“I applied not knowing what I was getting into,” she says. “In my mind, I thought ‘nursing home’ and had a picture in my mind of what that was like. So I came here for my interview and I looked around, and it was the exact opposite of what I expected.”

Yuen remembers her first day as a server in the dining room. “The very first table I took was three residents. One of them, named Pat Holland, took my hand and said, ‘Don’t worry. You’re going to be just fine.’ That was the start of my journey here.”

Yuen continued to work part time as a server through high school and as she earned her undergraduate degree in Public Health from San Francisco State University. Although she had originally planned to become an RN and work with children, her plans began to change as her grandfather’s health declined. “Because of the type of care I got to witness here [at St. Paul’s], I knew what was dignified and what was demoralizing. I was that annoying granddaughter, always constantly saying, ‘Are you supposed to do this? Are you sure that you’re supposed to pass this off to the residents?’, but it was just because of my love for him. And because of what I saw here, I knew what was right and what was wrong.”

VP of Operations Chris Ichien, who also began his career in senior living in the dining room, was the Executive Director of St. Paul’s Towers after Yuen graduated and as she continued to work as a server and host. “Chris approached me one day and said ‘Hey, there’s a program coordinator job coming up soon. Do you think you’d be interested? I think you’d be good at it.’ And I said, why not?”

Serving as program coordinator gave Yuen the chance to connect with residents in a different way. “When you’re serving every day, you build relationships, you become good friends with the residents and you know their patterns, you know their preferences,” she says. “With the programs job, I got to dig a little deeper. I got to know their history, their life, their hobbies, their interests, and what would drove them. I really enjoyed doing that.”

After six years as program coordinator, Yuen was promoted to Life Enrichment Director, allowing her to work with residents at all levels of care. “Prior to that, I was only focusing on Independent Living, which is great, but I really want to expand my horizons. We made it a point to make sure everybody has the same opportunities and everybody is included.”

She participated in the EMERGE leadership development program offered by LeadingAge California, and she began a Masters in Gerontology program at San Francisco State University. After an 8-hour day at St. Paul’s Towers, she would head to San Francisco for classes. “It was a long day, but I really had fun,” says Yuen. “I saw a bigger picture and had more goals I wanted to fulfill.” She also worked as an Administrator in Training while working towards her Masters degree.

In February 2020, as she was preparing for graduation in May, the health care administrator position at St. Paul’s Towers opened up. Yuen took on the role, working primarily in the Skilled Nursing area and with the clinical team.

“I was very excited to be given that opportunity,” she says. “Again, that opened up a brand new set of opportunities, where I could serve the residents of the different capacity. Whereas before I got to help them with their interests, enriching their lives with programming and keeping them engaged, now I get to do a little bit more clinical work, which was what I wanted to do when I wanted to be an RN. I felt like I got to fulfill that as well.”

In January 2021, when Executive Director Mary Linde announced she would be leaving, she encouraged Yuen to apply. “I knew that was something I wanted to do. I just didn’t know if I wanted to do it right now. I thought about it over the weekend, and I said why not apply? I feel like I’ve been training with Mary for a reason. She has given me a lot of opportunities to learn, to make mistakes, and to grow. I felt like that was all leading up to this point.” After interviewing for the position, Connie began in her new role as Executive Director in March.

During her time at St. Paul’s Towers, Yuen says the biggest thing she’s learned is “there is no cookie cutter way of doing things. What worked last month does not work now. You always learn to adapt. You get to know the people you’re serving and you just embrace it.

“Right now, we have a very different group of people moving in. Some of them are quite a bit younger and they have different needs and wants, whereas when I first started everybody was very formal. You just have to keep in tune with what’s going on in the outside world, as well as in here.” Being an Executive Director is “a lot of responsibility, but it means that people are trusting me to do what’s best for them,”

Yuen still remembers the advice she got on her first day, when a resident held her hand and told her it was going to be OK. “I remember seeing her just a couple days before she passed. I went to go visit her in her room. She held my hand and she said it’s going to be okay. Sometimes I just have to remind myself it’s hard right now but it’s going to be okay because you’re doing what’s best for everybody.”

“For me it’s more than more than just the job,” says Yuen. “It’s maintaining these relationships and making sure that these final years are full of dignity. That’s a huge thing for me.”

If you would like to learn more about St. Paul’s Towers, please call 510.891.8542 or use the contact us form here.

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Great Place to Work, an independent research and consulting firm, evaluates an organizational culture brief as well as more than 60 elements of team members’ experience on the job. These elements include pride in the organization’s community impact, employees’ belief that their work makes a difference, and a sense of respect, fairness, credibility, and camaraderie. Together, these items are called the Trust Index.

The certification process at Covia considered almost 700 employee surveys from across all of Covia’s California communities and locations. To be certified, an organization needs a participation rate of over 50%, and a Trust Index score of 75% or greater. Overall, 66% of Covia’s employees participated in the survey with a Trust Index score of 77%.

Being certified makes Covia eligible to be considered for the Fortune Great Places to Work list, including Great Places to Work in Aging Services. Last year, Covia ranked 29^th on the list. The 2019 results will be published late this summer.

