"The strength that BELAY has in that space has been important to me, has saved us money, has saved us a ton of time, and has found a beautiful match for us that's helping grow the company. And you can't put a value on that."
— Dr. Jeanne Huddleston, CEO and President
The Challenge
Dr. Jeanne Huddleston, CEO and President of HB Healthcare Safety, SBC, was navigating a pivotal growth phase when she first turned to BELAY for support. Having just brought on her first full-time employee and preparing to hire a second, she was learning the demands of business leadership quickly — a world quite different from her two decades as a physician-engineer in healthcare quality and safety.
Jeanne discovered BELAY through Dave Ramsey's podcast, where BELAY's shared faith-based mission stood out immediately. She recalled:
"I had just taken on my first full-time employee and was looking at bringing on a second. I was learning quickly on multiple different levels, and I had started listening to Dave Ramsey's podcast as a source of education and as a faith-based organization."
Jeanne had long surrounded herself with faith-aligned partners for accountability and support, and she needed someone who could hold her accountable with both strength and gentleness. But there was a deeper structural challenge as well.
Her medical training had instilled a command-and-control leadership style that created friction with her first VA. As she put it:
"A doctor, my leadership style until recently is command and control. I write an order and magic happens and the order gets carried out. There's no conversation, there's no warmup, there's no anything."That style — effective in clinical settings — required a very specific kind of VA partner to thrive alongside it.
The Solution
When the first VA match wasn't the right fit, BELAY's process gave Jeanne the confidence to stay patient and trust the search.
"Alyson slid right into that spot, and I was impressed with the way that BELAY did [the] matchmaking. When the first match didn't work, we would find a second. I had complete faith and confidence that BELAY was going to find me the right person, and I just needed to be patient with the process."
BELAY Virtual Assistant Alyson Johnson stepped in to handle a wide range of tasks — electronic filings, email and calendar management, creating to-do lists, and writing. What stood out most was how naturally Alyson absorbed Jeanne's communication style without any explicit coaching.
Jeanne takes great care to infuse generosity and grace into every email, signing off with phrases like "sincere gratitude" or "thank you for your patience." Alyson recognized this pattern immediately:
"She very quickly fell into the way I communicate in email... I didn't coach, I didn't do anything. She just recognized it and did it."
Alyson also brought the poise required to correspond with physician leaders across the country on Jeanne's behalf — communicating with the deference and respect that Jeanne described as hard to teach but unmistakably evident in Alyson's tone.
"I had complete faith and confidence that BELAY was going to find me the right person, and I just needed to be patient with the process."
— Dr. Jeanne Huddleston, CEO and PresidentThe Impact
The impact of Jeanne's partnership with BELAY Virtual Assistant Alyson Johnson has touched nearly every dimension of how she leads HB Healthcare Safety. As Jeanne put it:
"The value has come through time management, project management, enhanced communication, and idea generation. We're a perfect pair as we're two puzzle pieces that fit well together; we're not alike."
One of the most personal outcomes has been a shift in Jeanne's relationship with asking for help — something she had long resisted. Working alongside Alyson, she no longer feels inadequate when delegating. Alyson has also helped Jeanne follow through on commitments more consistently, which Jeanne credits with strengthening her integrity as a leader.
BELAY's ability to manage the hiring and transition process also proved critical. Jeanne is candid about what the alternative could have looked like:
"The strength that BELAY has in that space has been important to me, has saved us money, has saved us a ton of time, and has found a beautiful match for us that's helping grow the company. And you can't put a value on that."
What began as a practical need for administrative support has evolved into a true professional partnership — one grounded in shared values, built to amplify Jeanne's strengths, and helping HB Healthcare Safety pursue its mission of ending unnecessary suffering in healthcare delivery.