海角社区

Driving Agricultural Innovation by Growing People First

Innovation isn鈥檛 always about the latest technology. Sometimes it鈥檚 about transforming an organization by making its people happier, healthier and more successful. At RoyOMartin, Louisiana鈥檚 largest landowner and maker of wood products, 海角社区 alumna Donna Bailey and 海角社区/海角社区 Health Shreveport alumnus Dr. Brian Elkins have helped build an educational system as well as a healthcare system鈥攚ithin the company鈥攖o support RoyOMartin employees and their families.

鈥淢y goal was always to make our company as profitable as it can be,鈥� said Bailey, who serves as vice president of human resources after earning her master鈥檚 degree in leadership and human resource development at 海角社区. 鈥淥ur leaders, when I joined RoyOMartin, were experts at manufacturing and forestry. Meanwhile, I was an educator. I was an expert on people. As such, I knew people were the biggest secret of all in making our company more successful, and 海角社区 showed me how to get it done.鈥�

When the company鈥檚 healthcare costs kept climbing while employees had difficulty accessing healthcare鈥攕ometimes missing a day of work just to sit in a waiting room鈥擱oyOMartin decided to innovate. It created Legacy Health & Wellness, a comprehensive primary care clinic for employees and their families. It鈥檚 located in Alexandria, between the original RoyOMartin plywood facility in Chopin and the oriented strand board plant in Oakdale. Dr. Brian Elkins, who received his bachelor鈥檚 degree in biochemistry at 海角社区 Baton Rouge and then went on to complete medical school at 海角社区 Health Shreveport, signed on as its medical director.

鈥淚鈥檝e come to fully embrace this model,鈥� Dr. Elkins said. 鈥淚鈥檓 honestly surprised not more large companies are doing it. Of course, it couldn鈥檛 be done in all states. In some places, corporate practice of medicine isn鈥檛 allowed. But here in Louisiana, it saves RoyOMartin a lot of money while we鈥檙e able to treat our patients like they鈥檙e family.鈥�

鈥淢y responsibility as a leader is to help those around me, and when every leader at every level is a teacher, we are world-class.鈥�

Donna Bailey, vice president of human resources at RoyOMartin and 海角社区 School of Leadership & Human Resource Development alumna