Tesh turnaround

COEUR d’ALENE — When Marcee Hartzell came on board as CEO of Tesh, Inc. in July 2021, she knew there would be ups and downs.

After a serious downturn last summer that saw many staff members quit, unhappy with Hartzell’s leadership, she believes the nonprofit has bounced back in big way.

“Absolutely yes, have a great team,” Hartzell said as she sat in her office Wednesday.

Hartzell said the August exodus of eight seasonal staff, 10 full-timers and two part-timers left Tesh with a skeleton crew. In response, it temporarily suspended some programs and adopted a modified schedule of programs and hours as client count dwindled.

But it has bounced back.

Tesh has hired 13 people in eight months, including two direct support professionals, a billing specialist, office assistant and a youth program supervisor.

That brings its workforce to 14 full time, five part time and 17 in the janitorial division.

“I would say for about four months I became an HR person,” Hartzell said, smiling.

Clients totaled about 70 before the August walkout. For a period afterward there was only a handful. But it's back to 66 in developmental, community and adult day therapies, the vocation center and the employment services program.  

Tesh is accepting new clients and looking to hire at least six more in adult and youth services, including direct support professionals, job coaches and lead teacher, janitor supervisor and crew.

Average pay has been boosted to about $16 an hour, up from about $12 last year.

With more staff, Tesh is open four days a week, with one day devoted to meetings and planning.

“Ideally, we would eventually go five days a week, but I don’t want to burn out the new staff," Hartzell said. "There is steep learning curve in what we do. It’s hard work.”

Karen Alberts, board chair, said she too likes the direction Tesh is going and how it responded to challenges. She sees an improved environment with new staff members, stronger partnerships and better camaraderie.

She said as a team they are taking a harder look at departments, programs and services to find ways to do things better.

“The staff involvement has taken a complete turnaround,” Alberts said.

Tesh opened its doors in 1976 and has served more than 20,000 children and adults. It is "dedicated to providing child development, independent living and employment choices and training to people of all ages with disabilities seeking greater independence, self-sufficiency, and participation in our community."

Wednesday, clients in one room were playing games and shooting baskets under an instructor's guidance. In another, Kendall Sisco, a direct support professional, was teaching a lesson on health and food. In both rooms, clients seemed happy and engaged.

Hartzell said other changes, like moving the adult day health programs from a back building to the main building, improved efficiency and interaction between clients and staff.

"It helps us hit our goals for them," she said. 

Other areas are looking up, too.

Tesh's primary annual fundraiser, “Reach for the Stars,” brought in about $125,000 last year and this year's is scheduled Aug. 21 at Settlers Creek. Hartzell believes it will do just as well or better.

A Tesh youth summer camp is scheduled June 24 to Aug. 9 at its Coeur d'Alene headquarters off Atlas Road, which has a large outside lawn area.

When Hartzell joined Tesh, it had a budget of close to $2 million, and had a full- and part-time staff of about 65. COVID took a toll on client count, which was about 300 a year before the pandemic.

Hartzell previously told The Press that some of her efforts to improve efficiency and modernize operations required people to do things differently. How to do more with less, and having a healthy bottom line, were part of the discussion.

But she said her proposed changes were met with resistance. She said some didn't like her management style and met with the board to express their concerns.

The board stood by Hartzell, which led many to quit.

Even though Tesh went through difficult changes in 2023, it provided an opportunity for Hartzell "to hire some people who see the same vision and know where we can go with it.”

She is confident they are going in the right direction.

"I have a particular vision for Tesh,” Hartzell said.

She said two who recently joined the staff worked with Tesh six years ago.

“They have come back to help us rebuild,” Hartzell said. “That just goes to show the vision we all have for what we want Tesh to be."

    Instructor Kendall Sisco works with clients at Tesh on Wednesday.
  

    Tesh, Inc. CEO Marcee Hartzell stands in a hallway on Wednesday where past designs of its annual Jan. 1 fun run are on display.