Debbie Stadtler: Rising from humble beginnings and working her way up from CNA to executive director, Hilanie Hauk has lived her values of service and resilience in her career. Hear more about Hilanie's story in this episode of Perspectives in Long Term Care.
Hi, I'm Debbie Statler, editor-in-chief of Provider magazine, the flagship publication of the American Health care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living. I'd like to welcome you to this episode of Perspectives in LongTerm Care, a monthly podcast produced by AHCA and NCAL. Each month, we'll talk with long term care and assisted living professionals about the opportunities and challenges impacting the long term and post-acute care profession.
My guest today is Hilanie Hauk. Hilanie serves as executive director of Oasis at 30th in Indianapolis. Rising from a bamboo hut in the Philippines to executive director of a facility, she has focused her career on serving others with compassion. Welcome, Hilanie.
Hilanie Hauk: Thank you, Debbie. It is my pleasure to be here.
Debbie Stadtler: Well, I know you have a very unique background, and I really want to dive more into that. So tell us your story. How did you get to where you are today? Tell us about your background.
Hilanie Hauk: Yes. So my story really begins in southern Philippines. My father, who was a soldier, he passed away before I was born. And when I was only a few weeks old, a tsunami destroyed our family home.
So I grew up with very limited resources because I was, like, raised by a single mother, and from an early age, I learned responsibility, resilience, and how to make the most of what I had. So with that being said, growing up, I can say that education became very important to me because I saw it as opportunity to change not only my life, but eventually the lives of others.
So I earned my degree in education in the Philippines. Later on, I came to United States, entered health care as a CNA, became a nurse, then assistant director of nursing, then director of nursing, and eventually an executive director. And keep in mind, none of this happened overnight, of course. It was one opportunity, one lesson, one person believing in me at that time.
Looking back, I think every difficult experience prepared me for the responsibility I have today.
Debbie Stadtler: With those circumstances growing up, I'm sure that you learned a lot. You mentioned resilience, relying upon education. How did those circumstances growing up shape your views on things? How does resourcefulness show itself in your life now? What's your view on hard work?
Hilanie Hauk: So growing up, we didn't have a lot of choices or resources, so I learned to use what I had. So with that being said, I learned very quickly that if you wanted something different for your life, you had to work for it. So there was time when continuing my education was difficult.
I worked while going to school. With that being said, I have three brothers, so I had to care for my younger brothers and had to find ways around obstacles instead of allowing those obstacles to stop me. So it doesn't matter how hard life is, if you have that determination, it will push you through because you know that you have a goal, that you need to get through it And that is probably why education means so much to me today, because education gave me something circumstances cannot easily take away from you.
And being resourceful taught me something equally important, that you don't always need perfect circumstances to move forward. Sometimes simply have to ask, "What can I do with what I have right now?" That mindset has stayed with me throughout my entire career.
Debbie Stadtler: I think those are some incredible lessons. I think the one you mentioned about you don't have to have perfect circumstances to move forward, that's so true, and something we all would do well to remember from time to time.
Hilanie Hauk: Yes.
Debbie Stadtler: Your path in health care, you said you started as a CNA, you moved up to nurse, director of nursing, executive director. Was that pathway always your goal, or how did you know what the next step was at each level of your career?
Hilanie Hauk: Absolutely not.
Being poor, you really didn't know what is the next day, right? So when I became a CNA, I wasn't thinking that someday I'm going to be an executive director, right?
So I was thinking about doing the job in front of me well. So do the job with your heart. This is what is important to me.
It's not just, oh, I want that title because this makes my life better.
It's just the nature takes its course, right? So as I became a nurse, I started seeing things differently. So I wanted to understand why decisions were being made, and how I could make things better for residents and staff So then as I moved into nursing leadership, I realized that I enjoyed developing people, solving problems, and improving systems.
So with that, each step showed me that next one. So then eventually becoming an executive director made sense because I wanted to influence the entire community, not just one person. It's now the whole community that you are the operator, right? Okay, how can I make this better? So it's not just the clinical side.
I wanted to understand the operation aspect with it, the finance, of course, staffing issue, because you need to make sure that you have enough staff to care for these people that need you. As a leader, you can't just say, "Okay, I have to follow my budget," but, "Oh, hold on a minute. Somebody's not really taken care of properly because we're short-staffed."
