“I go home and I walk my black lab, Luke. He’s very happy to see me and usually after a long day at work, most people aren’t always that friendly to you, as the boss. But, no, when you go home, they’re happy to see you and they just want to basically go out and stretch your legs and get some fresh air. Even if it’s raining or snowing, you go out.”
—Linda Hunter, Administrator, The Doolittle Home Inc., Foxboro, MA
“After a long day at work, I like to take a brisk walk or just get into a quiet room, relax, take a hot shower and just chill. No phones, no interruptions and it’s just time to download and do a mental dump from the day.”
—Michael Barry, Administrator, Bolingreen Health & Rehabilitation, Macon, GA
“I’m a travel agent on the side, so I do travel planning for people. I am not a relaxing person. I can’t stand to sit around too long. That’s why nursing home administrator works for me.”
—Michael Gore, Executive Director, Cabell Health Care Center, Culloden, WV
“The first thing that I do to unwind when I get home is have something to eat. Normally, I don’t eat during the day. I get done what I need to, and I like to sit down with my family and have a conversation. Never talk about business, but just what everyone did during the course of the day and have some dinner.”
—Larry Slatky, Executive Director, Albany County Nursing Home, Albany, NY
“Being in a long-term care facility, it’s very hard to control your day. You’re pulled in a thousand directions, even though you may have the greatest plans. But, what I do is around 5 or 5:30 a.m. every morning, I work out at my own gym and usually do about 45 minutes of cardio. That makes a huge difference about six days a week. So, before my day goes in so many different directions, I seize the day first thing in the morning and work out. That way, I get in that workout and stress relief ahead of time.”
—Israel Ray, Administrator, Radcliff Veterans Center, Radcliff, KY
“I have an hour drive to my facility, so I drive two hours every day and I unwind by just listening to some good music and kind of clearing my head to just take the drive and use as my unwind time. When I get home, I’m raising six children, so usually that’s my time to transition from nursing home administrator hat to caring-father hat. Knowing that I’m on call 24 hours a day is stressful, but I use the drive time to unwind.”
—Bob Bishop, Administrator, Atlas Healthcare, Westerville, OH
From the June 01, 2018 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
