Focus on Recruitment, Engagement and Providing Resources Leads to Professional Growth
Marlee Mauthe joined the IntegraCare team a decade ago, shortly before her 18th birthday, and has embraced opportunities to grow professionally at Newhaven Court at Clearview ever since.
The Butler native has worked in dining, wellness, and eventually became a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Supervisor at the senior living community. The 28-year-old currently is in IntegraCare’s Resident Wellness Director-in-Training Program.
“You can definitely grow in the company,” Mauthe said. “That’s what’s nice. I actually never saw myself being a nurse. Being at IntegraCare for so long, it made me realize nursing was the path that chose me. It’s a nice place for growth and a friendly environment at IntegraCare.”
At a time when people often refer to “The Great Resignation,” Mauthe instead epitomizes the determination and work ethic displayed throughout IntegraCare’s senior living communities in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.
It’s no coincidence that those dedicated employees provide residents with award-winning care. U.S. News & World Report recently recognized 12 IntegraCare communities on its Best Senior Living list in either Best of Assisted Living or Best of Memory Care. Newhaven Court at Clearview won both awards.
“Engagement is key,” said Shannon Joyce, IntegraCare Director of Human Resources and Risk Management. “From the moment we decide we want to bring someone to the team, we’re engaging them as a team member. This is before they even start on Day 1. We’re trying to communicate with them, even if it’s just little touches. ‘We’re so excited for you to start next week.’ Sending them fliers. Talking to them about our benefits and our employee referral bonus program.”
“When somebody starts, our general orientation process is universal across all of our locations,” Joyce said. “Everybody is doing the same program. You get a sense of IntegraCare and our family-style culture. You’re not just on an island, not just one community by yourself. You’re able to see other team members at other locations. It’s something that really blends our culture together.”
IntegraCare communities have 887 team members. Five have worked at IntegraCare 20 or more years, while 78 others have been with the company for 10 or more years. IntegraCare’s culture is the reason its team members stay.
“Marlee is blessed with a heart that cares for others,” observed IntegraCare CEO Larry Rouvelas. “A big part of my job is to create a workspace where Marlee can finish each day saying, ‘I made the lives of the people around me better today.’ Where, over the years, she can grow her skills and responsibilities so that she touches the lives of more seniors more deeply, and those of their families and colleagues.”
Mauthe is only one example of employee longevity on the IntegraCare team.
“When great team members choose to stay and grow with IntegraCare, that tells me we are doing something right,” Rouvelas said. “Our mission has a 3-dimensional focus. We focus on team members, residents and families.”
“For the team members, we’re working to create engagement. For the residents, we want to give respect, and for the families, peace of mind,” Rouvelas added. “And while these are nice words, you have to operationalize it. There are a number of things that we do to turn those principles into reality.”
For more than a decade, IntegraCare has embraced the philosophy that by making its senior communities a great place to work, it in turn makes those communities a great place for residents to live.
“A lot of times you rely on your leaders in the communities to really help push through the culture,” Joyce said. “Every leader goes through IMPACT (IntegraCare’s Management, Performance and Communications Training) and that is something that really helps them to understand the culture of IntegraCare, and what we expect from them as leaders and how we expect that to be passed along to their hourly team members.”
“We’re in the people business,” Joyce added. “We want to treat everyone with courtesy, dignity and respect whether it’s the FedEx guy dropping off a package, or a family member or a resident. We’re going to treat everyone with that same level of respect.”
IntegraCare Director of Talent Acquisition and Development Butch Cassiday has been with the company for 20 years in multiple roles. Cassiday said IntegraCare’s family values and the administrative team’s willingness to communicate and relate to team members is evident on a daily basis.
“I interviewed a gentleman who said he actually was kind of interviewing me, too,” Cassiday said of a recent applicant for a position in the company. “He asked me to tell him about our company’s culture and why I’ve been with them for so long. My response was the transparency of the company. The morals and ethics the company is founded upon and continues to run with, and the fact that no one is below anybody. If the executive operations officer is walking down the hall and if a resident needs to go to the restroom, they’re going to help that resident. No task or duty is above anybody.”
Those values made IntegraCare a place where Mauthe wanted to build her career. In 2018, the Butler County Healthcare Consortium recognized Mauthe’s contributions at Newhaven Court at Clearview.
“I started in the kitchen as one of the dining room servers when I was still 17,” Mauthe said. “My mom worked there at the time and I figured I’d try working there too. I really enjoyed working with the residents. It was interesting listening to all the stories they had to tell. From there I started cooking because they needed some help. I became full-time in the kitchen.”
The trend continued for Mauthe over the years, and IntegraCare even helped schedule her hours around her pursuit of a nursing license.
“It was nice that Newhaven Court at Clearview definitely worked with my schedule when I was doing the LPN program,” she said. “I was still full-time, but IntegraCare worked with me with my hours. They were very flexible and it made for an easier transition.”
If you or someone you know is interested in a career in senior care, contact Butch Cassiday, IntegraCare Director of Talent Acquisition and Development, at bcassiday@integracare.com or 724.940.5544, Ext. 106.