October 4, 2021: Mr. Chad Evans

For the month of October, we had guest speaker Chad Evans join us to talk more about his career in long-term care. To our surprise, Mr. Evans invited two of his fellow employees to join us and provide us with insight on their positions in healthcare.

Mr. Evans is the Executive Director for Westminster Woods where most of the facilities are located on the eastern side of Pennsylvania. There are approximately 4,000 residents, 150 employees, and 100 residents living independently. Mr. Evans describes this area as a community or a campus. There are many amenities for the residents, in fact, some of them still drive! Mr. Evans notes the stereotype of senior living facilities are changing. Senior living communities are turning more into a hospitality business rather than just healthcare.

Being in a senior living environment at this time, Mr. Evans talked about their status with the COVID-19 pandemic. He states that the COVID-19 vaccine was mandated for staff but not for the residents. Although, 98% of their residents willingly got vaccinated. Staffing has been a major challenge for them during this time, as well as the rest of the country. Dietary aids and cooks have been the hardest spots to fill with their staffing shortages.

Many students inquired about possible internships and the status on their internship programs. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they could not have interns for the past two years. Penn State students have been interning with them for over 10 years. Currently, on-site interns are on hold, but there could be a possibility of a virtual option for students. Mr. Evans closes out by saying that they are looking forward to having more student interns in the future.

Peggy Brumbaugh, a fellow employee of Mr. Evans, also joined us on her prospective in the long-term care industry. Ms. Brumbaugh had been a Personal Care Administrator for the past

four years at Westminster. She is an LPN by background and was an LPN for 20 years! Before she transitioned to the administrative side, she was nervous. She had never been on the administrative side before, and she enjoyed being a nurse. She realized she loved to make a difference and with this position, she was able to do just that. Ms. Brumbaugh was able to obtain her Personal Care License at Penn State Beaver and emphasized the importance of continuing education. Regarding the facilities, she states it is a community. There are independent living, personal care, and skilled facilities. There are sad moments, especially over the past couple of years, which makes her days difficult. Ms. Brumbaugh always reaches out to the families to see what she can do for them during these tough times.

Mr. Evans also introduced us to Mr. Kyle Cusick, the Independent Living Services Director at Westminster. Mr. Cusick is not licensed as his potions does not require it. Mr. Cusick’s background starts out in social work. He had an internship at WindyHill, during the same time that Mr. Evans was a part of their administration. Mr. Cusick spent a total of six years as social worker before transitioning into administration. He started to notice changes with insurance companies and felt the need for a change himself. Mr. Cusick currently oversees 101 independent living residents. These residents are all 55 years and older. Mr. Cusick points out the generational changes he is seeing within the residents. The newer residents coming in are more “tech savvy”. He mentions a recent resident who moved onto campus and is still working! She is not retired and is familiar with newer technology, one being the app, Venmo. Although, it can tough seeing individuals at their worst and at their best. There has been a resident there since 1997.

Thank you so much Chad Evans, Peggy Brumbaugh, and Kyle Cusick for talking with us this month. We are grateful to have been able to hear from you all. It was very interesting to hear each of your prospective in relation to long-term care.