BusinessReport.com

Amanda Hymel always wanted to work in health care. The only obstacle was her aversion to the sight of blood.

Instead, she leveraged a natural affinity for numbers to earn an undergraduate degree in accounting and a CPA. However, Hymel says, “My first job in public accounting was at KPMG, and I realized it was not the direction I wanted to go. I also knew I would not pursue a clinical career.”

Shortly after she became aware of hospitals’ need for accounting professionals through LSU Career Services, she accepted a job as financial analyst at Woman’s Hospital. “It was a way to achieve my career goals and serve the community at the same time,” Hymel explains.

As her graduate school ambitions and career aspirations grew, so did her family. In 1998, Hymel celebrated the birth of her second child and completed three years of commuting to the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette) while working full time to receive a master’s of business administration with a concentration in health care.

At Woman’s, Hymel ascended to senior account analyst then to accounting director. She also indulged her passion for her profession by volunteering to teach Junior Achievement at Sherwood Middle Magnet. In January, Hymel became the chief financial officer of the 3-year-old NeuroMedical Center Surgical Hospital.

“My job is a lot more than just accounting,” she says. “My responsibilities include purchasing, information technology, payroll, reimbursement. You have to really understand people and processes. The hospital is different than any other business because there are so many regulations.”

While Hymel works in a traditionally male-dominated field, she has never been stifled by a glass ceiling—or perhaps she was just too busy to yield to one. “You can be a success in business and a mom with a successful family life,” she says. “I’ve had to make sure the job I have allows me to achieve both. You have to be pretty creative. You have to be extremely flexible. I refuse to miss a gymnastics meet or ballgame. For me, the highlight is watching the kids have a great time, follow their sports and achieve their dreams. It [childhood] goes by so fast.”

If you could have a job other than your own, what would it be?

“I think it would be working at a retail shop in Colorado near the ski slopes.”