by Doug Hickerson
Kimberly Sisco, administrator at Lakeside Beikirch Care Center in Brockport, has worked to keep the facility running smoothly after the closure of adjacent Lakeside Memorial Hospital. Kimberly Sisco is the new administrator of Lakeside Beikirch Care Center, a long term care facility with a capacity of 120 residents. She had been the director of social work at LBCC since 2000, when the new position suddenly became available in February this year. Terence Klinetob, the former administrator, moved to a new job in a Webster nursing home.
The board of trustees of Lakeside Health System appointed her administrator of record in May, after three months as acting administrator. Sisco’s is a fascinating story about how she completed her licensure for the position in that brief period, began the LBCC adjustments to the closing of adjacent Lakeside Memorial Hospital in April, and strives to keep the care center on an even keel today.
Her original interest in long term care also occurred under unusual circumstances. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in social work from The College at Brockport in 1994, she applied for a part time activities position at then-named Orleans County Nursing Home. “I wanted to see what that population was like to work with and get some exposure,” she said. The administration wanted her for a social work position which she filled from 1995 to 2000.
“I really enjoyed it. I found my passion,” Sisco said about her first five years in the profession. “I definitely felt like this was the population I should be working with. I just enjoy all of the facets of long term care.”
Career plans in high gear
Sisco never thought of an administrative position in long term care until 2006. “I really wanted to make a difference,” she said. “You can make a difference in any position, but the administrator’s position is where you have the most impact.” Encouraged by Klinetob, she pursued studies for licensure through the New York State Health Department. At the end of January 2013, she completed a nine-month administrator-in-training requirement. She thought she would take her licensure exam, receive her license, and then look outside LBCC for an administrator position.
That leisurely plan changed when Klinetob left and his position became available. She became the acting administrator in February with Klinetob as administrator of record, providing her four hours of mentoring each week as required. As acting administrator, “I felt the spotlight on me to pass the licensure exam, and spent many sleepless nights over that,” Sisco said. She took her exam on March 16, passed, and received her license on her birthday, April 15. In early May, the board of directors appointed her administrator of record.
Adjustments to the hospital closing
The Lakeside Hospital announced its closing on April 22. “The biggest challenges for me were from April 23 until now,” Sisco said. “We had so many shared services with the hospital: radiology services, occupational health services, human resources, finance services, emergency services. “With those going away, the biggest stress for me was to make sure there was no impact on resident care (110 residents currently), and then no impact on employee services.”
Sisco has been occupied with agreements and contracts to bring various services to the care center, including laboratory service and a mobile radiology that comes right to the bedside and produces results within two hours.
She contracted with a company which provides services in pre-employment and maintenance of employee health on site twice a month. Two staff from the hospital will be covering aspects of Human Resources (HR). And, an HR generalist firm is now signed on as consultants for 30 hours a week.
Sisco said she has been able to add some very qualified nursing staff since the closing of the hospital. The care center has three new RNs and two new LPNs. “It has been nothing but a positive experience,” she said.
With the various services coming to the stand-alone care center, Sisco said there have been no additional costs, because they were mostly services they were paying for while the hospital was operating. “I think with every service, we have been able to have the cost the same if not lower.”
Sisco was asked about the long range viability of the Lakeside Beikirch Care Center. With the hospital closing, some wonder if the “other shoe will drop.” Sisco recognizes the community’s “realistic concern” she said. “I have received many phone calls about those concerns, mostly from families of residents. I have been able to reassure them we are financially very strong.” Even the State Health Department initially had the same concern. “About a week after the hospital closed, they made a conference call to the care center. They wanted our monthly income statements and our cash flow projections through the end of the year,” Sisco said. “We are financially stable, and the Health Department seems very satisfied.”
Living environment for residents
“We have a bright future, and I say that from a financial standpoint as well as our quality of care,” Sisco said.
Lakeside Beikirch Care Center for some time has worked to shed the institutional approach to long term nursing care, using resident-centered approaches. Various programs at the care center are based on surveys of residents to determine the activities of interest to them.
Bingo is one of the most popular activities. There are opportunities for playing or listening to music and for arts and crafts. Music is also supplied by a guitarist coming to the care center once a month. Two paid staff called “care partners” come on duty between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., with spontaneous activities to entertain and engage the residents in the period which Sisco says is their loneliest time of day. Each week a Bible study is offered for those interested as well as a Sunday worship service. Also, therapy dogs bring joy to the residents.
Two or three times a week the van takes some residents to restaurants or other attractions like fall foliage tours. On the property, annual picnics are held, as well as big band concerts, and last year there was a bon fire on a holiday weekend.
“We find people flourish here,” Sisco said. “People at first do not want to leave their home. When they come here, although initially not happy about it, they are pretty resilient. They adjust well and many times they are blossoming.” She refers to residents who go out with their families, and after a while will say, “I want to go home now.” Sisco says, “I want this to be a place where residents feel at home and that life is worth living here. All that has changed for them is their location.”
“I have worked here a long time,” Sisco said. “I care so much about the individuals who live here, their families, and the staff. We have a lot of long term care givers. They count on me. The biggest driver for me is to make sure this nursing home stays viable, that we are successful, and most of all that we are providing good personalized quality care. That is important to me.”
