SHELTON, WA – As a Clinic Supervisor at Mason Clinic who still makes time to care for patients on the floor as a certified medical assistant, Renee Kapa, MA-C, shines as a leader. Known for her grace under pressure and commitment to learning new processes that will help her department and the District succeed, Kapa epitomizes Mason Health’s values of Service & Relationships. Recognizing her willingness to solve problems and be a team player, several of Kapa’s coworkers nominated and selected her as the January 2024 Employee of the Month.

Kapa’s work ethic and willingness to “say yes” to projects comes from her family, she said: “I’m a yes person because I grew up in a military family. My dad was in the Air Force and everything was ‘yes.’ It also makes me happy to make other people happy.”

Kapa grew up in Florida and her family settled in Shelton when her dad retired. Kapa graduated from Shelton High School Class of 1997 and found that her “soft skills” in relationship building served her well as an employee of Applebee’s, where she worked for 14 years, starting out as a bartender, then transitioning to leadership roles and finally becoming the general manager of a restaurant in Graham. Then, Kapa’s mom was diagnosed with cancer, and Kapa’s outlook on her life changed.

Watching nurses care for her mother opened her eyes to a new way of helping people. Kapa worked on getting her Certified Nursing Assistant and Phlebotomy licenses and then worked for six years as an endoscopy technician at Providence Centralia Hospital, before obtaining her Certified Medical Assistant (MA-C) license.

Her best friend from high school, Mason Clinic Patient Access Supervisor Breanna Turner, let her know there was a job opening as an MA-C at Mason Health’s Women’s Health clinic.

“I know myself, and I know that I get bored easily,” Kapa said. “I’m always wanting to learn something new. Learning and working in all of the different specialties appealed to me.”

Kapa started in the women’s clinic in January 2020, also helping out in Primary Care and Podiatry. In 2021, she transferred to Pediatrics and by summer 2022, she was promoted to Clinic Supervisor, overseeing the medical assistants’ schedules and orders for the various specialties.

“Renee goes way, way above the call of duty,” said Mason Clinic-Primary Care’s Taresa Spencer, LPN. “She is always willing to jump in where needed, no matter the situation. She stands out from most supervisors with her conduct, loyalty and flexibility. She is one-of-a-kind.”

Kapa keeps up with her medical license so she can still help out on the floor. She serves as vice chair of Mason Health’s Employee Activities Committee, has served on the Emergency Preparedness Committee, volunteers to help out with career fairs at Shelton High School, leads Mason Clinic’s back-to-school vaccination events and helped plan Mason Health’s Trunk-or-Treat event. She also created a new tuberculosis protocol when there was a rise of the disease in Mason County, ran an HPV trial for Mason Clinic-Pediatrics through the Department of Health and is a Bonfire leader at Mason Clinic, training employees on best customer service skills.

“No task for Renee is too large or small,” said Executive Assistant Pamela Kim. “As a Bonfire leader, her huddles are by far the top-attended because she makes them fun, as well as educational. She is kind, fair, smart, professional and a joy to work for and with.”

Turner once asked Kapa to fill in for her when she and her manager were in a training all-day.

“Not only did Renee agree to help oversee my department, she also had a very difficult situation that needed attention quicky,” Turner recalled. “My staff called upon her to help and without hesitation she jumped right in and took ahold of the situation with poise. Per my team they were very thankful and grateful that Renee was here to help and support them that day.”

Kapa enjoys photography, kayaking (even on rainy days) and spending time with her three children and husband, Adam, on their oyster farm on Hammersley Inlet. She also is a licensed REALTOR and enjoys helping friends find their dream homes.

Mason Health, Public Hospital District No. 1 of Mason County, is ISO 9001 Quality Management System certified by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and is a licensed and accredited acute care hospital with a level four emergency trauma designation. Mason General Hospital and Mason Clinic are ENERGY STAR® certified and Mason Health is the recipient of three Practice Greenhealth Partner for Change Awards and a Greening the OR Environmental Excellence Award. There are more than 100 physicians on staff in 19 specialties. For more information or to find a health care provider, visit www.masongeneral.com. To learn more about DNV, visit www.dnv.com/healthcare.

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