Kasey Kronk is the Director of Operations at Caring Hearts and Hands who wears many other hats around the house. As the first paid staff member to join the team, she does whatever it takes to keep the house running smoothly.
“There’s never the same day,” Kasey said. “I have a lot of jobs. It’s just everything that it takes to run the house is what I do, to be honest. So you just kind of have to take it as it comes, you know?”
Kasey handles referrals that come in, working with hospice agencies and families as the house accepts guests. She works with all the volunteers as well as handles interviewing and hiring paid staff members. She applies for grants, processes donations and helps with events.
But really what Kasey does goes far beyond any job description. The house is very new, and each day they learn new things that need to be done to keep everything smooth and comfortable for their guests. That’s where Kasey comes in.
“You don’t realize that it’s going to be needed until it comes up. ,” she said. “It’s just like when you’re creating a business. So as things come, you’re figuring out ways that would make something easier.”
Kasey and the rest of the team is currently developing processes, documents and files to make tasks easier. Others are involved, too, including volunteers like Linda Antal.
“Day to day, we’re realizing like, oh, we should do this now. Or we should do that, or, you know what, we should change this,” she explained. “So we’re trying to develop our processes, still.”
In the midst of all the daily operations and processes, Caring Hearts and Hands is always focused on caring for the guests and families that come through their doors.
“We’re helping families, and everything’s going wonderful with that,” Kasey said. “Our families that we’ve helped have been just so happy. And just so they just can’t believe what we’re doing. And they can’t believe that we’re doing it at no cost. And they just are thrilled and overwhelmingly thankful.”
And every guest brings special moments and memories to the staff and volunteers. For Kasey, she has especially found joy in cooking for guests, as she cooked professionally for 20 years. As Operations Director, she’s sautéed shrimp for breakfast, made ribs, and more.
“Oh, it’s definitely the families we help,” Kasey answered when asked what brings her the most joy in her job. “You know, it’s the families we help. And it’s the guests that we help, even though they pass in the end. When they get there, they’re so happy and relieved to be there to spend their final days. It’s hard to explain how much joy that brings you. I get emotional even talking about it.”
So, instead of asking, “What does a Director of Operations do?” Maybe we should ask: what doesn’t she do?
