Leadership Update – Part of the Team Caring House Triathlon Celebration
We really enjoyed coming together with members of our community this past Sunday as we celebrated all that we have accomplished at the Team Caring House Triathlon Celebration. We will be sharing more about the celebration in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we wanted to share some news and an introduction that coincided with the event.
Dear Caring House Community,
It is with a mixture of sadness and excitement that I announce my departure from Caring House to pursue a new opportunity to work with children, one of my greatest passions. The Triathlon Celebration on August 14 will be my last day as Executive Director.
The journey we have taken together has been an honor. It has been a pleasure to partner with so many of you to fulfill our mission of providing dignified and compassionate end-of-life care in our community. Together, we have overcome challenges and seen tremendous growth in occupancy, all for the benefit of our community and the families we serve.
I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as Executive Director of Caring House over the past two years. It has been both challenging and transformational. I am proud that, in partnership with our talented, dedicated team and engaged Board of Directors, we have grown our capacity and financial reserves, while maintaining the values that were so important to our founders. Together, we have surrounded and sustained hundreds of residents and families with love, compassion, dignity and care through much-needed support at one of the most difficult times in their lives.
I am so proud of what we have accomplished together and humbled to have had the opportunity to impact so many lives. I want you to know that I am committed to the long-term success of Caring House, and I will work with our leadership to support a successful and smooth transition to our new Executive Director, Kay Post. She will be formally introduced in the coming weeks.
I hope you’ll join me in welcoming Kay as Caring House continues to grow and serve even more families in our community.
All my best,
Jon Mesko
Dr. Glenn Wishon, President of Caring House, shared:
“Right after Jon joined our team, we met for coffee, sitting together on the esplanade in Redondo Beach. I told him that we could not survive with only two or three residents occupying a house designed for five. Knowing his background as an experienced entrepreneur who has built multiple businesses, I stressed how increasing referrals would be paramount to eventually filling beds that had largely remained empty because of the pandemic.
I also remarked how his predecessors, two of our co-founders, had contributed hundreds of hours a month, running the house with a small cadre of caregivers, and how those responsibilities should really be shared by a larger professional staff. Twenty months later, he doubled the team of experienced and dedicated caregivers, now led by two Resident Care Managers, and added a Director of Development and Community Relations. We also grew our Board of Directors and added a Finance Committee – both comprised of passionate and experienced community members.
Our occupancy has increased to a record-setting 90% of capacity, and we now receive referrals from more than 20 different hospice agencies, in addition to major, local hospitals and senior care facilities. We are also thrilled to begin working toward our long-term goal – opening a second home to magnify our commitment to helping the community with this critical need.
Jon has accomplished wonders and deserves all the praise he has received from the community and the families we’ve served, as well as our staff, hospice partners and Board of Directors. While we are glad he is pursuing something he is so passionate about, he will also be greatly missed.”
Resident Care Manager Joanna Franco, who Jon hired after his first six months at the helm, said:
“On my first day at Caring House, Jon gave me a list of things he wanted me to focus on, and the top three were: 1) Make sure our caregivers feel supported, 2) Take care of our families, and 3) Serve as many families as possible.
He made it his mission to get the word out, and we spent a significant amount of time together introducing Caring House to the community. He always reminded me that at some point, the calls would start coming in… now that they have, they have not stopped!
I am incredibly grateful to him for his unconditional support, and I am so proud and honored to be part of this community of grief, love, happiness and celebration of life. With his leadership, we are now fulfilling the goal of serving families in all six bedrooms.”