Meet Rolanda Aiken, vice president of Quality Improvement and Clinical Compliance.

Rolanda Aiken had her career all figured out at age 3. She was going to be a nurse, she told her parents, and — surprisingly — she stuck to that track. Rolanda attended a specialized high school for health professions, where she studied practical nursing and her high school courses concurrently. After she graduated from high school, she successfully passed her nursing boards and became a licensed practical nurse (LPN) at age 18. She attended the University of South Carolina School of Nursing in pursuit of her bachelor of science degree in nursing and worked as an LPN while completing her degree.

After graduating from college and successfully passing her nursing boards, she began exploring the nursing profession as a registered nurse by working in various clinical settings. Rolanda’s journey led her to an opportunity at BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina 26 years ago, where she uses the experience she gained from her broad clinical background.

BlueCross members benefit from her experience.

“Every day I draw upon the clinical knowledge and insight I attained in the hospital, nursing home, home health and the community. I feel as though I’m better equipped to serve our members because of that experience,” she says with a smile.

“My work now is focused on improving the health and experience of our members through innovative programs and collaborative partnerships that help make health care more affordable.”

Recently, Rolanda’s team has increased member engagement efforts and continues to look for ways to meet the needs of members and partner with network providers. For example, under her leadership BlueCross has partnered with a mobile health vendor to help members find primary care physicians, make quality care more accessible and close care gaps. That effort, and others, helped Rolanda’s team achieve a four out of five star quality performance rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for Affordable Care Act (ACA) members.

This quality rating system, based on health care data and member surveys, helps customers select qualified plans during open enrollment and provides BlueCross with actionable information that can be used to further improve quality and performance.

For Rolanda, who still keeps her active registered nursing license, it all goes back to being a good nurse and advocate. She says the only difference is that now she is no longer caring at the bedside, but on a larger scale.

Jan. 30, 2020