Established by area churches and community leaders, Bethany Home first opened its doors and began serving the needs of the elderly in 1963. The Assisted Living component of care, known by many as Beth Haven, celebrated 20 years of continuous service in January. “What is extra special is the fact that three of our employees who opened Beth Haven back in 1990 are still employed there today,” stated Andrew Lee, Bethany’s Executive Director. “Marilynn Benedict, Linda Guffey, and Shari Vos were all part of that visionary group that started the Assisted Living care, as was Gertie Smidt, who is now a resident and is on the receiving end of that care.” Happy anniversary to Beth Haven!
Bethany Home’s Skilled Nursing Facility also celebrated a significant feat in recent weeks, when they were visited by the California Department of Public Health for the annual licensing and certification survey. “Each year they come unannounced and perform a detailed inspection,” according to Barbara Camping, the Administrator of Skilled Nursing. “Although we always receive a good report, this year was extra special because they found zero deficiencies! To think that a survey team of three professionals spent the week looking for the smallest of infractions … and came up empty. In the industry we call that a Golden Survey! I am so proud and appreciative of all our staff who do a great job day-in and day-out.” Congratulations to the Skilled Nursing team!
Two new faces from the community were recently hired to fill executive positions at Bethany. Mr. Ken Iremonger was hired to be the manager at Beth Haven. Ken comes with a great depth of experience in the business world, the most recent being at a high-rise living community in the inner city of San Francisco. “I feel blessed to join the Bethany team, and look forward to using my God-given talents to serve the needs of our seniors,” exclaimed Ken.
The other new hire is really not new, because he served as an Interim Chaplain during much of 2009. Rev. Dr. Fritz Harms was appointed to the fulltime position of Chaplain in 2010. In his role, he will be attending to the spiritual needs of residents at all levels of care. According to Rev. Harms, “God has called me to serve in a special way, a calling if you will, to minister to the needs of an exceptional group of people.”
During the annual meeting of the membership, two new Board members were elected to fill expired positions. Mr. Tony Fernandes and Mr. Dirk Hoek were elected to serve on Bethany’s Board of Directors. Both gentlemen served in the same capacity back in the 1990s, and both are eager to contribute their time and talents to the future development of Bethany Home. They join eleven other volunteers from the community to form a Board of Directors that meets monthly in order to establish policy and set direction for Bethany’s future. “Our mission is to provide care for today’s seniors that is of the highest possible quality, at levels appropriate to each individual’s needs, at prices that are affordable,” concluded Andrew Lee. “We pray for God’s direction and the support of our community as we move into the next decade of offering retirement living.”