Survey results will be used to create action items to improve the employee experience. After reviewing the results, Covia will determine an action item that will be applied to the organization overall, and each community will also develop an action item that is specific for that location.

“The Great Place to Work certification is a testament both to the quality of our workplaces and of our employees,” says Prab Brinton, Vice President of Human Resources. “We want to take this moment to celebrate this achievement as we strive to become the best workplace we can.”

The company overview is available online at the Great Place to Work website.

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After returning to Vallejo, Phey joined a temp agency that assigned her to construction companies. “I did subcontracting, I did liens, I did accounts payable stuff. I picked it up really quick. And I picked up the 10 key really fast too. That’s when I decided, ‘I have this kid. I need to do something. And I can’t do anything without a degree.’” While working, she got her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management and a minor in accounting in 2009. But she still hoped to work for a health-related organization.

Married and with a second child, Phey got laid off from her job with the construction company in 2010. “I got into another temp job I didn’t like so much. It was still construction but more, like, pipes. It paid the bills. I was still looking for something and then [in 2012] I got an opportunity for another temp to hire job here. They told me it’s a senior living community management type company and I’m like, ‘Yes! This is what I want.’ So I finally got in here, got my foot in the door.”

Her work with Covia took her to visit Webster House Health Center. “I would go there and I would see the facility and it intrigued me.” Observing the Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), nurses, and others made Phey revisit her dream to enter the medical field – a dream that was also part of her family history. Her father had studied to be a doctor in the Philippines, but the death of his father had interrupted his studies. Instead, after immigrating to the US with Phey and her two siblings, he had had to work two or three jobs just to make ends meet for his family.

At Covia, “my manager  pushed us to look into the Educational Assistance program at every finance meeting we had,” Phey says. However, she didn’t think she qualified since the program is for training directly related to a person’s job or career path at Covia. “I thought, it can’t be applied to me, because I want to be a PA [Physician’s Assistant] and I don’t think there’s a lot of PAs employed directly here. So I talked to Prab [Brinton, VP of HR] and Prab said, ‘It’s still a medical line. You can totally do that.’”

Phey began her studies in 2016. “Every new fiscal year, I applied to complete one grueling class. In 2016, I completed my Chemistry class. In 2017, I completed my Anatomy & Physiology class, and in 2018, I have completed my Biochemistry class using the Educational Assistance program here at Covia. I coordinated the most expensive courses first and paid out of pocket with my other courses. I also took advantage in borrowing from my Covia 403b to pay for other classes.” Her final class this semester is Human Biology at Diablo Valley College. “We get to dissect a pig. I’m so excited!”

In January, Phey plans to get her certificate to be a CNA. While continuing in her full-time position as Payroll Specialist at Support Services, she will also work on getting at least 2,000 direct care hours as a CNA at Covia Communities before applying for Physician’s Assistant programs.

“One thing led to another for me and it was kind of – I don’t know, it was just magical. If you asked me when I was hired here, I had no clue. But one question I had that I actually asked opened up doors for other opportunities that can advance my career. And that I did not expect,” Phey says.

Her biggest advice for Covia employees who wonder if this benefit applies to them is simply to ask. “There’s so much opportunity that we as Covia Communities give our employees. If you’re interested, get the information. There are so many benefits out there – not just medical benefits. Our HR group has a lot of information that can guide you through these things. So if you’re interested in any – even if you don’t know if there are benefits out there, ask. It doesn’t hurt to ask.”

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Previously, Covia had been recognized as a Best Place to Work in the Bay Area. With the Great Place to Work certification, Covia is being recognized on a national level for its workplace culture.

“Covia is filled with passionate people, and is a fun, open, energetic and inclusive environment,” says Prab Brinton, VP of Human Resources. “The company has strong values and guiding principles – everyone from the top down is committed to making a difference in the lives of seniors.”

Along with market rate and affordable senior housing, Covia offers community services programs such as Well Connected, offering activities and support groups by phone or online nationwide, and Market Day, making fresh fruit and produce available in locations that are more accessible to seniors throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Covia is now eligible to appear on the Best Workplaces lists, including Best Workplaces in Aging Services.

This is the first time GPTW has offered a survey and assessment specifically for the Senior Care/Aging Services industry.  According to Alana Perriello from Great Place to Work’s senior care affiliate Activated Insights, “Every organization right now is moving towards and trying to be a purpose-driven organization. What Great Places to Work and Fortune really like about us [in Aging Services] is that’s innately what we do. We help seniors live their best life possible. It’s not something we have to construct.”

Over 650 Covia staff responded to the Great Place to Work survey which asked questions based on five dimensions of employee trust: respect, fairness, credibility, pride, and camaraderie. The results: 81 percent of Covia employees say their workplace is great with 88 percent saying “I feel good about the ways we contribute to the community.”

Covia’s profile describes not only the results of the survey, but some of Covia’s unique perks and programs that support its employees, such as Success Sharing, Education Assistance, and free CEUs.

Brinton says, “If you are looking for a job where the work is meaningful and rewarding – work here!  Your day to day work brings great joy, care and kindness to the seniors that live in our communities and in the places we serve.”

The list of Best Workplaces in Aging Services will be published in Fortune on September 27, 2018.

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