Summary
On this first episode of “People Worth Caring About," hosts Peter Murphy Lewis and Jalene Carpenter talk to Tracy Lichti, President and CEO of New Cassel Retirement Center. Tracy shares her journey and opens up about the emotional depth, purpose, and leadership required in the long-term care industry. She reflects on launching the Nebraska LEAD Program, the power of planting seeds in others, and what it really means for caregivers to make space for families just to be family.
Key Takeaways:
(03:24) Tracy created the Nebraska LEAD program to address leadership pipeline gaps.
(04:59) Former LEAD participants now serve on boards and mentor rising talent.
(08:41) Tracy built trust in a struggling facility by committing long-term.
(13:02) End-of-life care should focus on comfort, dignity, and meaningful experiences.
(14:31) Losing a beloved resident reminded Tracy why emotional care matters most.
(20:44) Children raised around care environments often grow into more empathetic adults.
(25:45) Showing behind-the-scenes care work to boards can deepen institutional support.
(27:50) The general public still misunderstands the full scope of caregiving.
(34:28) Even during crises, creative staffing solutions can preserve resident-family connections.
(40:41) Imagining a future where residents lead — not just inform — their care.
Resources Mentioned:
New Cassel Retirement Center website
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Transcript
Tracy Lichty: I don't believe people really realize how hard it is to be a caregiver, and I have amazing staff here who are... that's their niche, they've loved to be that. And so, showcasing that on a docu-series, a documentary, anything of that nature, shows that we love them, we do love them. And I feel like a lot of facilities do so many amazing things, and no one ever knows it happens.
Peter Murphy Lewis: The world does not run on headlines; it runs on people who care. I'm Peter Murphy Lewis, and this is "People Worth Caring About." Alongside my co-host, Jalene Carpenter, we sit down with the unsung heroes, caregivers, healers, helpers, the ones doing the real work, even when no one is watching. These conversations are not polished; they're personal, because behind every act of care is a story worth hearing. New episodes drop regularly. Get updates at peopleworthcaringabout.com.
This is "People Worth Caring About." I'm your host, Peter Murphy Lewis, and this is my co-host, Jalene Carpenter. Say hello.
Jalene Carpenter: Hello everybody.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Today, we are joined by Tracy Lichty, the CEO of Newcastle Retirement. She's a leader whose journey in the long-term care industry has spanned two decades?
Tracy Lichty: Yeah.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Three decades? Awesome.
Tracy Lichty: Just two, not three yet.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Well, we hope we're going to keep you for three or four or five. Today, we're going to hear from Tracy about how the industry's evolved, the challenges that we're still facing. I want to hear some of her personal stories, you all know that's my favourite, and some leadership. Tracy, it's an honour to have you here today, and I'm excited to hear your story.
Tracy Lichty: Perfect. I'm excited to be here, Peter. Thanks for having me.
Jalene Carpenter: So Tracy, you and I aren't strangers. I am privileged to be a co-host today, but I feel like I'm the one that is going to enjoy this the most because I get to talk to you, who I have admired and appreciated for so long, and you and I met, it'll be 20 years ago next month.
Tracy Lichty: It will be. I met Jalene right after I had my daughter, and she is 20. So we've known each other, and stayed connected through our industry for that entire time. So yeah, we've known each other a long time.
Jalene Carpenter: I think, one thing that has always stuck out to me is your ability to take action. We worked together, but then there was a period of time where we were apart, but I'll never forget when you came back from AHCA Future Leaders, and you were told, we're supposed to do something with this. We're supposed to take action in our state. And you did, and you created this amazing leadership programme that we have today. So can you tell people, we try to give you credit for it, but I don't think we do a good enough job, how are you so good at taking action, and not just sitting still?
Tracy Lichty: I would say, I was thinking about being with you guys today, and Jalene, you're exactly right. Sometimes, if you bring a problem to one leader, they mull it over, and they're not sure what to do. I view myself as different, and I want to say yes. I want to say yes if you want to ask me for a challenge, if you want me to start something new and investigate how it works, and that's what the LEAD programme was here in Nebraska.
It was, just like you said, I was at a Future Leader back in 2014/2015, and we were challenged, what are you going to do for your state? What are you going to do with this knowledge that you've gained as being a Nebraska-selected future leader? And it was a topic that had been happening and happening in our board meeting of, how are we going to grow leaders in Nebraska? How are we going to grow folks that want to be part of the board of directors, they want to be part of the voice of what senior housing will be in the future? And, I finally was like, we just have to take action.