And the quality care is important to me because I was raised with my grandparents. So I want to make sure that these fragile individuals who are being cared by me and my staff are being taken care of properly. And it's not just the regulation.
Yeah, I have to follow that because as a administrator, you'll get tags if you don't follow that. So the resident's experience and everything that comes together to create a successful community. I just don't want a building. I want a community that when somebody works and walks into my building and says, "Oh, it's a good place. I want my loved ones here." Yeah. "I want my mom, dad, my aunt," anybody that walks in, I want them to feel that they're welcome and it's their home.
That is also why I pursued my master degree in health care administration. So my career wasn't built from perfect plan. It was built by continuing to learn and being willing to accept the next challenge.
Debbie Stadtler: I love that. And I love that you mentioned that you grew up with your grandparents. I find in talking to a lot of folks in long term care that there's often a personal connection to this work for them that really makes it so valuable and such a passion for them. So I can clearly see that your passion for this industry just shows itself in your work every day.
Hilanie Hauk: Yes. Health care to me, Debbie, is not money. It's more of caring the person who were there for us, and it can be anybody, because at the end of the day, they are your family.
Debbie Stadtler: I've heard you talk about your story, and at a couple of points in your story, you've mentioned mentors. Yeah. I know there were a couple of mentors that really inspired you, pushed you to that next level.
So tell us about the role that those mentors have played in your life.
Hilanie Hauk: Of course. So to me, mentors have been extremely important in my life because sometimes another person can see something in you before you see it in yourself. It's like looking outside the box, right? So one of those opportunities came from someone who had previously been my assistant director of nursing, then she later became a director of nursing at another company.
So she asked me if I wanted to be her assistant now because she's a director of nursing. So I said, "Okay." So when she took that position, she asked me to follow her and become her assistant director of nursing, and that was an important step in my career because she had already worked with me. She knew my abilities, and she believed that I was ready to take on in a leadership role because she knows that I am determined.
So with the same company, we have my administrator, which is, her name's Kay, and Kay had enormous influence on me. She is also a nurse. She had decades of experience as an administrator, and she saw leadership potential in me. So she kept following me. And I said, "What do you want from me?"
She said, "Can I have a minute?" I said, "Yeah," because I was doing my rounds. And she said, "I need to sit down with you." She said, then she said, "I see leadership potential in you." So she encouraged me to continue my education and pursue my masters degree in health care administration, and she said, "And I will be flexible with your hours, and I will pay half of your tuition."
Debbie Stadtler: Wow.
Hilanie Hauk: And I said, "I'm too old for that." And then she said, "No, never too old." I said, "Okay." So again, here I am willing to take on another challenge, right? So what I learned from Kay or from people like Kay is that mentorship isn't just giving someone advice. It's seeing their potential, challenging them, and sometimes pushing maybe in what I can be capable of doing.
At that time, I said, "Am I going to do this?" That's the first time I'm going back to United States school. So and I said, "Can I do this, Kay?" She said, "Yes, you can." So with that, somebody that I look up as my mom, it really pushed me to my limit because keep in mind, English is my second language, and for her to do that and willing to give that to me, that is something that I can never forget.
So that is something that I try to do for other people now. If someone invested in me, I have the responsibility to invest in the next person as well, because I'm paying it forward. That is my goal, and that is the legacy that I'm willing to leave when I die.
Debbie Stadtler: I think that's so powerful. Like you said, mentors, because they're outside of your box, can sometimes see so much more than you can see in yourself, and sometimes you do need that little push to go move to the next level, and obviously it worked out very well for you, but what a blessing to have had those mentors in your life to really help you move to the next level and take those next steps.
Hilanie Hauk: That is correct, and again, anything that comes your way, never say no until you try, because to me, that is something that God really guides you to be there.
There's a reason for everything in my life, and that's how I look at it.
Debbie Stadtler: You've obviously lived according to your values of service and excellence. Yes. Tell us more about what those values mean to you.
Hilanie Hauk: Yes. So for me, service means remembering why we are here, right? So to me, leadership isn't about title.
