After 17 years in the Father Rupert Mayer Home, director Richard Stoll is now retiring.
In an interview with the Tölzer Kurier, the Munich resident looks back.
Bad Tölz –
A change in personnel is imminent in the Pater Rupert Mayer home in Tölz.
After more than 17 years as manager of the retirement and nursing home on Königsdorfer Straße with 96 places and 65 employees, Richard Stoll has his last working day on Friday.
He is taking early retirement shortly before his 63rd birthday.
Mr. Stoll, for you a long professional career as manager of a nursing home is coming to an end. What did you like so much about your job?
In fact, I feel a bit like a relic of elder care.
I started here in the Father Rupert Mayer Home in 2005.
But in 1988, when I was 28, I took over the management of a home for the first time.
In between, I worked for a company for a year and a half as a sales representative.
I have found that this is not what I want.
I like it when I can create a living environment for other people.
To create an offer that is good for seniors, those in need of care and their relatives, a trusting and sheltered environment for the last years of life, that's the nice thing about this job for me.
For me, trust is the basis of this.
And that people are the focus.
All of that has always been my motivation.
But can all these ideas be implemented under the difficult conditions in nursing?
I've known about the problem of staff shortages since 1988 - and it hasn't gotten any better since then, on the contrary, it's getting worse.
Since Corona, this has now also increasingly arrived in public awareness.
But I can't justify myself with it in everyday life.
If a resident stands in my room, we need a solution for a person entrusted to me at that moment.
I can't say: "The framework conditions don't fit." That's why my door was always open.
How can the staff shortage be counteracted?
Take a look at the poster on the wall: We have offered a bonus when a colleague recruits a new colleague.
But that's a thing: at some point you just outbid each other.
It's difficult.
In Bad Tölz in particular, the range of potential employers in the industry is large and spatially concentrated, so it's easy to change jobs.
For example, we just lost employees to a rehabilitation clinic.
We pay according to the church tariff.
This is one of the best tariffs in geriatric care, but there are hospitals, for example, that can top it off.
And staff that we lost during the Corona period usually cannot find their way back into care.
In this context, how do you rate the facility-related compulsory vaccination?
This is difficult.
You don't even know how to discuss this anymore.
I know people who are seriously ill with Corona.
It is difficult for me to understand why people who work in care do not get vaccinated even though they are aware of the possible effects of an infection.
From the pure point of view of the employer, the facility-related vaccination requirement is of course problematic.
By the way, from October 1st there is another Bavarian special route.
Richard Stoll leaves Pater-Rupert-Mayer-Heim with a good feeling
Namely?
Nursing homes can only hire staff who are fully vaccinated, which is now defined as having demonstrated either three vaccinations or two vaccinations and one recovery.
This makes new hires even more difficult for you...
But on the other hand, it is also a certain protection against employees leaving us with only two vaccinations.
Its sponsor, the Marienstift Foundation, has announced that it will build apartments for nursing staff on Krettnerweg. Is this the right way to become more attractive to employees?
In any case, this is a good decision.
In the future, we will only find employees if there is affordable housing available for them locally.
Luckily, in the past few years, I have repeatedly found apartments for employees in Bad Tölz.
I'm amazed at how open the landlords in Bad Tölz are to this.
In the future we will also intensify the recruitment of employees from abroad.
For example, there is a project with India.
You have to invest time in something like this at an early stage, because the local and national job market is empty.
If the Josefistift expands to 126 places in the new building, it will also need more staff.
What other changes have you seen in your career in nursing?
The health situation in which people move in with us has gotten worse.
Hardly any fit people move in with us.
The functioning of outpatient care means that people can stay in their own homes longer and only go to a nursing home when their condition is worse.
This means that the period in which they live with us is shorter.
We have 35 to 40 deaths a year.
There are people who were only here for three months.
Of course we also have residents who have lived with us for ten years, but the average is falling.
With the increased need for care of the residents, the social activities are also changing.
If everyone is in a wheelchair or has dementia, other offers are needed.
Such as?
We used to do excursions for residents three to four times a year, one of which was always sponsored by the Lions Club, for example to Lake Achensee.
At that time we still had many residents who could get on the bus themselves.
With Corona, such activities came to a standstill.
Whether such a trip will be possible again is questionable.
But what we start with again are our celebrations: Oktoberfest, birthday parties, Santa Claus.
We have musicians who perform with us on a voluntary basis.
Sitting in our garden is also a nice experience that the residents enjoy.
How do you feel about handing over the house to someone else now?
With a good feeling, because I know that everyone here provides good care.
I'm also glad that Larissa Leitner won the application process for the home manager.
She has been in the house for 15 years and was previously the head of nursing and my deputy.
It is also very good that we have currently accommodated several employees in further training with the help of the Employment Agency.
I would also like to emphasize how well the cooperation with all the authorities works here in Bad Tölz.
In December, the former head will return to the home - just a little different than usual
With regard to the Josefistift, which will soon be transferred to the larger sponsor, the parity, it was emphasized again and again that a house standing alone had a hard time of it. The Pater Rupert Mayer Home does not have a major backing either, but is run by the Marienstift Foundation together with another facility in Munich. Is this sustainable?
I've always enjoyed working in a small house because you can creatively go your own way here.
The other side is: As you just noticed with Corona, it is also a disadvantage if you, as a stand-alone facility, have to write your own visit and hygiene concept from the first to the last letter.
So it's better if a big provider does the same for 20 or 30 homes.
However, as a member of the Caritas association, the Pater Rupert Mayer Home is definitely future-proof.
You can quickly get all the information you need from the local geriatric care department.
And your own future? What will retirement look like?
I will exercise more, hike and bike.
Also, I started drawing again.
I recently found oil pastels from my college days in the basement.
And I want to spend time with family.
My wife also took early retirement in August and we have two grandchildren.
Will we see you again at the Pater Rupert Mayer Home?
I will come back as Santa Claus.
I've been acting as Santa Claus at Christmas parties for years and I've experienced the emotions that many old people experience.
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