SOULcial Salute

Vicki Tobroxen, Executive Director, Regents of Burnsville, Cassia managed

Leaders in senior living often begin their work life elsewhere. For Vicki it was college studying genetics and accounting.

Medical Assistance rules require a lot of tax and accounting work. This focus within one of the big accounting firms led to eight years of practice in this specialty. That experience prepared her for the opportunity she eventually left accounting for.

When Vicki moved to HealthEast in the mid 1990s she was well equipped to help shepherd a bill through the state legislature. The law she contributed to became the guideline for hospitals in categorizing their older adult services as a senior care facility.

Leadership

Continuing as the Director of Finance for Senior Care and Chronic Care, Vicki lead HealthEast in senior housing development. One of her projects was the Marion Center in St Paul. The key to successful senior living development as she described it “is being a genuine part of the community.” Her genuineness with the community was especially evident when Vicki led the charge to raise the funds for adding a chapel to Marion. She not only ran the capital campaign but also applied for and won a STAR grant for the project. Today it is still an exceptionally welcoming worship space that helps define the entire community.

In 2004 Vicki brought her development skills to Augustana. She has contributed to their growth up to and including their merging with Elim Care and the creation of Cassia (meaning to serve as Christ served).

“It is known as a friendly organization. The people throughout this company stick together. I love the people here!” Vicki went on to explain, “at Regent of Burnsville we have continued to grow to meet the community’s needs as they emerge.” This has included adding memory care and expanded care suites. Her experienced hand in development at the operations level undoubtedly is an advantage when expanding a plane while in flight.

Small World

Despite Vicki’s development duties, she does not overlook the community connections. She once asked a new resident at their first lunch about the town they came from. Thinking Vicki would never have heard of Holdingford MN she loved saying it is where her family is from. That led to months of comparing notes and discovering more family connections.

And Vicki values her staff too. A resident who had moved from Arizona had left some of her furniture in storage for some weeks. One day a staff person said “There’s a rat up in storage!” Well, it was not a rat but simply a lizard that hitched a ride from the Grand Canyon State. Another staff member obliged by gathering up the reptile and removing it, for which Vicki is still grateful to this day.

Heather Allison, RN and Director of Health Services at Regent of Burnsville summed it up this way, “…Vicki works tirelessly for the benefit of our residents and their families every day, all day. She will become like family to you!”