And so, I know that the team at the HCA couldn't take care of that, Nebraska Healthcare Association, but we, as board members, could do that on the outside. And so, we put together a task force and asked other leaders to be involved, and now we're in, I think, our eighth class of leaders that have been committed, and folks that I've never met who are new and excited to be leaders. And so, it's one of my favourite things that I was able to be part of.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Tracy, I have a follow-up question on that. What has been the biggest change since that programme started, or the biggest evolution? And one could be something you're extremely proud of, and something could be really minuscule, but it had a big impact.
Tracy Lichty: I think that the biggest impact, Peter, is just year-after-year, people are more comfortable, people are more comfortable speaking up. And I will say, I was so proud this year, when we were having elections to be on board members, and almost every single person that was running for a board position had already been a Nebraska LEAD member. So they had already done it, and likely they had also been a mentor to someone else to be in the programme. Super proud of that.
Something that I would say happened in my journey that is attests to where I am today is, we have a... how should I explain? At our convention, we have a little gathering for the Nebraska LEAD participants, and we get to talk about it, and why it's important, and we're thankful that they're there. But one year, Phil Fogg, who was, at that point, the chair of AHCA, was in attendance, and he said, "You need to run for the board at NCAL, you should do that."
And I'm like, "Oh, you're so full of it."
But I just needed someone maybe to plant that seed, that's how I am. And so, then you have to say yes, just like I was talking about earlier. So now, I'm actually an NCAL board meeting member, so I'm super proud of that. But his vote of confidence, I suppose, came out of that programme to be able to continue to grow.
Jalene Carpenter: I love hearing that because, to me, that just goes to show it's so many little moments that start to lead to your bigger success. But I want to back up, okay, Peter, because I said I met Tracy Lichty 20 years ago, but we introduced her as the CEO of Newcastle Retirement Centres, which we could talk a little bit about, but that's not how you started, Tracy. People might think, oh my gosh, I'll never reach that level.
Tracy Lichty: Attain that, yeah. And I always tell this story, in the briefest fashion, to the new people who work for me, because I want to tell them that same message that you just mentioned, Jalene. I want to tell them that you can just start in one spot in long-term care, and you can just grow as long. As you want to work hard and continue to learn, you can do whatever.
So, my actual education is in food-service management. That actually is my bachelor's degree. And I started as a dining director in a skilled nursing facility, at the same facility I met Jalene at. And I just felt it was... One of my favourite things is, number one, I love to have a great party, I love to see people happy, and serving them food that they enjoy and that they like. It was powerful for me when I was younger. And I will attest that I'm the lady that was the dining director, but I knew every vegetable you liked, everything you liked to drink, everything about you, all 100-plus people that lived there, because it was important to me.
And so, while I worked there, with a really strong leadership team, again, someone planted the seed, I think you should be an administrator, I think you should consider it. And so, while working as a dining director, I went back and took courses to be a long-term care administrator, and I actually even did my preceptor and all my training right there at that same facility while being a dining director. I then got my very first position as an executive director. I was the seventh administrator in the five years that building had been open, and so I was put in a place where I had to succeed. I had a really strong interview with three different phases, even a gentleman that was part of the CIA was interviewing me, and I'm like, I have to get it right, and I'm like, how are you getting it right with someone who's never done this? But I then worked there for 10 years and built a community that had no reputation to having a reputation of being great.
And so, I think, I've only worked three places too as an administrator, and I think that can be... It's good for us, it's good for you to build a team, to see it to succeed, and then use your connections to continue to grow, and that's what happened to me next. I actually opened a brand new building. I got to move in every resident in a building, I got to hire every single employee and just build the culture of a brand new building. Huge success, it filled from zero to 100% occupied in eight months, that's not normal on a fill-up, so I've been told. And so, just building a really strong team.
And then, I've been at Newcastle now for six years. The person prior to me recruited me, that people you know, they want to pick someone who's going to do the right thing, but when they walk away, and she was moving out of state and couldn't continue to work here. So I've gotten to be here for the last six years, and I feel like it's an honour.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Jalene, I'm going to throw both of you a curveball, since you took this conversation back 20 years, I'm going to take it back 30 years. Tracy, what would you say if I would've told you 30 years ago, you're going to be in long-term care, you're going to be an executive, you're going to be a CEO, you're going to be in a documentary, you're going to be a board member? Is there a chance this was in your plans for life?
