Meet Groton Health Care Center’s new CEO

The Groton Community Health Care Center (GCHCC) at 120 Sykes St. welcomed a new president and CEO this past October. Patrick (Pat) Deptula came up from South Carolina to assume the position, but he is no stranger to central New York.

Deptula was born and raised in Syracuse. His father, the late John Deptula, was a heavy equipment operator and helped to build the New York Interstate 90 highway, while his mother, Patricia Deptula, worked in the Syracuse Board of Education Research Department.

Pat graduated from Syracuse Central Technical High School in 1966. He aspired to become an architect and attended Kent State University (KSU) in Ohio. Unfortunately, college protests of the Vietnam War were in full force at that time, and KSU was the site of the infamous tragedy on May 4, 1970. The University was ordered to close immediately, and classes did not resume until the summer of 1970.

Pat was able to finish the semester by mail and then transferred to Syracuse University (SU). He began to realize he wanted to be more focused on people. He did not want to become a doctor but did want to pursue some sort of medical-related career.

Earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in audiology at SU, Pat was preparing for his board exams when he received a call from Ithaca College (IC) offering him a position to fill in for a doctoral professor on sabbatical. To this day, Pat does not know how or why he received that phone call, but it was a pivotal point in his life.

At IC, Pat provided instruction in audiology courses and oversaw the operations of a mobile audiology unit traveling to underserved communities in multiple states, providing audiology assessments.

“That was a wonderful experience,” Pat said. “I got to visit many small towns where I got to talk to people directly. It was so rewarding to experience their gratitude and got me moving in a different direction.”

In 1974, Pat began his administrative career as the chief of audiology at the Loretto Geriatric Center in Syracuse. In 1990, he moved up to become Loretto’s executive vice president, where he remained until 1997.

“The learning opportunities I had at Loretto were invaluable,” Pat said. “I worked as a consultant for other facilities, and the opportunity to become the administrator for what was then known as Lakeside Nursing Home in Ithaca presented itself in 2002.”

Pat’s primary responsibility included a plan for restructuring the distressed 260-bed skilled nursing facility.

“Lakeside was my best success story,” Pat said. “No one had to move or lose their job, and I left there with pride in 2012.”

Since then, Pat had been the administrator for Crown Park Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Cortland, the Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Syracuse, and The Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing facility at Chittenango until July 2019, when he and his wife decided to move to South Carolina to be closer to their grandchildren. Unexpectedly, their family relocated to Chicago just 14 months later.

The Deptulas determined they would not follow and decided to return to familiar territory. It just so happened that the GCHCC needed a new administrator at the time. Pat applied, landed the position and could not be happier.

Reminiscent of the “small-town flavor” Pat had experienced when he ran the mobile audiology unit for IC and during his time in Chittenango, he feels he has truly found his niche in Groton.

“Groton gives me that wonderful hometown feeling and reminds me of the ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ town,” Pat said. “My second week here, I walked up and down Main Street. The folks here are the kind I like, and you just can’t get that feeling in the big city. People still smile and say ‘hello’ even though this is not an easy time for them.”

As far as the Health Center is concerned, Pat is very cognizant and caring about everyone at the facility.

“The residents and families have had to go through a lot lately,” Pat said. “We do our best to keep residents in touch with their families. We set them up on Zoom and arrange scheduled visits. We even had some Thanksgiving Zooms while both sides were eating dinner.”

Pat spoke about how impressed he is with the staff who work at the facility.

“They are a wonderful team. They have such passion to get the residents what they need,” Pat said. “They are dedicated and committed and interact with people as much as they can, taking time to learn about their families and connect on a deeper level than just caring for them.”
Pat noted that he has “seen a lot of people” throughout his career and that what he sees in Groton is “refreshing for me.”

Pat mentioned how touched he was that the Groton Assembly of God church is sending 80 Christmas cards to the residents.

“Getting a card at Christmas time is very uplifting and means so much to the folks here,” he said. “Even if they can’t read them, someone reads it to them. Getting cards is something they were always used to. It’s part of their history to get them and hang them up in their homes.”

Pat is very open to community members stepping in to do things for the residents any time. While things are restrictive now, cards can always be sent for any occasion, and anyone can contact Jennifer Wills, director of social work, JWills@grotonhealth.org to make arrangements.

Groton on the Inside appears weekly. Submit news ideas to Linda Competillo, lmc10@cornell.edu or 607-227-4922.

In brief:

The Story of Scrooge

It’s been rescheduled, so barring any additional setbacks, come celebrate the holidays with the Groton High School Drama Club as they present “A Dickens Drive-Thru: The Story of Scrooge” on Tuesday, Dec. 22 between 6 and 8 p.m.

Enter the high school parking lot via the Corona Avenue entrance anytime during the two-hour time slot to experience nine different stations of enacted scenes from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”

There is no charge for this event, but donations to the GHS Drama Club will gratefully be accepted at the end of the drive-thru.
Santa’s parade

Just a reminder that Santa Claus will be riding his sleigh in the village of Groton on Saturday, Dec. 19 at noon.

Fire Chief Ben Nelson has arranged for the Groton firefighters to pull Santa’s sleigh, as the reindeer will be resting at the North Pole before their big trip on Christmas Eve. Santa will parade up and down Main Street but will also make his way down as many village streets as his schedule allows.

He wants everyone to know that he will not have time to get off his sleigh, but he looks forward to seeing everyone waving to him.

Free books for the holidays

Sponsored by the Friends of the Groton Public Library, the library will be offering free books for the holidays for anyone child through adult. Contact director@grotonpubliclibrary.com or call (607) 898-5055 and be prepared to provide your age and favorite topic.

There will also be free crafts available for children. Pick up anytime during curbside pickup hours: Tuesday through Friday 1 to 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.