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Under Beth Slepian’s leadership, Granite VNA serves thousands of patients and families each year, providing high-quality care to the community, fostering workforce development and building impactful partnerships. As CEO, Slepian works closely with the leadership team and board of trustees to design and execute the agency’s strategic plan, which prioritizes community care, innovation, quality services and a talented workforce. She is a member on the board for the Home Care, Hospice and Palliative Care Alliance of NH, National Alliance for Care at Home, Wolfeboro Area Meals on Wheels, and she participates in several state and national workgroups.
What were the challenges you grappled with when two agencies merged to create Granite VNA?
In about 2019, we started talking to Central New Hampshire VNA and Hospice. The landscape was changing, and our primary partner, Concord Hospital, was delivering more care in the Lakes Region. We looked ahead into the future, and it was becoming clear that smaller agencies were going to struggle. So, it was really a merger of volume and scale. We were able to merge together, and plus we were aligned in our core values and our mission to care for the community. We announced our merger in March of 2020, three days after the public health emergency was called.
We were really battling COVID, which was a time of a lot of stress, then we were moving into a workforce shortage as a new agency. I wouldn’t say the merger was the least of our challenges, but it was harder because of everything that was going on.
The greatest challenge in a merger is always culture and understanding the differences in the communities, being respectful of history, but also understanding the need for change and innovation and moving that forward.
How do you measure your communities’ needs?
I’m very active in the community. I sit on many local boards, and I sit on a national board. I love being outward-facing in the community, listening to our constituents. I’m a clinician by training; I’m a caregiver. And so, listening to those we serve, whether good or bad, helps us do better. It’s really about being out there, being in the communities, attending events, also attending our own community health events, and just learning.
I love advocacy, so I have a sense of what is going on from a legislative perspective, both nationally locally that affects us. As we have journeyed through rebranding a merger, we’ve also done a lot of listening sessions in the community where we have sat with those we serve and understand both their challenges, their successes, and it’s really always about how we can do better.
You helped create a nursing talent pipeline. Tell us more about that.
About five to seven years ago, the largest valleys in the state formed a collaborative. We work together collaboratively, looking ahead to developing nurses. In home care and hospice, you always had to have experience right out of college. But schools don’t teach a lot about community-based health. One of our colleagues took the lead on developing a nurse residency program. So, now, we take nurses right out of college and instill in them and teach them a love of community-based care, which helps us build a workforce.
Growing leaders and working with leaders is the best thing. I hope they learn. But I, in turn, learn from each of them. And for me, it’s really about living the golden rule: Do unto others. Lead by example. Gratitude. I am grateful and privileged to be sitting in this seat.
I’m passionate about the work we do, because it makes a difference in people’s lives. Those are the lessons you need to teach people: It’s not personal, and it will eat you alive if you allow it to be personal.
What advice would you give to future female business leaders?
Be true to yourself and what your passion is, because what may be my passion is not somebody else’s or their superpower. When you find that, that’s what you have to grab on to. I never thought I would be sitting in this seat; that’s just not who I thought I would be. I was told by a mentor never to underestimate myself. That is what I always tell people. Be true to yourself and don’t underestimate yourself. And always lead with gratitude. I think health care is really hard — there’s a lot of noise. There are a lot of challenges. It is super different than when I was caring for people. Being nimble and being innovative is just critical to our survival.