Tracy Lichty: Absolutely not, absolutely not. I went to school thinking I was going to own my own catering business, and I was going to be planning people's weddings and having big parties. That's really what I thought I was going to school for. And the first job I had in long-term care, I'm like, oh, these are my people, these are who I have to take care of. So, yeah, 30 years ago, absolutely not.
Jalene Carpenter: Do you want me to answer too, Peter? Because you know I'm going to turn it back on you too, you're going to have to answer the question as well.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Go ahead.
Jalene Carpenter: But 30 years ago, no, I'll never forget, I would've been early, not quite to high school, and we had to take an aptitude test, and my aptitude test indicated that I would make a great police officer. I didn't quite agree with that, but no, I didn't ever expect to be here.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Is that because you're bossy or because you follow the rules?
Jalene Carpenter: Probably a combination of both. I have no idea why. But Peter, you didn't expect to be sitting here.
Peter Murphy Lewis: No. I'm 44, so at 14, I thought I was probably going to be a banker. My father, my dad, my grandmother, my mom, were bankers. And if I weren't going to be a banker, probably something in criminal justice. And I ended up studying sociology, which is not too far from criminal justice. And then, I studied political science, which is not that far. But coming back to being a creative type, it wasn't, as far as I know, in my DNA, so I didn't think I would be on TV or doing podcasts or documentaries, no.
Jalene Carpenter: So Tracy, you said something that really clicked with me, you said it multiple times, that somebody planted a seed. Somebody planted this seed in your head, and I guess I would ask the question, do you feel like you've planted some seeds?
Tracy Lichty: I sure hope so. I would say that's probably my own personal mission statement is to leave a legacy, and that goes back to planting that seed, encouraging someone that they should do something, encourage them to grow and learn, to be part of Nebraska LEAD, be involved in the committee, whether it's to be an administrator. I've had the opportunity to have interns that have come through my doors, many of them. And I hope I've planted some sort of seed to make them feel successful for their future. Honestly, that's what I want. If I weren't able to do that, I think that I wouldn't feel comfortable working in this environment any longer.
We met a gentleman at one of our conventions and he wanted to know, what's your personal mission statement? Lots of people already knew theirs, they wrote it down, and I'm like, oh, I don't know what mine is. And this was probably about three years ago. And then, I saw him a second time at a national convention, and then like, now, I know what it is. It took me about six months to decide what it really was. And so, when I say it, I don't mean it to be boastful, that's what I tell my team, I want to leave a legacy. I want to make sure that the people behind me can grow and do the same thing we've been able to do to, to serve seniors. And not just in the same way, always trying to think forward and do better for how we care for them.
Peter Murphy Lewis: The thing that I want to ask you about is challenging moments. I would assume that most people who aren't in long-term care would think one of the hardest things for you in the last two decades is probably someone passing, but they don't realize that can happen three times a week or five times a week. What's one of the most challenging moments that you've had in your career?
Tracy Lichty: I can think of two. There's Doris, and I won't ever forget her, because when I was very first an administrator, she was alone. The building I worked at was, there were a lot of people who were alone, they didn't have family connection that would be there regularly. And so, I took her in. She was in the Navy, she swore like she was in the Navy, she was sassy. That's my favourite kind of people. She literally sat in my office all day and would have a hot dog at lunch in my office and read the paper. I even, at one point, took her to my home, and I was like, you have to watch my kids play. She literally just sat in the driveway and watched my kids ride bikes.
But the bad part is, when Doris had to pass away, when that journey between the two of us ended, I was like, oh gosh, this is too hard. But I remember going to where she was, and the skilled nursing when she was on hospice, and just crying with her, and her saying, "I'm going to be okay, Tracy, you can let me go."
And I'm like, "Oh, I don't know if I can let you go."
And so, that's almost 20 years ago, Peter, that that person, I still envision her. I still have her wallet at home. I still have all these little things. But I think you learn from that, you can have a great relationship with them, and they can be endearing to you, but we have to shift our mindset a bit.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Before you mention the second story, I have a question around Doris. I often find that we create relationships with people that we didn't know beforehand, sometimes, as a way of projecting or remedying a previous relationship of someone that we wish we'd had that connection with. Is that true with Doris or your second story?
