Reposted with Permission from Approved Senior Network.
🌟 Exciting Netcast News 🌟
Episode 38 of the Senior Care Industry Netcast is live!
We were fortunate enough to have Kat Villanueva, https://nestandcare.com on our show and she offered some great insight and #advice for other #seniorcare and #healthcare providers.
Full Transcript:
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
This is Valerie VanBooven with the Senior Care Industry NetCast, where leaders with three or more years in the senior care industry share their advice. It’s six questions in nine minutes, so let’s get to it.
In a few sentences, tell us who you are and what you do.
Kat Villanueva RN BSN:
Hi, Valerie. Thank you so much for having me. My name is Kat. Kat Villanueva. I’m a registered nurse, founder and clinical director of Nest & Care. We are a level three in-home care agency in Maryland, and we provide both skilled and non-skilled services with specialty in providing care for patients with stroke, Parkinson’s, dementia and other neurological disorders.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
Awesome. And you guys do specialize and that’s really nice because not everybody has some specialties behind their name. And I know you guys do that. So that’s awesome for folks, especially Alzheimer’s and stroke. Those are so challenging for family caregivers.
So what is the best thing about serving aging adults?
Kat Villanueva RN BSN:
Good question. So I can say that the best thing about serving aging adults is really the opportunity to be part of their lives in one way or another. And I especially feel that with our clients in their eighties, nineties, and early hundreds. I love celebrating their birthdays with them, and just being there to help make their life easier and more meaningful every day is very rewarding. I consider it truly an honor and a privilege to care for them.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
Really, they are our greatest generation. And so it is definitely a privilege. They’ve been through so much, so many good stories to share with us. So you’re right. It’s amazing when you talk to a senior who can still communicate and tell you their stories, how much they have accomplished and survived and done in their lives.
So when we might be complaining about, maybe it’s a little hot outside or the air conditioner’s not working, they didn’t have air conditioning.
Kat Villanueva RN BSN:
That’s so right. Plus, I’ve only met a few people that are in their hundreds and I like talking to them, asking them about what they were doing before, what kind of work they did. And you realize just by talking to them what amazing individuals they are and what incredible things they’ve done in the past. It’s really truly an honor.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
Yes, absolutely. Well, let’s switch gears for just a second and talk about online marketing. So I talk to lots of senior service providers and a lot of them will tell me that online marketing is challenging and we know that it’s ever-changing. What has been your experience with getting the word out, especially during this time when we kind of can’t network in person?
What do you think about online marketing?
Kat Villanueva RN BSN:
So that’s so true. When I first started the business, I initially thought that I’d be able to do digital marketing myself because I consider myself a little bit more techy. However, when I started, I found that digital marketing has so many aspects to it and you really have to be consistent. The key is being consistent. And I couldn’t do that with being a newer entrepreneur and I’m wearing a lot of hats.
So I learned that in order to be successful, and so that I could grow my business, I need to delegate and outsource certain tasks, and one of them being digital marketing.
And I want to thank Approved Senior Network for helping me with that and some aspects of my digital marketing, mainly my social media and Google.
With this COVID thing, a lot of people had … it’s difficult for us to do in-person marketing, so a lot of companies have resorted to doing creative things digitally. And I’m probably one of them who are really looking into just getting my name out there and getting a good reputation online.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
Right. I think this is so important, and whether it’s us or anyone else, I think outsourcing it to a company that, in the home … In case of home care, I always tell people it doesn’t matter if you use our services or use somebody else, but pick somebody who’s in the senior care market. Somebody who’s not just doing general stuff for lawyers and roofers and plumbers. Pick someone who knows the senior care market and the home care market and has been doing that for years, because it’s a different animal. And you know that.
Kat Villanueva RN BSN:
Yes, yes, absolutely.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
It’s much different. Okay. I would imagine, in your career and in your life, there have been people, successful leaders like you that have made an impact on you. Maybe they’ve been a mentor or maybe they have just been an organization that you thought did a really good job.
Would you like to give anybody a shout out?
Kat Villanueva RN BSN:
Yeah, absolutely. I actually have quite a bit, but I would name a few, in the interest of time. Top of my list is Michelle Lee Ellis in Georgia. I also call her Coach Michelle. She served as my coach when I started Nest & Care a couple of years ago, and still, to this day, a mentor to me. I drew a lot of inspiration and motivation from her experience, her character and her wisdom.
Locally, a friend of mine, Jenny Barbour, she owns Continuum Healthcare Network, and she’s very hardworking. She’s helped me a lot and I admire her passion in always finding creative ways to honor healthcare workers.
And then last but not the least, I do have deep respect and admiration for geriatric care managers. I’m actually currently working with Bree Baldwin from the Debra Levy Eldercare Associates. And I didn’t realize how much work they do to make our seniors’ lives better.
They play a huge role in keeping families guided and supported through the aging process. I actually just started working with her, but I find her very inspiring. And I thought to myself, “Maybe one day I’ll be a geriatric care manager.”
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
Yeah. You know, I think care managers do a really great service to families. There’s so much overwhelm. You know this. The people are overwhelmed. It’s emotional, it’s financially overwhelming when someone needs long-term care. And if you’ve never worked in this industry or you don’t know, or you’ve never had this experience before, it’s a complete … it’s like speaking another language.
I mean, you don’t have any idea who to turn to. So I think care managers and home care agencies that work with care managers are a really good fit because the pieces and parts that she takes care of and helps with frees you up to help with the care aspect of it and vice versa. So I agree. Care managers are awesome. I’m glad you found somebody local to you.
Kat Villanueva RN BSN:
They are awesome. Yes.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
Yeah.
Okay, what piece of advice would you give to other senior care providers?
Kat Villanueva RN BSN:
So the advice would be to look at our clients or patients, however we call them, as someone’s mother, father, sibling, or friend. That person is precious to someone. They may have dementia, they may have stroke or Parkinson’s and at times, really, it’s challenging to care for them. However, as a senior care provider, it is our duty to find creative ways so that we can provide the best care possible for them. They need us and we can’t fail them.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
That’s right. We can’t fail them. They do need us. That’s definitely true. And they definitely have deserved dignity and respect. So absolutely. All right. When you have a win in life … and this can mean anything. It could be a birth, it could be a marriage, it could be a celebration of a graduation of someone in your family. It could be anything.
How do you like to celebrate?
Kat Villanueva RN BSN:
So Valerie, my personal life is super busy. My husband is a pediatric surgeon and his schedule is jam-packed. We have three young sons. They’re age two, four, and six, and we have three dogs, so never a dull moment in our lives. But when we do have a win, either it’s mine or my husband’s, we like celebrating with spending more time with our little family.
We like to eat out and go on family vacation. Now that seems a little bit harder because of the COVID, but hopefully, when all this is over, we can do what we used to do again. We also want to celebrate low-key with just having some backyard barbecue with some of my friends. I also want to take this opportunity actually to thank my husband, who pushed me to where I am right now. He is my biggest cheerleader. And he’s always been very supportive, always building me up and I am forever grateful to him.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
Oh, that’s great. It’s great when you have a supportive spouse who cheers you on from the background and he can help you kind of overcome challenges. I think it’s always nice to have that person in our lives.
Kat Villanueva RN BSN:
Yes, absolutely.
Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:
So that’s awesome. All right. Well, you know what? You did a great job. Thank you for being on the show and thank you for sharing your insight and wisdom with us. That’s what this is about, is getting the perspective from different healthcare providers, senior care providers across the country and learning from them what they find to be important and what is special about their business and their practice. So thank you for doing that.
Kat Villanueva RN BSN:
Absolutely. Thank you for having me.