golden rule. Loving God above all things and then treating others as you want to be treated. When you do that, it makes a difference in whether you want to take shortcuts or not. I would ask myself, “Do I want to see this patient right now? I’m tired.” [Then you think], “If that was me, and I was coming out of the hospital, I would be scared.” So then you make the effort, you go to your appointment, because that’s what [you] would need. The courtesies [mean a lot]. Take other people into consideration.
SVL: As a Latina, do you feel that your ethnicity harbors or hinders your goals?
SM: It was difficult in the beginning. I have to be honest, even attending college was difficult. People fear failure, but they also fear success. My mother didn’t want me to work, just help out the family. Going to college was out of the question, [my mother would say] “We work, college is for other people,” but I had a scholarship. If I hadn’t stood up to her then, I would’ve never stood up for myself now.
SVL: How do you see the future of Latinas in the business world?
SM: Honestly, they’re already doing it, they’ve been doing it. We have a very strong matriarchal society. When my grandfather passed away my grandmother made burritos and sold them at the construction sites and different places. She did what she had to do to survive. They’ve already done it, [we] do what we need to survive.
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