¡HOLA! Celebrates Hispanic Cultures and Builds Community at Fresenius Kabi

When Dolores Juarez, Vice President of Commercial Operations Plasma NAM & MedTech Canada, talks about Fresenius Kabi’s Employee Impact Groups (EIGs), one word comes up again and again: community.

“They serve a broader purpose,” she explains. “Our society has changed a lot. You may not know all your neighbors, belong to a church, or have kids in school to connect through. Today, people often look for community and friendship in the workplace—and EIGs create that space. They help us bring people together, build connections, and celebrate culture.”

Dolores, along with Janet Rodriguez and Alfonso Vazquez, serve as the Co-Leads of ¡HOLA!, one of Fresenius Kabi’s six employee impact groups. Alex Garini, CFO of Fresenius Kabi USA, and Mario A. Varela, Vice President of Environmental, Health and Safety, serve as the group’s executive sponsors. In October 2025, ¡HOLA! will celebrate two years of building connections and strengthening community among employees—a milestone that falls right in the middle of Hispanic Heritage Month, observed September 15 to October 15.

A Name Synonymous with Welcome

Forming an employee impact group was a first step to connect with others in the company who share Hispanic cultural heritage.

“Some of us, it's obvious we have Hispanic heritage, and some of us, not so much. Some of us may not even have names that are Spanish,” Dolores said.

For Janet Rodriguez, Senior Manager, Global Strategic Training, ¡HOLA! has helped create a sense of home. “I don’t have any family here in Chicago. All my family is in Alabama, Tennessee, or Puerto Rico,” she said. “Having this community feels like family to me.”

¡HOLA!’s mission is to celebrate and share Hispanic heritage while addressing the unique needs of the Hispanic community. One of the group’s first tasks was choosing a name that could represent employees from many countries, races, and languages.

“Do we use Hispanic? Do we say LatinX?” Dolores recalled. “Ultimately, we landed on ¡HOLA! because it’s not specific to one identity, but it brings warmth. It’s welcome. People know it and understand it.”

Building Community Within Fresenius Kabi

One of the things ¡HOLA! has done is promote career development opportunities through a six-month mentorship program. The program pairs early-career employees with more seasoned professionals, offering both career advice and networking within the company. Currently, nine pairs of employees are participating in a program that runs from spring to fall. The group plans to continue it annually and hopes to expand it.

Members also participate each year in STEM Career Awareness Day, when high school students interested in STEM careers in healthcare visit the company’s U.S. headquarters. “Especially at that age, it’s important for young people to see others who look like them and have pursued careers in this field,” Janet said. “It helps them know they can achieve their goals, too.”

For Dolores, these opportunities have been among the most meaningful moments of her involvement. “I grew up in a time and place where there were not a lot of people like me, and there was a huge amount of discrimination as a young person and as a woman in the sciences. I want people to know they can aspire to the highest levels of the company—and that there are people ready to help them along that journey.”

¡HOLA! has also shared education at company health fairs about conditions that disproportionately affect the Hispanic community, such as diabetes. At last year’s fair, the group provided nutrition information and sponsored a raffle for a recipe book. ¡HOLA! members provided similar educational offerings at this year’s Melrose Park Employee Health and Wellness Fair in September.

Strengthening Community Beyond Work

Alfonso Vazquez, Plant Controller at Melrose Park, US Tech Ops, explains that ¡HOLA!’s focus on community doesn’t stop inside the walls of Fresenius Kabi.

In a recent event, ¡HOLA! members volunteered to help support “Taste of Melrose Park” in Melrose Park Village where Fresenius Kabi has one of its pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. Working in various capacities at the event, members helped raise more than $5,000 to benefit a local food pantry.

“Some of our members gave up Friday evenings or weekends—time they’d usually spend with family—to support a community cause,” said Alfonso.

He sees members of ¡HOLA! demonstrating leadership and answering calls to action as part of a larger purpose to support the community in which they work.

Group members have also supported two local women’s shelters during the holiday season, providing decorations to create a feeling of a welcoming home.

Volunteers worked at “Taste of Melrose” to raise money for a local food pantry

Celebrating a Common Heritage

Last year, ¡HOLA! members celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with a memorable event at Fresenius Kabi’s Lake Zurich headquarters.

Two young women performed traditional Mexican dances, Fresenius Kabi employees brought in decorations, and ¡HOLA! members arranged for dance instructors to teach a bachata lesson. Bachata is a dance that originated in the Dominican Republic, blending traditional Afro-Dominican styles with bolero and merengue influences.

Everyone who attended lunch that day in the cafeteria ended up dancing, recalls Dolores, and having a great time.

At Fresenius Kabi’s recent CultureFEST, ¡HOLA! members shared a beloved Mexican sweet bread or pan dulce called conchas. These are soft, fluffy buns topped with a crumbly, cookie-like crust, usually patterned to resemble a seashell—hence the name concha, which means “shell” in Spanish. As a special touch, the conchas were decorated in Fresenius Kabi blue, adding a festive and unique company twist.

“It’s fun to see people enjoying these traditions together,” Janet said. “It brings our culture to life and helps everyone feel included in the celebration.”

Two young women performed traditional Mexican dances

While Working Toward a Common Purpose

Fresenius Kabi’s Melrose Park facility has one of the larger populations of employees with Hispanic heritage, but Alfonso emphasizes that the site reflects diversity from across the globe. He speaks with pride and a touch of awe in his voice when he talks about what it’s like to work at the company.

“Melrose Park is so diverse in so many ways. We have people from India, Pakistan, Poland, South America, Eastern Europe—you name it. When I first moved to Chicago to work at this site, I was amazed at how many people of different backgrounds and professions came together here for a purpose.”

“It’s another reminder that what we’re doing here is so powerful. We’re making life-saving medicine, and it doesn’t matter where you come from. What matters is what we do every day to save lives and improve health.”

¡HOLA! members serve a traditional sweet bread known as conchas