An Interview with Christine Nykiel

REALM: Tell me about your Board role.

CN: I joined the Board of Trustees of Catholic Residential Services in January of 2011. The mission and ministry of Catholic Residential Services is the care of God's older, wiser children. We have two skilled nursing homes, a rehabilitation facility, a home for young men who are out on prison release, and an assisted living facility. Our campuses are in La Crosse, WI, which is the seat of our Diocese and our other campus is in Wausau, WI, which is about three hours away by car, so we are really far-flung in our ministry.

REALM: As a Board member, what has your interaction been with REALM?

CN: I first met Robin Eggert of REALM in September of 2010, right before I became a member of Catholic Residential Service's Board. Robin was already working with the Board on strategic planning because of all the healthcare reform, so over this past year I have had a very extensive involvement with her. She has been working with Catholic Residential Service's Board very intensely, so I feel I've gotten to know her personally—her integrity and her character.

REALM: Can you tell us about the process you underwent working with REALM and the experiences from that process?

CN: Catholic Residential Services needed to take a long, hard look at who we are, what our ministry is, what our mission is, and what our values and goals are. That process was really triggered by virtue of all the healthcare reform changes and what they would mean to an entity such as us, so this is where Robin entered the scene. We had to look at where we have been, where we are at the present. We had to look at our vision of our future and ask, “Do we need to change? What does that mean in terms of risk, or are we safer staying where we are?” We needed Robin to walk us through all these processes and to help us be forthcoming and honest. She created an environment and an atmosphere where I think bit-by-bit we all became quite comfortable speaking candidly and I think through the whole process our Board has matured.

One thing that's so important is that Robin just doesn't come to a Board meeting and then forget about you and a month or two later shows up to facilitate another meeting. She is thinking about her clients, her charges, all the way through, even when we are not formally meeting with her. She has our best interest at heart, and she gets to know us as an organization--that's very clear, she digs deep, she knows our culture, she knows the background, the strengths and weaknesses, and she knows how to bring us together in a cohesive body.

Now, instead of feeling overwhelmed and anxious and afraid, I think the Board has come into the light and we can see our vision very clearly. We have been able to take concrete steps to realize that mission and that is due to the leadership and the very gentle probing that Robin does.

REALM: In addition to the experiences you just mentioned, are there other ways that working with REALM has impacted Catholic Residential Services?

CN: The education process I think is very important to emphasize and for any organizations that are starting or revisiting their strategic planning. I feel that because of where Robin has steered us in the educational opportunities that she's brought to us, we are knowledgeable, we've identified where we need to be, we've identified the kinds of partnerships we need to form.

We know that we need to affiliate with acute care providers and also we know we need the affiliations to reverse what would be our organizational structure. We are heavy into the skilled nursing and now we know we need to go out there and look at a community model that encompasses independent living, assisted living, and home care services. So this whole process has broadened us and it's the kind of education that makes you feel that you really know what the risks are and that the risk is greater to do nothing.

Now, we also know that there are entities out there who have a shared vision of what Catholic healthcare and what the Catholic ministry is supposed to be to our elders. I can see all the needs for Catholic healthcare, and I think it's that kind of vision that the Board would not have had it not been for the leadership, insights, all the knowledge, all the expertise, all the contacts and vision that Robin has brought to us. We've really evolved.

REALM: What insights can you share with other organizations that are considering working with REALM?

CN: I think they will like each other more as board members as a consequence of going through this process of strategic planning! "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts"--that's exactly where we are now. Everybody at Catholic Residential Services is energized and engaged in the process and we all will have a role as we proceed further depending on our committee assignments, where our talents are, where our strengths are. We will all have a role in putting together whatever it is that is going to be the fruit of our planning and our vision, and so we have a sense of satisfaction in our contributions. We have made our organization a much more solid organization. It's become more solid in the way it carries out business every day, in the way it ministers to our elders every day, in the way the staff feels about its contribution; each person's self-worth.

Even if you're doing strategic planning and those plans don't come to fruition, or they come about in a way you did not quite envision, all along you are strengthening your organization; you're strengthening your leadership, your employees, your administrators. So really, there's so much synergy that's created; it's such a beautiful process. I have waited many years to be a part of something like this and it's truly beautiful and we are truly blessed.

REALM: Are there any other insights you have gained since working with REALM?

CN: I think through all of this you can see the great trust we have in Robin and in REALM, and I think that trust is well placed. I think anyone who works with REALM knows that, but for people who are thinking about affiliating with REALM, I think that will be the impression they get almost immediately. Robin is so well respected. What she does and what Sister Judy does is truly unique.

You know, the religious communities REALM assists are shrinking in size, they are holding properties, they are looking at mergers and how to care for the beautiful religious who have cared for us their entire lives. Robin is blessed; this is the ministry of REALM. She is much loved and respected.

An Interview with Jim Gajewski of Catholic Residential Services

REALM: Tell us about your organization, its mission, and who you serve.

JG: Catholic Residential Services is a not-for-profit organization. It's sponsored by the Diocese of La Crosse, WI. We own and operate two nursing homes, an assisted living center, and a group home. We serve the La Crosse community and Wausau, WI and surrounding communities with our facilities. We serve the elderly population and we're actively pursuing some strategic initiatives that will enable us to grow and sustain our operations into the future in a very competitive and increasingly difficult reimbursement environment.

REALM: How did you first hear about REALM and its services?

JG: It was about a year and a half ago that I came to Catholic Residential Services. My background is in acute care medical centers and also business consulting and what I found when I got here was a board that had a bit too much diversity in its viewpoints as to where this organization was and where it needed to go. I knew that it was going to be very important right off the bat to launch a strategic planning process to establish a greater unity in terms of our strengths and weaknesses and what kind of challenges that we had to take on in the future. It was going to be very important to find the right consultant to bring in to facilitate that process.

I found REALM through networking with other CEO's. What was of interest to me was to find a consulting group that was nuts-and-bolts-oriented, but also had experience not only with not-for-profit healthcare, but also with Catholic faith-based not-for-profit healthcare.

REALM: What made you decide to use REALM's services for your organization?

JG: We went with REALM because they had all the characteristics that we were looking for. Robin was steeped in her knowledge of faith-based organizations and quite well-networked and knowledgeable about elderly care services, in particular, and she came with very good recommendations from other clients.

REALM: Can you tell us about the process you underwent working with REALM?

JG: Robin worked with myself ahead of the planning sessions to essentially bring to bear on the board a process of self-evaluation, and also was able to connect us through her contacts with other organizations for exploration of possible partnership arrangements. We went through that process in a very detailed way with a strategic planning committee. Robin made connections with four other organizations, three of which we explored in-depth with mutual site visits and information sharing. Then we honed that down to one player, and we're currently in the process of detailing out terms of a merger.

We couldn't have done better. Robin established a very good rapport with the board very early on. She was instrumental in getting the board to evaluate their mission and agree upon bold strategic initiatives, both internally and externally, that have brought us to the point in fairly quick order to where we're currently engaging a large regional long-term care provider system for merging, along with the development of a very significant relationship with a very large acute-care system for establishment of rehabilitation services on their campus.

I think we've come a long way very quickly.

REALM: What insights can you share with other organizations who are considering working with REALM?

JG: REALM brings to bear a knowledge of the industry and also a well-established network of contacts that are extremely helpful for charting future directions in a way that's collaborative with other organizations along the continuum of care, as well as other organizations that can open the door to growth avenues that wouldn't be readily available otherwise.

I would wholeheartedly endorse REALM, and I think that it has worked out tremendously well for us, and I'm sure that others could benefit equally.