Tracy Lichty: I don't think so. I have a really great family, and my relationship I have with my grandparents, amazing. Amazing. And I think that one of the reasons that I do what I do, for sure, is they were the rocks in my family for me. So I think it's just because she was sassy, and she was a little naughty, and I love that when residents are that way, and I'm drawn to them. I'm drawn to them when they're a little sassy, and that fits right into Mary Lou, who lived here at Newcastle with us, and we lost her during COVID. And, same thing, sassy and drank scotch before bed, and if she didn't have it, "Tracy, will you go buy it because I need it?" So you would do those things for her.
And she, also, was on hospice. And she was here. She was able to stay here. But letting go of the last voicemail she left me on my phone, which was, "Thank you for my hospital bed that you've got me." I didn't get it for her, but she thought I did, and so she was leaving me that message. The hospice nurse got it for her. And then, she's like, "And I love you, and I'll always love you," and you can't delete it. I don't know what else to say, you cannot delete that message because she was so wonderful. I just enjoyed spending time with her. I'd just go sit in her apartment and just not even talk about work, talk about her or whatever she enjoyed doing.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Does that mean you can't change cell phone carriers either because you might lose the voicemail?
Tracy Lichty: I might lose her, yeah, so I cannot.
Peter Murphy Lewis: You're stuck with AT&T or, I don't know, Bell, that hasn't been around for 15...
Tracy Lichty: Whatever, she's got to come along. Because I don't think people always understand that in this world, we do really get to know them. And sometimes, we have to change our mindset, I have had to do that, to the point where my goal isn't that they're going to be with me for a long time, but while they're here with me, I want them to have the very best. I want them to have the best care, the best experiences, the best quality of life, and make their last days the absolute best that they can be.
Jalene Carpenter: Listening to you, and having been somebody who's worked in this industry, but just listening to you, you've almost brought me to tears twice in the last three minutes, and it just feels like so much of yourself is given to your work. How do you manage? You said, you just had your second child when we met. How do you manage? What you just described to me is, like, you've just given your whole heart to these people. How do you have room for the rest of life?
Tracy Lichty: I'll quickly reflect back to when I was a dining director, and I was not young when I had children, I waited a while, and my teenagers in my department were like, "When are you having children?"
I'm like, "You're all my children, all you teenagers. I've got to take care of all you."
I'm going to attest that, first of all, my spouse. He is amazing. He is one of the main factors that I'm successful in what I've done. He supports, whether it's helping our children or whether it was... There were times probably in my career that he cared for them more than I did, and that's just being honest. I'm thankful that my parents lived really close to me, and they were always willing to be part of the equation to care for my children, if I couldn't. And second, my kids became part of working here. If there was an event happening, they knew they had to work it. They had to volunteer, whether it was just pushing residents in their wheelchair to get to the event, whatever it was, they had to be there and had to be helpful.
So I think you just have to know that it matters. My first person that hired me as an administrator was Jan Thayer in Nebraska, she started really showcasing assisted living nationally, and I was able to work for her. And I can remember one time, I'm a brand new administrator, my son is three and a half, I come home from a long day, and he's standing in the garage. He's waiting for me, and his question to me was, "Mom, I didn't think you were ever coming home today." And I'm like, oh, just break my heart in half, literally, break it in half. And yet, he had been home with his dad the entire dad. He wasn't even at childcare, he was home with his dad.
But we talked about that, she and I, because she was a mom, and she was a leader and she was well-respected as a leader. And she goes, "You need to remember that you're taking care of people. You have an important job; no one else gets to do that. And your children will have benefits that no other children will have. They will have things that they won't have." And I'm like, what is she talking about? And at first, you're thinking, what, money? I'm going to make a higher wage maybe than someone else that's working at another skilled nursing facility or assisted living, and that was not it. And now, reflecting back, it is that my kids will know what it means to take care of other people and to be kind to others and respectful even if they have a disability.
My son, who's 23, he has the most amazing relationship with my parents, his grandparents. They will call him if they need something before they call me. And I'm like, "Mom, why do you do that?"
She goes, "Oh, we just have a special thing. He's ours."
I'm like, "Okay, I just want to make sure you're getting what you need."
But he will, literally, go mow their lawn, eat dinner with them, connect with them regularly, even though he's the same kid that before would've said, "Mom, why do you talk to the old people at the grocery store?" But now, he's good.
I have a 20-year-old daughter who wants to be a physical therapist, "To take care of our people," were her words.
And I'm like, "What are you talking, 'Our people,' Kate?" Because she works in the dining room at the assisted living by her home.
And she goes, "No, mom, I'm talking about our people, my old people, our people."
And I'm like, "Go for it, kid. I'll figure it out, I'll help you get through school, whatever you need to do so you can take care of our people."
