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TriWest Is Committed to Hiring Veterans and Military Spouses

Phoenix, AZ (October 19, 2022) – At TriWest Healthcare Alliance (TriWest) our company mission is to serve our nation’s Veterans by connecting them to convenient, quality health care in the communities where they live. In fact, it is literally reflected in our company motto and corporate culture to do “Whatever It Takes!®” to ensure our nation’s heroes receive the very best health care and services.

TriWest employees have a deep-rooted purpose to go above and beyond for the Veteran and military communities, especially since many team members have served or are military family members who understand the challenges of service and what it means to sacrifice.

Working at TriWest is as much about serving the nation’s Veterans as it is about being connected with like-minded family that fully understand the value of service.

Since first opening its doors in 1996, TriWest has been committed to hiring Veterans and military family members. When military-connected candidates join the TriWest team, they join others who understand their experiences and are committed to serving the nation’s honored Veterans.

To highlight our pledge to hire military-connected candidates to fulfill our mission, two TriWest employees, Lakia Brown and Angie Martinez, both military spouses, shared their military family stories and how they discovered the culture at TriWest makes them feel welcomed, appreciated and valued.

Lakia Brown, Customer Service Representative, Alaska Operations

Lakia Brown is married to her high school sweetheart, Airman Dejuan Dompreh, whose service has brought the couple to his duty assignment at an Alaska Air Force base. After a couple of years in the “The Last Frontier” Lakia said they have become endeared to the state, taking advantage of their new experience there.

“We’ve been stationed in Alaska for two years now and we enjoy everything this beautiful state has to offer,” Lakia said. “Living here we’re closer to places we’ve never been like California and Las Vegas. In 2020, we drove the Alaska-Canadian Highway in the dead of winter, seeing plenty of animals on the way,” she added.

However, with new travel opportunities and exciting experiences that come with military assignments also come challenges being far from “back home” too. Lakia and Dejuan grew up in Michigan where they admit they “can feel the distance” from extended family they left behind when they began their Air Force adventure.

“My husband misses his siblings and I miss my mom, nieces and nephews,” Lakia said.

As a military spouse, finding work that offers strong purpose, a network of like-minded people, and a deep understanding of service is an important part of becoming less isolated and more connected to a community.

When TriWest recruited Lakia for her current job, she soon became extremely impressed and felt immediately at home.

“Upon learning my husband was active duty, the CEO of the company thanked my husband for his service and asked all about his job in the Air Force. After that, I could feel the military vibes,” Lakia said.

With a customer service background, Lakia was a great fit for her role in Contact Center Operations, providing customer service to both Veterans and health care providers over the phone.

“Having a husband who is active duty, and two grandfathers who were airmen and soldiers, I treat each Veteran I speak with the same way I would want someone to speak to my family,” Lakia said. “I want to ensure our Veterans always get the best care,” she adds.

She also deeply understands TriWest’s focus on “Serving Those Who Serve”® and does her best to empathize with customers and provide excellent customer service.

Lakia’s trainer at TriWest, also a Veteran, taught her about the importance of a military connection, something which she reflects on with appreciation.

“Those who have not experienced the military cannot truly understand what it means to serve your country unless they or someone they love has made the sacrifice,” she said.

Angie Martinez, Behavioral Health Representative

Angie Martinez, a Behavioral Health Service Representative at TriWest, believes service has always been a part of who she is and that her love of country and dedication to serve started young.

Growing up in a small Idaho town she spent time looking through her father’s service medals and thinking how cool he was, though he didn’t openly share his experience.

“My dad is a Veteran from the Vietnam War,” Angie said. “He was a Marine and didn’t talk about his experiences because they were hard.”

Later, when Angie married her husband Anthony, she felt extremely lucky to be with a military man.

“But honestly, in the beginning of our marriage I was really clueless about military life,” she said.

Anthony served as an active duty U.S. Army Reserve soldier for most of their marriage, ultimately serving 34 years enlisted with 24 years active. He and Angie have four children, with the first three moving to new places frequently when they were young.

“We have moved a total of 15 times in our 18-year marriage,” Angie emphasized.

As a military spouse, Angie also understands the sacrifice and periodic dislocation that goes with being a military family. “Our family has never lived close to relatives and have spent most holidays away from ‘home’,” she said.

“Our kids have struggled with feeling connected to any one place or making friends at school,” she added.

However, maintaining a positive spirit enables Angie to see advantages. “The blessing of military life is that you can find ‘family’ wherever you are. We have been blessed to find forever friends in every place we have been,” she said.

When Anthony retired, Angie wanted to find a way to help supplement their income but had concerns about finding work.

“I was nervous because I had been a stay-at-home mom for 17 years and out of the workforce for so long, but I was interviewed and hired that same day,” she said.

During her TriWest job interview, the hiring manager encouraged Angie to share about her family experiences. “I felt comfortable talking about my role as a military spouse and some of the experiences my husband had while deployed,” she said.

Now employed as a Behavioral Health Service Representative, Angie has the opportunity to speak with Veterans directly and help them find providers to see in their community. “It is very rewarding when you know someone is struggling and you are able to get them some help,” she emphasized.

She also emphasizes it is important that she can speak to Veterans with honesty because of her background. “I can honestly say from my family to yours, we know of sacrifice, and it is truly sincere, sometimes even with tears in my eyes,” she said.

She also appreciates TriWest’s focus on hiring military-connected individuals, and finds it enhances personal connection. “When you hire Veterans and those who understand the life of a military family, you bring back the compassion and relatability to the business,” she emphasized.

“Service is who we are,” she said. The work we do here is not just about insurance or making appointments. It’s about truly serving our own.”

Explore what employees like Lakia and Angie are seeking. Visit TriWest’s Careers page today.

TriWest is proud to serve Veteran and military communities, and it is equally proud to recruit and hire from within those same communities. It’s who we are. It’s what we do.