Playing the Long Game: Finding Your People & Passion with Kelly Baskerville

In this episode of Central Line, Leah Wuitschik sits down with Kelly Baskerville, a nurse leader with 25 years of experience across frontline care, education, and system-level leadership in continuing care. Now the Executive Director of the Institute for Continuing Care Education and Research, Kelly shares how her career in gerontology unfolded—and why working with older adults is among the most complex and overlooked work in healthcare. At the heart of this conversation is a simple but powerful truth: leadership is a long game, and you can’t do it alone. Together, Leah and Kelly explore what it really takes to sustain yourself over time—why connection matters, how to find your people, and the role community plays in navigating pressure, uncertainty, and change. They also get practical about what holds people back from reaching out—and how to start building meaningful connections, even when it feels uncomfortable. This episode is a reminder that the leaders who last aren’t the ones who go it alone—they’re the ones who stay connected.