But that's what I really believe Jan was talking about when she said those words so long ago.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Tracy, tell me about the process of working in the documentary. We haven't talked about this after you and I filmed together almost a year ago. Six months ago, the three of us were in a theatre and we got to see it on the big screen with 200, 300 of Nebraska's finest. But you and I haven't spoken since. What's the feedback you've received from your residents, from the families, from your staff, from your community?
Tracy Lichty: Well, first of all, that night of the red carpet event premiere, all I could think of as I drove home was how proud, that's the only word that kept coming back in, I'm just so proud, number one, of our industry for showing what we really do. Number two, of course, I was so proud of the ladies that were in our specific documentary, just so proud of how they shined. They just told their story, and I was so excited for them, and they've gotten such a great elevation from our team here that they told that story. I've been able to now go speak in front of so many kids in this organisation called HOSA, the healthcare education side of things, instead of Future Pharma, it's like a club, they have officers and all these kids. And there was 700 kids attending this HOSA event this year, and I got to go see some of them and talk about the docuseries and show them some of the sessions. And so, just being so proud of it that way.
I have some educators on my board of directors at our local university here, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and they automatically picked it up to start showing it in their classrooms and their gerontology and ageing classes, and immediately just were like, "I'll do it right now, just send it to me," and there was no ask needed, they just were going to do it.
Even as recent as last week, we had our volunteer appreciation for any volunteer that comes to Newcastle regularly, there were about 30 to 40 folks in the room. And I handed out all the cards so they could go watch the docuseries and remember, Newcastle's episode six, go ahead and watch it. And they all left, the high schoolers left with their cards, the volunteers that have been coming here for years, and one of the volunteers, Jane. She emailed me the next day, and she goes, "I had to watch it twice. I was so proud of what you do there, and I enjoyed it so much, I had to watch it two times in a row." And so, even just last week, getting that positive feedback about what we do here, what we do overall in our industry, super excited.
I'm on the board for NCAL with a gentleman from New Mexico, and he even reached out, and he was like, "Now, tell me about this. Tell me how this worked, and was it worth it for your community to be involved?"
And I'm like, "Absolutely, Gerald, do not hesitate, move forward."
And so, I'm excited for you too, Peter, that it's not just Nebraska going to tell their story now, it's going to grow, and the whole process will... I'm only hopeful, and I like to live in that positive land of things are always going to be better, but that our message is going to get stronger, it's just going to keep getting stronger the more you do this.
Jalene Carpenter: Sorry, Peter, I'm going to take the liberty of two questions. One, you shared with me the story of the first time you showed it to your board of directors, will you share... That was the most eye-opening for me of what impact this can have.
Tracy Lichty: Yeah. So annually, we have a board of directors at Newcastle, and then we have a fundraising side of Newcastle, so there's a board of trustees, and once a year, they're collectively together. And so, we did show the docuseries, our session, to the entire board party, so that high professionals, people working in our hospital association, lawyers, physicians, all of that that are part of it. At first, they were like, oh, this is just some ho hum, then they were watching it, and they were tearful, they were proud, they were just telling me where else I could show it and talk about it. And they just couldn't believe all those things that Newcastle does, and they don't know the staff like we know the staff, but that story told them all the good things that we do here, so super proud.
We're going to actually show our episode again at our annual fundraiser in October. So we're going to show it again to all of our donors, so people who choose to support us financially. So we'll keep that story going. What I tell my team, Peter, is I'm going to ride that story until it ends. I'm going to use it in any way I can for our industry, for our facility, whatever it might be.
Jalene Carpenter: And you said something out there. Peter, you asked about this experience with the podcast. Tracy, you said, "I was so excited that we finally decided to show our real story." I guess unpack that a little bit for me. What do you mean that we showed our real story, and why do you feel like you'd never shared the real story of long-term care?
Tracy Lichty: Why have we never showed the whole story? I think maybe we didn't have the platform to do it. A lot of times, a community could have never embarked on such an expense to do something like this either, one standalone facility, and I think it takes a collective voice to make any movement. Newcastle, you can do one little video, but this is a collective voice that is pushing forward a message.
I think the public, if you've never had anyone ever live in a community, you have no idea. You have no idea what it really means for people to love your loved one, to become their caregiver, to allow you to become their daughter or their son again. I don't believe people really realise how hard it is to be a caregiver. And I have amazing staff here who that's their niche, they've loved to be that. And so, showcasing that on a docuseries, a documentary, anything of that nature, shows that we love them, we do love them. And I feel like a lot of facilities do so many amazing things, and no one ever knows it happens, and that this opportunity lets us change that narrative, lets us change that message.
