Message From Director Berry

Hello, All! A new year is always a great time to reflect on where we've been and where we're going. 2022 is going to bring great things for OMMA: a growing staff, a new building with room for all, and most importantly--the opportunity to keep improving. Each one of you plays an important role in helping OMMA succeed. Keep moving forward. Keep working hard. Thank you. Truly, thank YOU.  Happy New Year! Adria

Program Area Updates

Labs: The Labs team has implemented an external quality control program to evaluate the accuracy of lab testing. Studies have ranged from THC potency to heavy metals. One result of this program is a rating system to help patients and other businesses understand each laboratory's accuracy. We plan to have more information on that soon.

Licensing: Barring any technical delays, the switch from Complia to Thentia licensing software will take place in January. We're excited to provide licensees with a more user-friendly system and hopefully help prevent application delays on the front end. If you will be working with Thentia and haven't received training on it yet, please reach out to your supervisor.

OMMA Staff: The Performance Management Process (PMP) will be starting next month. Your supervisor will be meeting with you soon to get your PMP underway.

Mark Your Calendar

A few important upcoming dates to take note of are below.

OMMA Team Spotlight

Our Team Spotlight this month is Patient Licensing. In April of this year, there were a record-setting 21,000 applications combined in the new and renewal queues. The department was able to get those queues down to 5,000 by August. Then, earlier this month, the patient licensing staff were able to complete zero out both queues--something that hasn't happened since March 2019. Congratulations on these huge accomplishments, Patient Licensing!

Back row, left to right: Brandon Bivings, Jordan Case, Melanie Andrews, Jamie Oakes, Randeisha Williams, Sharon Reyes
Front row, left to right: Mandi Funck, Tammy Finley, Stacey Henderson, Ashley Anderson, Staci Cockrell
Not pictured: Karolyn Chowning, Brian Lewis, Tashunda Edwards, Tenday Smiley, Crystal Kelsey, Jamie Davis, Tiana Vick, Maikel Monroe, Peyton King, Beverly Goudeau

Welcome to the Team!

Amanda Keen, Compliance Administrative Assistant
Anna M. Vaughn, Compliance Inspector
David Greteman, Compliance Inspector
Kyle Kluding, Lab Compliance Inspector
Mary Ann Roberts, Sr. Legal Counsel
Melissa Brooks, Compliance Inspector
R'riyonna Gaither, Compliance Intern
Shalysta O'Mally, Call Center Supervisor
Steven Brooks, Compliance Inspector
Terry W. McDonald, Compliance Inspector
Tonisha Gaines, Compliance Administrative Assistant

Recent Promotions

Imani McGill, Lab Compliance Inspector

Happy Work Anniversary!

OMMA Director of Finance, La Juan Lewis, recently received her 20-year state employee pin! Congratulations to La Juan for such an impressive accomplishment. We're grateful to work alongside you and appreciate your many years of service.

La Juan Lewis receives her certificate and 20-year state pin from OMMA Executive Director Adria Berry.

Congratulations to Adam Rogers, OMMA's Business Licensing Manager, for receiving his five-year state employee pin! We're lucky to have you on the OMMA team, Adam. Thank you for all you do to keep commercial licensing running!

Adam Rogers receives his certificate and 5-year state pin from Director of Licensing and Investigations Scott Chisholm.

The Call Center employees below recently celebrated two years with OMMA:

Alexis Poindexter
Brian Johnson
Christy Christmon
Cynthia Jones
Megan Guajardo
Richelle Driver
Teneca Muhammad

In Case You Missed It...

Call Center Anniversary:

The Call Center staff celebrated their two-year anniversary this month on Wednesday, Dec. 9! In those two years, they took nearly 170,000 calls. Congratulations, Call Center!

Patient Licensing Queues:

Patient licensing staff were able to zero out the new and renewal queues on Tuesday, Dec. 14. This is something that hasn't been done since March 2019! It's a huge accomplishment for the Patient Licensing team.

All-Staff Event:

A big thank you to all the staff and leadership who were able to attend the all-staff engagement event on Friday, Dec. 17. Also, thank you to all the winners of our door prizes, Best Christmas Outfit contest, and OMMA Family Feud game! Click this link or the image below to watch an event recap in case you missed it.

Employee Engagement Tip of the Month

This month's tip is about how to foster emotional intelligence in the workplace.

How to foster emotional intelligence in the workplace | Culture Amp

This article helps explain what Emotional Intelligence is, how it can affect the way you work, and how to foster it within our organization.

Highlight: "Low emotional intelligence (EI)...can lead to interpersonal conflicts and a poor reputation. EI also plays a critical role in building an inclusive workplace that engages employees and fosters a sense of belonging."

As we begin a new year and plan ahead for goals and resolutions, remember these steps to help understand how your thoughts and feelings affect your work and those around you.

We Want To Hear From You

If you have feedback for OMMA leadership or maybe you have a few questions you'd like answered or clarified, this form is for you!

It's anonymous, but we do ask you to provide which program area you're in so we can determine if questions or concerns are isolated or if they're occurring throughout OMMA.

OSDH Agency Transformation

For more information about the agency transformation, click here. Each division of OSDH has a Change Champion. The OMMA's Change Champion is Alisha Harris. You can email Alisha or stop by her office on the 13th floor if you'd like to talk about the OSDH Transformation.