Cheryl Ryan, 60
The newly appointed chairwoman of St. Ann’s Community’s board of directors talks about new position
By Mike Costanza
Q. As the chief human resources officer at UR Medicine’s Highland Hospital, you must be fairly busy. Why take on the additional job of chairing St. Ann’s Community’s board of directors?
A. It was an opportunity to take my volunteering at St. Ann’s to the next level, and continue to do great work supporting St. Ann’s leadership and advocating for seniors. It’s a growing population, and the needs are great. It’s a logical next step.
Q. What do you want to accomplish as chairwoman, say, in the next five years or so?
A. The landscape of senior needs and senior care is changing, has changed dramatically and will continue to change dramatically. Really, what I’d like to see us accomplish as a board is continue to support St. Ann’s senior leadership in meeting not only the current needs of our seniors in the Greater Rochester area, but also position ourselves to meet the future needs. In the next five-and-a-half years, all baby boomers will be over 65. One in every five Americans in five years will be retirement age, and in 10 years older adults will outnumber children for the first time in history. On top of that, baby boomers now have a greater number of chronic health conditions than previous generations. So, this landscape is changing dramatically, and it’s organizations like St. Ann’s that really need solid strategic plans to really meet the needs of the future.
Q. Can you give the readers an example of a solid strategic plan for St. Ann’s?
A. I think baby boomers will have a different set of expectations of, say, independent living communities. They will have different expectations than their parents and their grandparents had. I think, again, the potential for more chronic conditions will increase the need for other types of care like assisted living, memory care and aging in the home. There needs to be an understanding of where the market is going and ensure that we can help meet the demands of the new market.
Q. Are there specific challenges that you want to take on, or that you want the board to take on?
A. An area that remains a priority for our board members is advocacy for seniors with our state officials. We need to do our part in ensuring quality long-term care is accessible and sustainable. The fewer number of nursing home beds across the state is honestly visible each day, as a patient’s discharge from a hospital can be delayed due to the lack of capacity in the area nursing homes. This isn’t just a “nursing home problem.” This is a senior care issue that has implications across the health care continuum.
Q. Are there parts of your background that you believe have prepared you for your role as chair?
A. I think I have maybe a rather a unique kind of journey or path to this role. I grew up quite literally down the road from St. Ann’s. It was a cornerstone of the neighborhood, and even as a child I was aware of the great reputation for nursing care provided at St. Ann’s. When I received the call for potential board membership 30-some years later, I jumped at the chance. Specifically, the CEO and the board at that time recognized that the makeup of the board was thin on HR experience, knowledge and skills. When I was voted onto the board, and subsequently took over the HR committee chair role, I never imagined that I would be voted in as chair 24 years later.
Q. Have conditions changed in the field of health care since you joined St. Ann’s board of directors?
A. I will say that over the years, the workforce dynamics in health care, and even specifically in long-term care, have shifted dramatically. It’s no secret that there is a nursing shortage. There’s shortages in several areas of health care now, and the overall tight labor market is just exacerbated. That’s very different from what we saw in the workforce dynamics, particularly in health care, 25-30 years ago. So, I really do believe that my ability to bring an HR perspective to the board discussions helped us navigate through the most challenging times in recruiting and retaining a world class workforce at St. Ann’s. Finally, just one last point I would make is having been through the process with my sister of helping our parents sell their home and move into a senior independent living community, at St. Ann’s of course, gives me firsthand knowledge of the journey for all involved in this critical transition.