The Oregon Caregiver FALL/WINTER 2023 www.ohca.com 18 » SPONSORED CONTENT, CONT. “About 15 years ago, our parents and our grandparents started entering senior living. As we are visiting our relatives in these communities, we are starting to understand just how critically important coffee is to residents. It’s the first thing they drink in the morning. It’s the first thing they think of, and coffee is a very emotional beverage,” she said. Reflecting on what they were seeing, Brisk made a point to focus on the needs and wants of not only the residents, but the culinary teams that serve them. “We have developed products and programs that are geared toward enhancing the coffee drinking experience for the resident and making the job easier for the operator to execute the program,” said Reddick. “Our business model gets coffee to our clients’ factory direct one or two days outside of the roasting process. We can typically offer better pricing and we offer fresher coffee because it’s not sitting on the shelf. It gets straight to the to the building and so there aren’t substitutions; there aren’t back orders, and we can provide 100% compliance for the healthcare organization.” I asked Reddick whether she feels she has a unique perspective as a woman, serving an industry with so many female leaders and employees. “I started from the bottom, and I worked my way up. I’ve swept floors and I’ve run packing machines. Because of that, I lead with empathy, and I think I gain a little more respect with my colleagues because they know I’ve done the work. I believe the same thing with emerging leaders and senior living. Most of them have been operators; they’re great leaders because they lead with resident care in mind and not just other business marks like finance and marketing. Emerging female leaders are really going to take senior living and senior care to a new level,” Reddick said. Research supports this claim: companies with a better gender mix at corporate leadership levels see gains above and beyond their less-gender-diverse competitors. More women on company boards means fewer financial reporting errors, better transparency, and more contributions to charitable funds. As Reddick verified, women tend to more effectively lead with empathy, striking a balance between ensuring staff feel supported, and seeing results. Leading with empathy is a key component of reducing turnover and burnout, which are two culture-killers in senior living. Not only might more empathy, as modeled by women in leadership, reduce turnover, but it may keep residents safer. High turnover among nursing staff has been shown to increase errors with patient care and treatment. Senior living would grind to a halt without the efforts of women in this workforce, as about 80% of all senior living employees are women. As Reddick points out, many people who choose to work in this sector do so for more than just a paycheck. The sense of purpose that can be found through employment working with residents is not only fulfilling but motivating. For women who wish to explore career advancement, Reddick has a piece of advice. “Be the best one in the room; you have to know what you’re talking about,” she said. “Study everything that you can about the industry that you’re in and the industries that you serve so, when you walk into that room, you know more than anybody else. Knowledge is power, and knowledge gains respect and confidence.” Jen Bruning is the director of nutrition and brand innovation with Incite Strategic Partners, OHCA’s purchasing partner and an OHCA business partner. This article has been sponsored and provided by Incite Strategic Partners. SPONSORED CONTENT
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