In my community, you can see me wearing scrubs because I am a nurse in nature, so I can be your housekeeper today. Tomorrow, I can be your dietary. So it's about what happened to people because you are in that position. So you have to lead by example, to me. So service means being willing to listen.
You’ve got to listen, or else your ship is going to sink. Being present, helping someone when they need you, and remembering that the people we care are for someone's mother. It can be your mother, Debbie. It can be your father. Yeah. It can be your husband. It can be my brother and my sister. It's everybody's loved ones I'm taking care of.
So excellence means I don't want us to simply meet the minimum requirements. I want us to continually ask, how can we do better? So with that being said, you can have compassion without lowering your expectations. In fact, I do believe that the two belong together really, and we should care deeply about people while also holding ourselves accountable for providing the highest quality of service we can.
Debbie Stadtler: Absolutely.
I think that's a brilliant way of putting it, that every person that you care for is someone's loved one.
Hilanie Hauk: Yeah.
Debbie Stadtler: And so bringing that idea that you're caring for someone's loved one just really makes it obvious how important that excellence and that quality of care are as you're going through each day with them.
Such an important reminder.
Hilanie Hauk: These people need us, and they are our family. And when they come to you, you just have to know that this is your mom, this is your dad.
Debbie Stadtler: You've said that health care is people. I think that's super evident in everything that you've talked about so far. How has that philosophy shaped your time as executive director and your facility overall?
Hilanie Hauk: So when I say that, because sometimes health care becomes focused on numbers, regulation, state surveys, budgets, our staff ratios, and paperwork. All of those things matter to run a building, to be able to have people work for you. But ultimately, health care is people. It's the residents who want someone to sit down and listen to them.
When that one person's dying and there's no family, you're it. You have to be there to let them know that they're not alone dying. You have to hold their hand, let them know it's okay. It's the family member trusting us with someone they love. So when a family is screaming at you because you're not delivering the quality care that you promise, so never overpromise and underdeliver.
Always be transparent. So it's the CNA who has been working hard all day. We can easily point what they did wrong, but keep in mind, they're human, they're people as well. So always remember that they all have a bad day like everybody else. So understand that situation. It's the nurse trying to make the right clinical decision.
Sometimes some nurses make a mistake. Don't judge that right away. Know what happened first. And it's the housekeepers. Every day, if you don't have housekeepers, your building looks nasty and filthy. And the dietary, who's feeding your residents, right? And the maintenance people, and all the department leaders, everyone contributes to that resident's experience.
So as executive director, I try to remain visible and accessible because I don't believe leadership happens only from an office. So when your people know you are there, that you will listen, and you will always hold everyone accountable, it changes the culture. Policy guides us, but relationships are what make a community feels like home.
Debbie Stadtler: I think that's so true. And your point about everybody working together on the resident experience, you don't always think about all the different roles, but they're really all important in their own way, and there are people there trying their best in each of those roles every day. So it's a good reminder to focus on the people part of it, not necessarily just the data technology piece.
Hilanie Hauk: Yeah, we follow the corporate metric. But I also have metrics in my community. My people are my metrics.
Debbie Stadtler: Absolutely.
What is the one piece of advice that you'd like to leave with us?
Hilanie Hauk: So for me, don't allow where you started to determine where you finished. Be willing to work hard, stay teachable, and don't be afraid to take an opportunity simply because you don't feel completely ready.
There were many times in my life when I could have decided that my circumstances were too difficult or that something wasn't possible for someone like me. Instead, I kept taking the next step. And when you become successful, remember the people who help you to get there, and turn around, open that door for another else.
Success means much more when you use it to help another person to rise.
Debbie Stadtler: I love it. Once you have moved through a door and taken that next step, turn around and help the person come up behind you. That's a brilliant lesson that we all need to remember, for sure.
Hilanie Hauk: Yes.
Debbie Stadtler: Thanks again for joining us, Hilanie.
Hilanie Hauk: Thank you, Debbie.
Debbie Stadtler: Visit the AHCA/NCAL website at
ahcancal.org to learn more about how to get involved and develop your leadership skills. And thanks to everyone for listening to this episode of Perspectives in Long Term Care. Join us each month as we discuss issues that impact the long term and post-acute care profession.
And be sure to subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Take care.