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That makes me think of words that I heard from a caregiver. She said that, "Very few jobs in the United States do you get the opportunity to be the best moment in that person's day, every single day," and she said, "I have the opportunity to do it with 10 to 25 people, every single day."
Tracy Lichty: It's so true. They're your neighbourhood, they're your little community that you're going to take care of today. I'm going to take care of these individuals that I might feel like I should treat them like my grandparent or my mom or my dad, and I'm just going to give them all the good I've got in me today. But they can be challenging too, Peter, some folks are harder to care for.
Even going back to my dining days, this is the first one, I'm going to give you a quick little example. Her name was Mel, she didn't like the food, and she never liked the food, never ever. I tried so many ways to help her and get her input, and what would she like, and it was never good enough. Until the day that I sat down with her and said, "Mel, do you know that every day we come to work to give you our very best? We don't come to work being, 'We're going to make Mel this terrible meal, but she's not going to like it.' We're coming every day with the goal when we walk in the door to do the very best for you." And I don't think anyone ever spoke to her that way, I suppose, but she never complained again. I think she needed to just hear that we wanted to make her happy every day, we wanted to be part of bringing the good in her day.
And so, the comment that you've heard, it's so on cue, that's got to be your shift of your mindset when you work in an environment like this.
Jalene Carpenter: You reminded me of a story that stuck with me when you and I worked together around one of the reasons I love this industry, and that is the idea that we can give people, at any stage of their life, purpose, but also why it can be a reason why I think I got driven to advocacy. So I want to see if you remember this person. There was a resident, she was a lady. She had two jobs that she loved. She would sit at the front door and push the handicap button to open the door for everybody, and she also would clear the tables after every meal. Do you remember that?
Tracy Lichty: Are we talking about Selma?
Jalene Carpenter: Yeah.
Tracy Lichty: Yeah, for sure. She just had to have a purpose, you're exactly right. She had a handicap that was more lifelong, Peter, and so she had to have a reason to get up, to get going for the day, and her routine to be successful for the day, it was pretty meticulous, if I remember correctly, Jalene, pretty meticulous to make her comfortable and able to do those purposeful jobs.
And so, absolutely, she was the greeter; she would open the door, but she would also speak with everyone who came in. And she also, in the dining room, her and one of the dining staff workers, Charlotte, were good friends, really good friends, not before they met each other in that environment, but they became such great friends. And so, then her second job that Jalene speaks of was helping Charlotte in the dining room and busing tables or clearing glasses or whatever it meant, so that she felt purposeful in her everyday. Her cognition was on point, it was her physical abilities that made her... That was why she had to live with us, I guess. I don't want to say that made her, but that is why she needed our care is her physical disabilities. So yeah, I remember her, I can definitely remember her.
Jalene Carpenter: What you might not remember is there was a point, and you might have already left, but there was a point where, based on regulations and what was, quote, "Infection prevention" and safe for people. They took away her ability to clear the tables, because it was safety, whatever. And I still, when I advocate for our residents, that sticks in my head, don't you dare take away the purpose of these people in the name of safety. And I think you probably lived through that in COVID. COVID was that, it was all in the name of safety. But I don't know if you have something that sparks for you of how that passion for advocacy comes out when you think about-
Tracy Lichty: Oh gosh.
Jalene Carpenter: That sticks for me, I'll never forget that and why we need to protect...
Tracy Lichty: Right. We always need to protect that for them. We have to be their voice, we have to be their voice of what their needs are and that they can still do as much as possible. I think back, you mentioned COVID, so super challenging, there was so many safety rules. But immediately, when they said, "You can do outside visits," I'm going to make that happen. I am going to make that happen, I'm going to figure it out. We actually shifted staff from one area that wasn't as busy, which was our adult day centre we have here, because there was a restriction on how many people could be in one environment, to, that was their only job, was to sign up families so that they could connect with their loved ones, do the screening before they could be there and supervise the meeting. So that "Six-foot barrier wasn't crossed," or whatever you want to say.
