Kyli Placke

Director of operations, owner

Hanford Home Health

Age: 32

Current city of residence: Richland

Briefly describe your company:

Our local home health agency provides in-home healthcare to Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) recipients. We provide cash pay services and are in the process of expanding into other payor programs. Our company was formed in 2020 and continues to be owned and operated by two skilled nurses (myself and my mother). We are trying to change the medical field by prioritizing our staff and their well-being, focus on patient and employee safety, transparency, and not missing shifts with our vulnerable adults.

How long have you worked there?

6 years

Briefly describe your job and what you do. Tell us how you got into it.

My title of director of operations is essentially the day-to-day management of all the office support team and guiding all of us in the direction that supports the vision of Hanford Home Health. I maintain ownership responsibilities and play a role overseeing all positions and their responsibilities.

Tell us about your work history.

When I was in nursing school, I would come home on weekends and school breaks and care for my great grandmother as a certified nursing assistant. My great grandmother was a part of the EEOICPA program after developing colon cancer and was then being cared for by another, large nationwide agency. At this time, my dreams were to be an intensive care unit or emergency room nurse. I love the challenge of critical thinking and making the biggest impact possible.

I graduated nursing school and was accepted into the then cardiac nurse residency program at Kadlec. I was a part of that team as we transitioned it into the stepdown unit. In January 2020, I accepted a position into the ICU residency program. As I was training to be an ICU RN, my mother and I began the process of establishing our home health agency.

Each of us played an active role in ownership and operations. I worked full time at Kadlec while working full time establishing our agency.

My great grandmother had passed away and we had my aunt in the EEOICPA program so I was working with her full time outside of hospital hours. I have experience in many roles, staff nursing and filling shifts myself, case management, payroll and billing, advocacy, and other ownership responsibilities. I found a core team that felt as passionate about our unique population of patients as we did.

What advice would you give to your younger self about achieving success?

If you can go to bed at night knowing you did the right thing, then allow yourself to be proud of where you are. Not everyone will understand your intentions the way you do, and that’s something you have to learn to live with. You can’t make everyone happy – and that’s OK. What matters is being able to go home, decompress and be present with your family. You didn’t go to school to be a business owner. You went to school for nursing. Life took a turn, we saw where we could make a real impact, and you followed it. This is your first time doing this – and your first time at life. There’s no blueprint to any of this. Do your best, lead with integrity, and give yourself grace as you learn along the way.

Who are your role models – and why? Tell us what you learned from them. What do you consider your leadership style to be?

I don’t have just one role model. I have many people that have played a role in giving me guidance in life. My mother and father have always given me work ethic. My coworkers give me strength and my husband and kids give me motivation. (I had to look these up – I don’t have much education outside of my leadership class in nursing school so it’s been a while since I heard these). I think my leadership style is servant but I think the best person to ask about my leadership style wouldn’t be myself but rather those that work alongside of me. I’m curious what they would say.

What else should we know about you?

I am a type 9 enneagram. I did competitive cheerleading growing up. I love hot yoga (shout out Trinity). I went to Washington State University and was in a sorority. If I could eat one meal for the rest of my life it would be chicken pad Thai. My favorite scent is French lavender.

How do you achieve work-life balance?

Still working on perfecting that. But it’s mostly through force. My coworkers force me to go home. Force me to turn off my phone.

Do you have family? Pets? Tell us about them.

Two boys aged 5 and 2. My 5-year-old was born in October 2020, during Covid the same year I was opening Hanford Home Health (April 15, 2020) and dealing with the pandemic as an ICU nurse. I am married and my husband works at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. My 5-year-old is the sweetest older brother and is incredibly outgoing. My 2-year-old is definitely his age and sassy from time to time but mostly a happy, silly boy.

I have two brothers. One is an engineer living in Austin, Texas, and the other is 14 years old, in middle school.

I have four dogs. Two are adopted from the Humane Society (Charlie Brown and Pinky Swear). Two are Italian Greyhounds from Atlanta, Georgia (Glen and Hamilton). We have three fish tanks full of guppies and a fish tank of cichlids.

How long have you lived in the Tri-Cities? If you didn’t grow up here, what brought you here?

My whole life. Born at Kennewick General Hospital and lived here until I went to Washington State University for my nursing prerequisites. I then moved to Kaneohe, Oahu, Hawaii, for nursing school for two years. Then moved back home after nursing school.

What’s your dream vacation?

Anywhere on the beach or a Tuscan vacation

Planner or procrastinator?

Both. I overthink things too much that it turns into me not knowing where to start. It’s not procrastination by laziness but rather overthinking.

First car?

Ford Taurus. The good ole boat on wheels.

Introvert or extrovert?

Both. On the weekends, very introverted. M-F extrovert.

Favorite thing to do in Tri-Cities?

Spending time at home with my family or going wine tasting

What would people be most surprised to learn about you?

That I’m cross-eyed and legally blind, nearsighted, with no depth perception and astigmatism.

Favorite Tri-City restaurant?

Europa or Tips Thai House

Favorite day of the week?

I love a good Saturday morning, waking up, going to yoga or Pilates, going to get a Lotus at Pick Me Up and coming home to be with my family.

Text, email, phone call?

Text or email. Phone calls stress me out.

Would you rather travel back in time or to the future?

Future for sure.