Virginia Health Services President and CEO Mark Klyczek recently marked his fifth service anniversary with the organization. He and his family moved from Rochester, New York, to Hampton Roads for him to take on the role.
“It had all the aspects of post-acute care I was looking for and it’s set up in an interesting way,” Mark says. “I had run all the different areas of VHS in different ways at different health systems, so it was nice to have it all in one package here in one organization.
Those areas include senior living, nursing and rehabilitation centers, outpatient rehab, home health care, hospice and palliative care, and pharmacy services.
Mark’s early tenure included the height of the COVID pandemic.
“In August 2020 until about December 2023, it was all COVID all the time,” he says.
Improved channels of communication were spurred by the pandemic, much of it required by the federal government. Reporting increased to include weekly updates of COVID cases, visitation changes and other guidelines.
“During COVID, everyone was scrambling. We scrambled too, but we put together a strategy. We reworked our mission, vision and values to set us apart from other operators in the area. We looked deep, assessed how are we going to reinvent ourselves coming in and out of this. One of the things we focused on was on our people,” he says.
“I’m most proud about how much we’ve focused on our people.”
People focus
During the first year under Mark, Virginia Health Services focused on setting a mission — to support individuals to live their best life — vision and values. At the foundation of the organization’s strategy is a diverse workforce that focuses on cultivating an engaged and productive team. That includes a focus an investment in team members that includes education and programs designed to better their well-being.
That focus on people also included increasing the number of paid holidays, improved time-off policies, early wage access, and a shift to Paycom that streamlined functionality for scheduling, requesting time off, accessing electronic paychecks and W2s, and applying for benefits.
Team members also have access to assistance programs such as EAP and Work Well.
In 2024, VHS partnered with the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities to provide seminars focused in diversity, equity and inclusion to the leadership team. The partnership continues in 2025.
Growth
Organizational growth in Mark’s tenure is evident.
“After being here for about 60 days and assessing what we had or hadn’t done, I started putting together an opportunity list of things we could do,” he says.
Success stories he points to at the nursing and rehabilitation centers are the reopening of Page unit at Walter Reed and expanding Memory Care there to two units; opening a Memory Care unit at Lancashire; and opening a Dialysis Den at Coliseum in partnership with DaVita.
“Other places to grow are home health, pharmacy, hospice and rehab. They all have their own growth plans and are taking hold. Things we thought would take longer to grow are doing it now. We’re seeing really good growth in those areas too,” he says.
A formalized apprenticeship program also was created — at the time with a grant. The earn-as-you-learn program, which graduates Care Assistants to Nurse Aides and covers the cost of the certification exam to be a CNA, continues without federal workforce funds — for now.
“One way to support your team is to hire people, and to continue this is an important pipeline to hiring and training our own,” he says.
Quality care emphasis
A focus on quality care includes national recognition of The Newport, Northampton and Walter Reed Nursing and Rehabilitation Centers and The Hamilton and The Huntington Assisted Living as AHCA/NCAL Bronze Quality Award honorees.
Most of the Bronze communities have applied for the Silver Award, while two nursing and rehabilitaton centers applied for Bronze.
“Two years ago, we were the highest rated quality provider in the state and we have seen a lot of good success on the quality side,” he says.
Building up
A focus on people included reinvesting in its infrastructure.
“We’re really proud of how we’re reinvesting in the buildings. It’s been a while, honestly,” Mark says. “Unlike a lot of places, VHS survived COVID with all of its assets. Now is the time to start rebuilding and renewing.”
James River just completed an extensive refresh, the lobby and resident units at Coliseum were renovated, as well as areas at Lancashire.
“We now have a detailed plan on how we’re going to reinvest in the building. It’s nice for the residents, families and staff — it’s a morale booster for our team, too. It’s so noticeable for individuals who have worked with us for a year or more; they’re seeing big changes,” he said.
What’s next
Mark says he looks forward to building on what VHS has accomplished so far.
That includes continuing to build relationships with partners such as Mid-Atlantic, Bay Aging, DaVita and more. More dialysis dens, memory care, and building on national quality awards are on that list as well.
“Our strategy and growth are the fuel we need to support our team. If we don’t have a good strategy and we aren’t growing, then we don’t have resources to assist our team. We want to continue having more generous time off and other policies that our competitors don’t have,” he says. “To me, that’s administration’s role, to keep growing the company so we can support the team that’s helping us to grow.”
Background
Mark joined VHS in January 2020, following the passing of Jeffrey Mendelsohn, who had held the President and CEO position for VHS shortly after joining the organization as James River’s administrator in 1976.
He has more than 25 years of healthcare experience. Before joining VHS, the Buffalo, New York-area native worked in several healthcare systems, including almost 10 years with Rochester Regional Health in leadership roles. He is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, and has served in various community and volunteer organizations.
Holiday spirit
The team appreciates willingness to go all-out for the team holiday parties — and never know what outfit he’ll break out into next!
