How Modivcare launched its first formal recognition program
A leader in social determinants of health built an end-to-end recognition program -- birthdays, anniversaries, company values, sympathy, get-well, and thank-you cards -- to show internal team members the same care extended to the populations Modivcare serves.
Donte Fears
Director, Culture and Team Member Experience
Modivcare
Industry
Healthcare / Social Determinants of Health
Use Cases
Birthdays · Anniversaries · Values · Sympathy · Get-Well · Thank You
Outcome
Enhanced overall culture; first formal recognition program
A healthcare leader without a formal recognition program
Modivcare operates at the intersection of healthcare access and social services. As a leader in social determinants of health, the company's work involves transporting people to medical appointments, helping individuals manage chronic conditions, and connecting members to community resources. The mission is care.
The team understood that culture for internal team members couldn't be an afterthought. As Donte Fears, Director of Culture and Team Member Experience, framed it: it's important to show internal team members the same care Modivcare extends to its external members. But without a formal recognition program in place, the moments that matter most -- a work anniversary, a sympathy card after a loss, a thank-you for going above and beyond -- happened inconsistently, depending on who remembered.
Modivcare needed a recognition program that covered the full range of human moments at work, scaled across the organization, and was easy enough that the program would actually run.
Six card categories. One platform. The full recognition lifecycle.
Modivcare partnered with eCardWidget to launch their first formal recognition program. Rather than narrowly focusing on a single use case, the team built six branded card categories on the platform from day one:
Birthday cards
Every team member, every year, automated.
Anniversary cards
Service-anniversary milestones, automated.
Company value cards
Recognition tied to Modivcare's stated values.
Get-well cards
For team members who are out sick.
Thank-you cards
Peer-to-peer and manager appreciation.
Sympathy cards
For losses in the team-member's life.
The breadth matters. Most recognition programs cover the celebratory moments (birthdays, anniversaries) and skip the harder, more human ones (sympathy, get-well). Modivcare's program treats team members as whole people -- present for the highs and the lows.
This year, we had the opportunity to partner with eCardWidget to implement our first formal recognition within our organization. As the leader in social determinants of health, it's important that we show our internal team members that we care as much as we do our external members. We have been able to create birthday cards, anniversary cards, company value cards as well as get well soon, thank you, and sympathy. This program has enhanced our overall culture, and I couldn't be more satisfied with my experience. Thank you for offering a way to make connections to team members.
Donte Fears
Director, Culture and Team Member Experience · Modivcare
A culture program, not just a tool
First formal recognition program
From ad-hoc to standardized -- a recognition program with consistent branding, scheduling, and reach across the entire team.
Six categories live
Birthdays, anniversaries, values, get-well, thank-you, sympathy -- the full range of human moments at work, all branded for Modivcare.
Enhanced overall culture
In Donte Fears's words: the program "enhanced our overall culture." A consistent way to make connections to team members.
In healthcare, the cost of disengagement is patient-facing
Modivcare's mission is care for the patients it serves -- which depends on the team members delivering that care. Healthcare-specific research consistently finds that engaged staff are dramatically less likely to leave their organization, and that turnover costs in healthcare run into the tens of thousands per role.
The Modivcare program is structurally interesting because it doesn't just cover the easy moments (birthdays, anniversaries). It covers sympathy, get-well, and thank-you cards -- the moments when treating someone as a whole person matters most. That breadth is what shifts a recognition tool into a culture program.
For other healthcare organizations considering a recognition program, Modivcare's playbook is portable: launch with multiple categories, lean on automation for the scheduled moments (birthdays, anniversaries), and reserve human judgment for the contextual ones (sympathy, get-well).
Launch the same recognition lifecycle for your team
Set up six recognition categories the way Modivcare did. Same-day setup. Branded to your organization.