And so, making sure you did absolutely everything, almost to the edge of what you shouldn't be doing, but making sure they could connect with their family and their loved ones. I remember even during that, they were like, "You can't have inside visits yet." Well, we fixed the garage; we had a garage, it was probably still technically an inside visit, but it was in the garage with a heater and two chairs. So they booked them, they made sure that they could be with families. Sometimes families would still complain. But my local ombudsman, she was like, "You're doing more than anyone else, because you're pushing the envelope to make sure that they get their rights respected and carried out as much as we can," even with risk or infection, control, disease stuff.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Tracy, as we start to wrap up, I want to dive into something about your life, about your day, about your routine, when the cameras aren't on, when people aren't around. One of the books that I really appreciate is called "Tools of Titans" by Tim Ferriss. It's like one or two pages per person, and he through small things in their day that makes them more successful at what they do. What's something that you do in your day that you know is unique? Maybe the way that you write down notes, maybe it's the way that you listen and you process information, maybe it's the way you ask follow-up questions. What is it that makes you uniquely special and good at your leadership role?
Tracy Lichty: I think, I'm going to say, first of all, is I joke, what your love language is. My love language is giving other people gifts. That's my love language. And so, I would say what I am proud of is being a really solid listener and listening about what their concern is. What's the backside of something, the unspoken things that they say, and then fulfil it.
For example, a couple of weeks ago, my housekeeping director comes to my office, and I have a big thing of candy that you can pick from if you're doing a great job, and she goes, "Can I just have that because it's gummies and they're my favourite?"
I'm like, "Yeah, take it, have it. No big deal."
And so then, two days later, I'm at the store and there's this package that says, "World's greatest gummies." I'm like, what? I don't know if they are, but Kelly, my housekeeping director, she is going to know if they are. So buying those, bringing those, giving them to her. And she had no expectation of that, and it was because of what she said was either her favourite, or got her through that day, that she felt better about what she was doing, and making sure you take a next step for them. I do that often, I try to do it very often.
Peter Murphy Lewis: What's the most unique gift that you can remember that you've surprised somebody with to show them you love them and appreciate them?
Tracy Lichty: For anybody, a gift, for anyone?
Peter Murphy Lewis: Anybody you can think of that's kind of unique. I'll share mine while you think about yours. Mine was the book "Regrets of the Dead and Dying." Somebody gifted me that book by a hospice nurse from Australia, probably 10 years ago. So I received that, I didn't give that, and that changed my life in the way that I approach everything, relationships and time. And then, the thing that I've gifted most in my life is actually the book you referenced, "Five Languages of Love." About seven or eight years ago, I bought 10 versions used off of Amazon and just put them on my bookshelf, and then when I met people who I knew that would help them, I just gifted it.
Tracy Lichty: I love it. I don't think this is the best one, but I'm going to tell you it was maybe the most impactful. Every year for my daughter's birthday, she is born February the 13th, so almost a Valentine's baby, I make these cookies. They're a big sugar cookie, and then you make another sugar cookie and you cut the heart out of the middle, and then you put frosting between them, and then you make these sandwich cookies. She loves them, she's 20, she's had them every year, most of her life.
But I'm telling this story, and the young lady that works at our front desk, our receptionist, she's like, "Oh, my mom would've made me frosting sandwiches." And my mom would've made me frosting sandwiches, like Graham crackers with frosting in the middle, and that was your snack. So then, I made all these for my daughter's birthday. I then bring her, her own bag of frosting sandwiches of Graham crackers and frosting, and you would've thought I had given her $1,000. I don't know, she was so surprised, happy. Like, why did you even think of me in this way? kind of feeling, and it was Graham crackers and frosting. And so, when we give to others or when we allow our imagination to make them happy and do something simple, sometimes those are the most powerful, I think.
Jalene Carpenter: Well, I can attest. So Tracy was actually my boss. She was our board chair. And so, in my first year of this job, that first full year, Tracy was my boss. And at my anniversary, I don't know if you remember this, Tracy. On my anniversary, it was just the simplest little gift, they were these pink pencils that said girl boss on it. And for me, I'm like, oh, Tracy thinks I'm doing a good job. We're feeling it, we're feeling good together. So I can attest, Tracy's an amazing gift-giver.
Tracy Lichty: I love doing that.
Jalene Carpenter: So Tracy, you know that Peter and I met at a conference. It didn't take long for Peter and I to be having conversations where we're joining big. I think every conversation Peter and I have ever had, somewhere in there is this really big idea that I get excited about, but that's where "People Worth Caring About" came from. And is there something in your head, do you have a wild idea, or this big idea that you always think, well, if only, or what if?
