The value of relationships

By Marisa Geitner, president and C.E.O.

I have been reminded recently just how hard it is to say goodbye. No matter what may be driving the change, when someone’s presence in your life changes it can really sting.

Imagine how that is magnified for a person who welcomes others into her life for her most personal care and support needs. Imagine how that compounds when you lend your time to nurture and develop a new support relationship only to have it interrupted by change. Imagine if you are one tasked with consistently finding and hiring new talent to serve our important mission. Each time we say goodbye to a colleague we have enjoyed and invested in, our hearts naturally harden a bit. As our loss compounds it begins to impact the way in which we welcome others into the relationships and the work that means so much to us.

At Heritage Christian we are proud to surpass national rates for direct support retention but it is never good enough. Not only does it have a significant impact on those we support, it is wearing on those who we serve alongside.

As we stretch to meet individual needs in new and diverse ways our need for dedicated employees is immense. We have ongoing, aggressive recruitment efforts in place and we are always honing our investment to attract the best candidates. Even so, with such high hiring standards, we only offer employment to about 22 percent of the people we meet. Therefore we need to continue to meet many people who may be inspired to serve our Christian mission. Each of you can have an active role in introducing us to caring, compassionate people. We appreciate the support.

In addition, each of us who continue to experience loss when someone’s role in our lives change, will continue to prayerfully find ways to open our hearts so that  each and every time we demonstrate the welcoming culture that has defined Heritage Christian. Amazing people will be directed and attracted to this great mission as we continue to let the light shine!