Future Leader: Emina Krajina, Executive Director, Friendship Village

The Future Leaders Awards program is carried out in cooperation with PointClickCare. The program is designed to recognize emerging industry members who are shaping the next decade of behavioral health, senior housing, skilled nursing, home health and hospice care. To see this year’s Future Leaders, visit the website https://futureleaders.agingmedia.com/.

Emina Krajina, executive director of Friendship Village, has been recognized by Senior Housing News as a 2024 Future Leader.

To become a Future Leader, an individual is nominated by their peers. The candidate must be a successful employee under the age of 40, a passionate employee who knows how to bring a vision to life, a supporter of seniors and committed professionals who care about their well-being.

Krajina spoke with Senior Housing News about her early interest and education in senior living and the lessons she has learned since joining the organization.

What attracted you to this industry?

As a teenager, I was introduced to geriatric care by my mother, and that was the beginning of my curiosity and education about seniors and how to provide the best care possible in their homes. My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s dementia early in her life and I became her caregiver. Not having the right resources and not knowing where to turn for help was exhausting. My goal was to find a way to impact caregivers and patients in their homes by providing various disciplines and resources to make their lives just a little bit easier.

What is your biggest lesson you’ve learned since starting in this industry?

I’ve learned a lot over the last few years working in aged care and I’m still learning, but one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in this industry is that you need to constantly evaluate your agency to make sure you’re up to date with the regulations federal and state. rules and regulations. Continue your education so that you can educate your staff and pass that knowledge on to our patients/caregivers and healthcare providers.

If you could change one thing for the future of senior living, what would it be?

If I could change one thing towards the future of senior living, it would be to eliminate managed care visitation restrictions. Every patient is different, has a different stage of severity, and a set number of visits at a low reimbursement cost is not enough for an agency to make a huge impact on a patient. Agreements and visits should be approved based on patient acuity and needs.

What do you think will stand out in the senior housing industry by 2025?

Honestly, I’m worried about the future of elder care. We are seeing a shift in the number of patients moving to closely managed Medicare replacement plans, making it much more difficult for home health agencies to meet the needs of their patients and keep reimbursement rates low for the agencies.

How would you describe the future of senior housing in one word?

Unpredictable.

If you could give yourself a piece of advice, recalling your first day in the industry, what would it be and why?

It’s natural for people to jump into a new role and look for ways to impress their new employer. Looking back on my first day in the industry, I immediately got involved, but if I could go back, I would use those first days to simply observe and assess the environment: conversations with employees, managers, review of finances, compliance books, etc. to be able to understand business and its challenges.