Today we’d like to introduce you to Cal Cates.
Hi Cal, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 2004, I was in massage therapy school and I was providing massage therapy for my grandfather in a skilled nursing facility at what turned out to be the moment of his death. He had been in a lot of pain and was moaning on each exhale and grimacing upon each inhale. As I continued to touch his hand, his neck, his face, his breathing slowed, the moaning became less desperate, and the muscles of his face became visibly relaxed. About 20 minutes into my visit, he exhaled a deep surrendering breath and then he did not inhale again. The opportunity to be present and to provide comfort at such an important time catapulted me into a deep desire to bring that experience to both patients and caregivers.
In 2009, I founded Healwell without knowing how much work would be required to make this vision a reality, but since that time, a community of people have come together in support of Healwell’s mission. As an Executive Director and founder, I am daily humbled by the care, ideas and programs the Healwell staff create.
There are so many stories from patients, family members, students and hospital administrators to remind us that we are making an important impact.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Hahahahahaaaa!!! Ahem.
I think we made ALL the mistakes that well-intended people who start non-profits make. I had a vision, but zero business experience. As we head into our 18th year, I feel confident that we have hit our stride. Hilarious, right?!
In 2009, when we began, we had a couple of volunteer therapists and when it was time to form our board, I reached out to people I knew were excited about what we wanted to do. We had no interview process and I didn’t understand what skills would be necessary to form a strong, well-rounded board of directors.
We didn’t know how to find or manage donors. We weren’t sure about how to market our courses or develop ongoing relationships with hospitals. We knew research would be an important aspect of our work and future, but finding the right avenues for that was challenging. And, honestly, the biggest challenge was the complexity of the real problem Healwell works to solve. We founded Healwell because we wanted massage therapists to become a standard aspect of serious illness care. When we lifted of the corner of the rug to look at the reasons that wasn’t already true, we found a bit of a dog chasing it’s own tail. The first reason is that massage therapists (even today) coming out of massage school are not prepared to work as integrated members of healthcare teams with seriously ill patients and their families. The second reason is that the “data” that exist about massage therapy are really about “rubbing.” A majority of the thousands of studies about massage are about what happens when one human rubs another human in a kind way. None of that research has shown what happens when a well-trained practitioner of the discipline of massage therapy is well and fully integrated as a member of a care team, so we knew we needed to create that kind of research…the kind that would create a real, defensible, sustainable career path for massage therapists as healthcare providers. And finally, through decades of well-intended volunteerism on the part of undertrained, unprepared, not-integrated massage therapists, healthcare LOVES massage (not necessarily massage therapists)…but only when it’s free and when we don’t want to be integrated as partners in care collaboration.
Luckily, we were never afraid to ask for help and, as time has gone on, we searched for and found the right resources and people to bring Healwell to where it is today.
As of this writing, Healwell has 18 employees who are massage therapists working in 10 different facilities, partnering as members of oncology, palliative, memory care and rehabilitation teams. We have 7 administrative staff members working in 5 different states and an annual budget just shy of $1M.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I have always been engaged in advocacy, ever since my pitch to the White House that a National Working Horses Day be established when I was in 5th grade. I worked as the Shelter Operations Director for an intimate partner violence organization when I was in college at Iowa State in the 90’s. I have been a hotline operator and a Sexual Assault Response Team member in both Iowa and Washington, DC. All of those experiences coupled with ongoing training in contemplative practice, communication and care have supported Healwell in becoming a place of uncommon community, learning, belonging and impact.
If we’re talking about me, personally, I am known for bringing the fun while also getting things done. Anyone who works with me knows I love wordplay, portmanteaus and puns. Dogs and tacos are gifts from the universe. It’s hard to say what I’m most proud of. Personally, I think I would say that I’m most proud of how I’ve chosen to be alive and have continued to work to free myself from codependent patterns, self-flagellation and doubt. I have spent most of my adult life working hard to be awake and stay awake…to choice, to love, to what’s possible and to how ubiquitous the constraints of social conditioning can be. Professionally, I’m proud of the success I’ve had with Healwell, despite not having followed a so-called “traditional’ path of higher education, business school, etc. Healwell is no longer just mine. The people who work with us take a beautiful ownership of our work and impact. Ideas are generated and brought to fruition regularly that we not my ideas and I love that.
I’m not sure if it sets me apart, but I LOVE people. I LOVE change. And I’m an optimist and also pretty well grounded.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I joke sometimes that I was raised by Steve Martin and Steven Covey. My dad is retired now, but he was always in sales and I would ride to work with him on sales calls and we would listen to Harvey Mackay and Napoleon Hill and so many other (pretty much all men) business coaches and thinkers and they really infected my thinking and perspective about human connection and curiosity. And I spent all of my free time reading The Far Side collections, Garfield and watching SCTV, Saturday Night Live, Laugh-In, etc.
I love to read Vu Le’s “Non-profit AF” blog and I listen to podcasts like 99% Invisible, Smartless and other kind of human interest, surprising science and anything that broadens my horizons. I have read so many of Doris Kearns Goodwin, Erik Larson and I’m well on my way to reading most of the things written about Abraham Lincoln and Civil War era America. The more history I read, the more I’m able to surrender and work reasonably with human nature and what is and is not changeable. On the other end of the spectrum, although perhaps not, I regularly read and listen to the teachings of Pema Chodron, Ram Dass, Jack Kornfield and others in the contemplative space. They remind me of the wisdom my fellow humans and I already hold when we bring space and kindness to ourselves and our world, no matter what’s happening on the outside.
Pricing:
- housecall massage for people living with illness: $150
- Many of our courses are open to anyone, particularly the ones about mortality awareness and caregiving.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.healwell.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healwell_org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Healwell.org
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/healwell/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@healwell
