Familiar face comes back to Homme Home
WITTENBERG — There is a new executive director for Homme Inc. of Wisconsin, and he’s got a familiar face.
Former Homme administrator Justin Cieslewicz was hired Jan. 13 to take over for longtime executive director Steve Seybold, who retired Feb. 25.
In 2009, Cieslewicz came to Homme to serve as the administrator, which he did for 8½ years. He holds a Bachelor of Science in health care administration from University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The program had an emphasis on aging services, and when he began a one-year practicum in a long-term care facility, he knew that area would be his passion. He went on to receive a Master of Business Administration from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee.
“Upon completing my education with UWEC, I became a nursing home administrator for a facility in Green Bay,” said Cieslewicz. “At that time, I was one of the youngest administrators in the state of Wisconsin.”
He worked at the Green Bay nursing home for more than 1½ years before deciding to move back to central Wisconsin. The administrator position opened at Homme, and he felt fortunate to be offered the role.
“Growing up on my family’s dairy farm between Plover and Wisconsin Rapids, I learned the value of a day’s hard work. I knew, though, that I wanted to help people, and that is what drove me to health care administration,” said Cieslewicz.
In fall 2017, he was offered a position with Aspirus Clinics in which he was granted the opportunity to work for a large health system and learn how to lead in a different realm of health care. He directed multiple clinic locations over a large geographic area.
“The role was interesting as I worked in a matrix type of position, working with professionals from multiple backgrounds. However, I realized that I missed working with the aging population,” said Cieslewicz.
While working at Aspirus, he kept in contact with Seybold. When he learned of Seybold’s pending retirement, Cieslewicz said he applied for the job and feels lucky to be named the new executive director. At the helm of the Homme Inc. of Wisconsin parent corporation, he oversees Homme Home for the Aging in Wittenberg as well as the Homme Foundation and the Homme Heights campus, Wausau.
His first major task has been to deal with the coronavirus. In addition to Homme’s health and safety protocols, the company decided to add another layer of protection to residents by restricting visitors. Guests are only permitted in certain situations essential to a resident’s emotional well-being or end-of-life care. Signs at entrances indicate that visitors should not enter if they are ill, have been exposed to someone with the virus or have recently traveled to a country where COVID-19 is prevalent.
Cieslewicz and his wife, Jordan, live in Stevens Point with their two dogs.
“When I am not at work, I enjoy the outdoors, which includes camping, hiking and fishing. Jordan and I also enjoy traveling and exploring new places,” said Cieslewicz.