Let’s say this is one of those TV hospital dramas about a charismatic cardiologist who helps save lives in every episode.
It’s easy to imagine close-ups of the doctor, with her stethoscope, crisp white coat, and confident smile. It’s also easy to assume that there wouldn’t be any shots of Sandra Martinez at all.
But this is real life. And in real life, the real cardiologist—Line Kemeyou—says it’s executive assistants (EAs) like Sandra who help keep everything running smoothly behind the scenes and who really deserve the spotlight. “She’s my brain,” Line says of Sandra. “I wouldn’t know how to function without her.”
Line’s specialty at University of Utah Health’s Cardiovascular Center is advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology, providing care to patients whose severely weakened hearts may need a ventricular assist device to keep their hearts pumping, or a heart transplant when other interventions aren’t enough.
In addition to her clinical work at University Hospital and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Line also fulfills administrative obligations as an assistant dean. That means endless in-person visits, telehealth visits, committee meetings, and inpatient bedside care: a crowded calendar of appointments that can’t be missed.
Sandra makes sure that Line fits all this into her busy schedule, keeping things on track, juggling the schedule when someone else’s availability suddenly changes, or trying to squeeze in a colleague who says they need to meet with Line “now now now.” Sandra also makes sure Line’s credentials are up-to-date in the states where she offers virtual appointments (Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, and Idaho, as well as Utah). And when Line needs to vent, Sandra provides a shoulder to lean on.
EAs, or “admin assistants” as they’re often called, do much more than scheduling and management. They’re often the multi-talented “glue” holding a team together, and a personal extension of the leaders they represent. That requires more than just organization—emotional intelligence, high collaboration, adaptability, and a little “chemistry.” Across 72 unique departments at U of U Health, more than 235 EAs provide support to about one to five individuals at a time.
Line and Sandra have been a team since Line first arrived at the U seven years ago. Sandra also manages the schedules of five other clinicians in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, along with a handful of PAs and nurse practitioners.
Sandra was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Texas when she was 6 years old, then to Utah when she was 12. Line grew up in Cameroon in Central Africa and moved to Texas after high school to attend college and then earn her medical degree. She continued her training in Texas and Florida, then at the U, with fellowships in advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology.
One afternoon, sitting in a courtyard behind the sleek HELIX Building, away from the bustle, heartache, and victories of the hospital, the two women spoke about a relationship based on trust and respect. It was a hot summer day, a week before the beginning of the fall semester; from somewhere not too far off, the U’s marching band was practicing. The thumps and honks of the instruments were insistent—but it was clear that neither woman was ruffled by much.
Line says that Sandra represents “the unrecognized, under-recognized, and not-enough-recognized” people among U of U Health’s sprawling nearly 30,000-member staff. Recognition, or the lack of it, doesn’t seem to have occurred to Sandra. With her trademark modesty, she replies: “I’m just happy to be able to help her do the things she shouldn’t have to focus on when she’s busy with patients.”
Still, the doctor wasn’t finished heaping praise on her executive assistant: “Sandra approaches life with a smile and a positive attitude. Besides being my brain, I think she’s just a wonderful human being.”
By Elaine Jarvik; Photos by Charlie Ehlert