Tracy Lichty: Oh, gosh. Jalene, that's huge. I can tell you what we're focused on at my building for maybe the future. And I would love to see it be more what we do holistically, and that is, we've gone from a facility always being the one making the decisions, right, to person-centred care. So we take the residents' input of what they like, and then we develop their plan of care or their tasks that we do, all of those things, which we feel that gives them a voice. But we're challenging our team, and I don't know how it's going to work yet, because it's so big and so unknown, I feel. But how does it work when it's no longer just person-centred, and what happens when it becomes resident-driven, no longer facility-driven? Obviously, you have some regulations you have to work around, of course. But what if they're the ones that are really leading what we do here, and it doesn't just become person-centred, it becomes resident-driven?
And so, I think that is going to be huge if our team can figure that out for our building, because we have the flexibility of being just one building, and we can make changes if we want to make changes. I feel we could be successful in that. So I don't know what that makes you feel like, Jalene. I don't know, I haven't heard those terms very often, but that's what we keep coming back to when we're focusing on our next five years where we want to be.
Jalene Carpenter: I think we have a recurring guest for the podcast, Peter. There'll be a follow-up.
Peter Murphy Lewis: I love the word driven, I love the word driven. I'm newish to the industry, but people-centred, I remember hearing people-centred care five-ish years ago when I got into long-term care, and I didn't really understand it. But now I've heard it long enough, it's just, kind of, the jargon, and it starts to make sense. But when you present it in the way that you did, Tracy, it seems like person-centred still is a little bit top-down, where resident-driven isn't, it's much more horizontal.
Tracy Lichty: Correct. Because even now, okay, fine, I always use my example when I teach this person-centred care that I talk about hen I teach other assisted living directors this is, "If you took care of me, I don't want up at 8:00 AM, I want up at 10:00, and I would like my shower before I go to bed, can you do that?"
And they're like, "No, we cannot do that, because we don't have staff at that time to do that."
Those are just simple things. Where if it was resident-driven, you're going to staff to 100% fit, what your residents want, and they're going to drive their story.
We had a resident come who, in her career, she's in her 80s, she came and spoke to us about how that would feel to her. And the other word that comes up a lot in this conversation for us is citizenship, that they become the citizens of your community, and they have some additional leadership role in it. And so, yeah, very much to still be figured out. But you're right, Peter, it's still us making a lot of decisions right now, and them not having as strong of a voice as they should.
Peter Murphy Lewis: As I start to wrap up, I want to give you both thanks for joining, but I want to turn this theme into this interview as being something actionable. Jalene started off by saying, "Tracy, you just get up and you do things." So I'm going to ask you both, what is one thing that you want of a listener or a viewer of this episode to do afterwards? And I'll start to buy you both about 10 seconds. I want you to go watch Tracy's episode of Newcastle, of "People Worth Caring About," and send it to somebody under the age of 25 who has a big heart, and see if you can talk them into coming into long-term care and make a difference. Whether they're in Nebraska or not, you can make a difference by sharing Tracy's team's story and taking care of America's seniors. Jalene, you're next, and we'll let Tracy wrap it up
Jalene Carpenter: From what Tracy said, I want the listeners to go plant a seed. Who do you need to go plant a seed in to succeed, and maybe even just revisit what seeds that have already been planted for you, and where do you need to invest some time to maybe take that next scary step?
Tracy Lichty: I love that. I'm going to challenge everyone, it doesn't have to be your own personal mission statement. It's similar to Jalene's, but leave a legacy. Help others grow, whether they work in your industry or they don't, let them grow, let them increase their knowledge of what it means to take care of others. Spread a little kindness, a little extra kindness and inclusion. Don't forget the senior, don't forget their voice, and remember that they still get to make decisions for themselves.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Tracy, thank you. You are one of the reasons we did the documentary. You are one of those people worth caring about. Thank you for your time today.
Tracy Lichty: Thank you, Peter.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Thank you for your story.
Tracy Lichty: Absolutely.
Peter Murphy Lewis: And I look forward to seeing you in August.
Tracy Lichty: Okay, I'll see you then.
Jalene Carpenter: Bye guys.
Tracy Lichty: Bye, Jalene.
Peter Murphy Lewis: That's a wrap on "People Worth Caring About," born from the documentary built to keep the stories going. Shout out to Nebraska Healthcare Association and Jalene Carpenter for helping launch it, and to Ohio and New Mexico for making future seasons real. Watch the docuseries online or at peopleworthcaringabout.com. And if this episode meant something to you, leave a review, it matters. Take care of yourself and the people worth caring about.
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