Comforts of home BROADBAND: HELPING YOU WORK

Comforts of home BROADBAND: HELPING YOU WORK

Fast internet assists remote workers

Story by LISA SAVAGE Photography by MARK GILLILAND

Sabrina Wilferd, director of regulatory compliance at LifePoint Health, works from her home in Farmington.

Sabrina Wilferd worked for years as a registered nurse at the hospital in Mayfield. In the medical field, she never dreamed she could spend her last few years before retirement working from home. Now, she’s doing just that.

Wilferd is among a growing number of professionals choosing to work remotely. About 6.6% of Americans worked exclusively from home in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. However, newer reports indicate that number has more than doubled.

Working from home never crossed Wilferd’s mind early in her career. She worked directly with patients, but she transitioned to a position dealing with the clinical aspect of the conversion to electronic health records. Much of her job involved regulatory compliance.

Even before she officially worked from home, technology allowed her to connect to hospital information using her home internet so she could access their system and address emergency issues. “I could dial in to the hospital system without having to go back to the hospital,” she says. “It wasn’t that far, but it always involved about 15 or 20 minutes one way.”

After working at the hospital for 26 years, she left in 2009 and became a clinical electronic medical records implementations consultant, traveling to various medical facilities. When she wasn’t traveling, though, she could work out of her house. After a few years she grew tired of the travel, and in 2016, she joined Capella Healthcare, based in Nashville. The company merged with LifePoint Health and owns and operates about 80 hospitals around the country. She serves as director of regulatory compliance. Now, she rarely travels.

“The vast majority of the time, I’m working from home,” she says. She drives from her Farmington house to Nashville about twice a month for meetings.

TECHNOLOGY

When Wilferd first worked out of her house 10 years ago, she had good internet service through WK&T. Now, even faster internet speed at her home allows her to perform all the duties she could do if she were in an office in Nashville. “At that time, I still had better internet than my colleagues in many metropolitan areas,” she says. “Now, it’s gotten even better over the last few years, and it’s made a huge difference.”

The improvement comes with the fiber optic network WK&T continues to expand, and Wilferd recently upgraded her internet speed. “I’ve had very few technical issues,” she says.

She can connect virtually through videoconferencing for important meetings, and at the same time, she can access all the applications she uses daily. “Everything that used to be on-site I can do remotely now. It’s just easier for everybody,” she says. “It’s nice to be able to not be on the road traveling as much.”

It’s not only easier for Wilferd, but it’s also more efficient for her employer. If she had to go to hospitals around the country for meetings, she would lose at least two days for travel to and from the facilities. And it’s almost a three-hour commute to the airport from her house. “I can accomplish so much more now. I’m much more productive at home,” she says. “My employer gets much more bang for their buck.”

FLEXIBILITY

While Wilferd does miss the camaraderie of co-workers, she has adjusted. She talks to people throughout the day on the phone, and her company uses an instant messaging system to address questions and comments without delay. “If I were in an office, I’d probably get up from my desk and go talk to someone,” she says. “Then, we’d end up talking about something else, too. Using instant messaging, I can ask or answer any question I need to without getting distracted.”

Now, she considers working from home a luxury and enjoys some flexibility. Her employer expects her to be available when needed, so she works traditional business hours. However, she can use a lunch break to prep for a meal or take a walk on her rural road. If the lunch break runs a little long, she can make up the work after hours.

Wilferd’s high-speed internet also allows options for her time off. When she’s not working, she utilizes streaming to watch Netflix and Amazon Prime programs. She also uses the internet for connecting other products through Wi-Fi in her home, which makes for convenience and entertainment.

“I never thought I would end up working from home,” Wilferd says. “This gives me an opportunity I never expected.”

Now in her late 50s, Wilferd says it’s a bridge to retirement. “I am hoping to work a few more years, but this makes it much easier until retirement,” she says. “I couldn’t imagine not working from home now.” 

Remote worker statistics

15% of U.S. wage and salary workers have days they only work at home.

50% of workers in management, business and financial operations sometimes work at home.

Why do people work from home?

24% personal preference

23% catching up on work

22% coordinating with personal/family needs

16% job requires it