April 13, 2023
Susan Wiley enjoys creating a positive long-term impact in her long-term care career as the executive director at Homestead of Mason City. Additionally, Susan is a member of the 2022-2023 IHCA Executive Health Care Leadership Institute.
How did you get started in the long-term care profession?
Elders have always been a part of my life. Generations have lived together in my family. It is tradition, certainly matriarch and patriarch is our custom. I have volunteered for IRIS, reading print information to over 11,000 print-disabled listeners. It was there I met my first AL, ED.
What do you like most about working in long-term care?
Advocation, to people. It’s the complexity dichotomy or rejecting temptation to back or support structures even when one has the right to fall. Being in long-term care has allowed my talent to champion for those that are weak to have their glory in each day, impacting care and lives.
What would you tell others to encourage them to consider a career in long-term care?
While we move in life, highlights are personal. Active opportunities, and yet discovered needs can be filled because of interests each care provider has. When we join these collectively, a great teamwork and career path is forged. Long-term care calls for workforce crusaders.
What lessons have you learned working in long-term care that also help outside of work?
Flash forward 40 years. What we do for ourselves today can be evident in the future. We get to meet the best of the best. They made it this long to get to our homestead and made choices that decern outcomes. Maybe great DNA… but all in all – I strive for life balance.
When you’re not at work, what do you enjoy doing?
My love language is cooking. Colorful, flavorful dishes from produce I have grown in my garden or items bought from Trader Joes. If I can capture a cozy read, that’s great too.
What is your favorite quote and why?
“Take care of each other.” My family has lived by this, coined by my mother.