Healthcare connections gave me one of my favorite vacations ❤️🏔️
This spring, my husband, Greg, and I ventured out west for our first time… and just WOW. 🤩
Yellowstone had been on both of our lists for a long time. And when we saw that one of our favorite bands was playing in Bozeman, we decided it was time to go see the big skies. From fly fishing to mountains to ALL the wildlife, it lived up to all the hype! Somewhere toward the end of trip, I realized something that made me chuckle: 3 of our favorite experiences happened because of someone I've met through this healthcare industry!
Anddd honestly...that feels VERY on brand for my life. 😆
If we know each other at all, you know I'm talking about relationships. It's my favorite thing about working in healthcare. Of course, the work, technology, and patients matter. But the people are what keep me showing up and coming back. I’ve been lucky to have professional relationships turn into genuine friendships, collaborations, and some of my favorite memories.
Apparently...they also make for pretty incredible travel agents. 😂
Yellowstone + Lea
Years ago, at my very first Swaay.Health Marketing Community (then HITMC) conference, I walked into the First Timer meetup not knowing many people. Lea Chatham was one of the Swaay veterans helping welcome all of us newcomers, and over the years we've stayed connected. This year we even were on a panel together at Swaay! When I remembered that she lived out in Bozeman, I asked her for recs. Immediately, she connected me to Chris, a Yellowstone tour guide.
Lea knows Chris through their kids, and I don't think Greg and I could have asked for a better guide! Chris somehow managed to be equal parts naturalist, storyteller, comedian, and wildlife spotter. His dry sense of humor was exactly our speed, and his knowledge of Yellowstone was unbelievable.
You could tell how much he genuinely loves the park, and we got lucky to see what he called the Yellowstone "grand slam”...a moose, a black bear, a grizzly bear, and a wolf. I still can't believe we saw all four in one day!! 🤯🐺🐻
One of the several black bears we saw!
Lewis and Clark Caverns + Stephanie
Before we made it to Yellowstone, another healthcare friend helped us kick off the trip.
Our Airbnb wouldn’t be ready for several hours when we landed, and on a catch up call with Stephanie Lahr, MD, CHCIO, FACHDM leading up to our trip, I shared with her that we were going. When hearing the gap in our Sunday itinerary, Stephanie quickly suggested a couple places, including the Lewis & Clark Caverns. I don’t think we’d have discovered it on our own ... but that could have been my VERY last minute planning and preparation for this trip. It was the 5th week of travel across 6 weeks for me, lol.
These caverns are the largest known limestone caverns in the Northwest, filled with incredible stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and formations that have been developing for millions of years. It was the perfect activity to open our eyes to the beauty of that part of the country.
I've gotten to know Stephanie over the last couple of years through different industry organizations like Bluebird Leaders and CHIME, and our mutual friend Mike Mosquito, CHCIO, MBA, PMP, CDH-E and now more recently through the fractional consulting world. Stephanie is sharp and fun, and her cavern rec was just as good as her professional recs.
{Fun ‘fate’ story with Steph: At ViVE this year, she told me I should meet Michael Silverstein about fractional work… and then I just happened to sit next to Mike on the plane ride home to CLE!}
SO cool. Look, but don't touch!!
Fly Fishing + Chris
Then there was fly fishing, which was at the tippy top of my husband’s bucket list (and now is a new hobby!).
Around the time we were planning the trip, I had one of those "we should virtually connect” moments with Chris Pace, whose name I had seen on LinkedIn through the Swaay community. We immediately hit it off, and amongst our casual chatting about the state of this country, I mentioned our Montana plans. Chris and his family had just been, and he had the perfect fly fishing guide recommendation with Brian. His patience, knowledge, and humor was exactly the guy you want to spend 5 hours with on the Madison River!
I caught a trout within about twenty minutes (which, let's be honest, dramatically exceeded my expectations 😆), proudly checked "catch a fish on a fly rod" off my list...
...and then happily settled into reading my Kindle while soaking in the gorgeous views. Greg, meanwhile, was thrilled to keep catching fish. A successful day for both of us. 🎣📚
The one fish I caught!
As we headed home, it hit me that none of this came from hours of scrolling travel blogs or trying to out-Google the algorithm. It came from conversations, relationships, and communities, from years of showing up: to conferences, coffee chats, podcast recordings, networking dinners, hallway convos, and all those small in-between moments I've written about before.
This is exactly why I invest so much in relationships. Relationships open doors professionally, sure. They lead to partnerships, introductions, and ideas I wouldn't have found on my own. But every so often they hand you something even better: a memory that has nothing to do with work at all. The perfect Yellowstone guide. A fly fishing afternoon your husband will still be talking about years from now. A cave you never knew you needed to see.
Healthcare has given me a career I love, communities that feel like home, and friends scattered across the country. Now I get to add one of my favorite vacations to that list too.
So thank you, Lea, Steph, and Chris, for sharing your favorite people and places with us. Greg and I are so grateful, and this is a trip we'll be talking about for a long time.
Now, who has recommendations for where we should go next?!!