The Greatest Boss Contest Winner
KJ Langlais
CEO
Evergreen Living Innovations
Olathe, Kansas
Non-Profit/Government Organizations Category
Nomination Essay
KJ exemplifies great leadership. In 2003, she took over management of the nursing home, Evergreen Community of Johnson County (ECOJC). At that time ECOJC had an employee turnover rate of 112% and a resident occupancy of 73%. At the end of 2010 the employee turnover rate was 36% with a resident occupancy of 98%. The 68% reduction in turnover is no small feat in the field of long-term care. The high resident occupancy rate created a waiting list for residents wanting to move into ECOJC. In addition, ECOJC went from operating with a loss of over $200,000 to operating with a net gain.
While these numbers may sound impressive to the business world, we are in the business of caring for people. Sometimes budgets get in the way of our true mission and vision but not with KJ. She has harnessed her compassion, unending drive, and leadership to change the lives of residents and employees alike. KJ has transformed ECOJC by embracing the philosophy of Person Centered Care. The Person Centered Care movement encourages resident choice and empowerment, a home-like living environment, relationships between residents and employees, employee empowerment, flattened management hierarchy for collaborative decision making, and quality care.
KJ has brought all this and more to ECOJC. KJ knew that to have improved quality of care there had to be consistent staffing. She began improving ECOJC by changing the staff scheduling from working every other weekend to working four 10-hour shifts Monday through Thursday or three 12-hour shifts Friday through Sunday. This improved employee satisfaction and retention. She knew that by giving employees set schedules with adequate time off, it would give them more balance between work and personal lives.
Then she challenged the employees to improve the living environment for the residents. In the beginning, employees were given a budget to remodel the bathing rooms. They were uninviting and very sterile feeling. The employees met and involved the residents in the redesign effort. The end products were four bathing rooms that felt warm and inviting. The employees and residents took pride in their work. The shared sense of accomplishment built strong relationships and teams amongst the employees and residents.
KJ has created a culture that encourages employees to grow and be successful. It is a culture of learning from our mistakes without the fear of reprisal. Employees are empowered to make decisions without asking for permission or relying on managers for the answers. If a resident wants a cheeseburger from Sonic for a meal then the employees know they can go and get it for the resident without asking for permission. If it is the right thing to do for the resident the employees know they just need to make it happen.
KJ definitely leads by example and encourages others to grow and find their strengths. She shares her leadership knowledge not only with ECOJC employees but also with other long-term care employees across Kansas and Missouri through Leadership and Management classes. She also speaks at national conferences on leadership and Resident Centered Care. She has changed the model of care in long-term care at ECOJC, across Kansas and Missouri, and at the national level. I am personally grateful to KJ for helping me grow professionally and personally. She has given me the opportunity to make an enormous positive impact on residents’ lives and improve the field of aging as a whole.
