2020 has been a year marked by uncertainty, challenge, and change. Yet those suffering from rare diseases had to deal with all 2020 put forth on top of the burdens of their conditions. As such, our mission at RareMed has never been more vital: to transform the lives of patients afflicted with rare and devastating conditions by accelerating access to biomedical breakthroughs, and to do so in the midst of global crises.
Despite the year’s challenges, RareMed never wavered and continued to deliver unparalleled service to our patients and partners. We responded to adversity with excellence. Every member of our growing team went above and beyond to continue caring for patients despite a changing work atmosphere. We proved our ability to stay nimble and stable by adapting to a hybrid work-from-home environment, keeping each other safe while cultivating our culture of positivity.
RareMed actually grew as an organization during the year, launching new programs, increasing operations to support additional drugs, and expanding our team. In fact, over the course of the year, RareMed brought on 43 new team members. Perhaps the most noteworthy metric is the fact that over half of our new hires were referred by RareMed employees. We take great pride that our associates are so passionate about promoting our company and educating others about our mission. One of our core values is Mutual Growth, and that certainly applies to our team. We are delighted to grow the RareMed team and look forward to generating new career opportunities, both for current and new team members, in 2021.
The strength of our culture was, in many ways, confirmed this year. We ranked as one of six finalists in the “large company” division of the Pittsburgh Business Times’ Best Places to Work Awards. We are humbled in that, as part of the survey, 88% of our employees reported being highly engaged despite the hybrid work environment, 100% employees see professional growth and career development opportunities at RareMed, and 96% of our colleagues agreed that senior leaders value people as the company’s most important resource.
We are grateful for RareMed’s growth and the growth of our team this year, especially because it means there are more patients with rare diseases receiving the level of care they deserve. As we look to 2021 with optimism, we delight in the prospect of sharing more good news—new patient-centered programs, additional awards, technology enhancements, and refined services—with the RareMed community.