Bethel Place

Our family is fortunate to have found Bethel Place. The quality of care our mother receives is excellent. Mom requires frequent visits to doctors and clinics for medical care and the staff at Bethel Place handles this and stays with mom during the appt. Mom is happy and appreciative of the care she receives.

My father, who recently died at age 93 in advanced dementia, was fortunate to have spent his last days in comfort here at Bethel Place. I live at a distance, and each time I visited I saw more details that underline the quality of care. And no, they did not know I was coming ahead of time.Excellent quality care, stemming from their core belief of how human beings should treat each other: with respect, love and compassion as if belonging to one family. My tangible measures of quality were cleanliness, environment, staff/resident ratio, types of care, medical care, and responsiveness. Cleanliness: The house looks and smells like home upon entering. Everything is clean, and I often saw staff cleaning surfaces and floors between times caring for residents. Laundry is done daily. Environment: Lots of windows looking out onto nature, natural light, blinds, paintings, homey linens and patterns, inviting yet open layout with couch, oblong dining room table, comforting buzz of people talking and moving about or cooking, TV on but not invasive. The temperature was always comfortable---not too cool or warm. Staff/resident ratio: I saw about a 1/3 ratio managing a handful of residents needing varying degrees of care. Care was customized for each person, according to abilities and desires. Staff truly show care and provide emotional comfort. As they passed by a resident, they would stop to make a brief comment or touch a shoulder. I saw them tease my father or mug a face to make him smile. His skin was clean and supple from lotion whenever I happened to see him. Daily or whenever possible, they got him dressed and in a wheelchair and took him to the dining room in the common area to be fed and to interact with other people. The level of care he received made me realize he received enough regular physical contact to be comforted several times in a day. (My father was always a physically affectionate and sentimental person who would shed tears at Love Boat episodes in his earlier life!) Types of care: wide range of care including dementia care and palliative care. Medical care: Doctor on call, visiting once a week, familiar with each resident. My father would have died of pneumonia if the staff and doctor had not moved so quickly to get him into the hospital. Responsiveness: Dennis and Norma, the owner/managers, were on the phone with me many times daily during a recent visit where I was trying to get my father transferred back to Bethel following a hospitalization. In addition to being professional and thorough, they were both engaged and responsive as a guide and coordinator through processes (i.e. connecting health system, medications, insurance, transport, etc.).Finally, the 'BIG THING' tying this picture together is that everyone has the willing support of all the others. The staff members pitch in to help each other, the managers help the staff by making sure they have the resources, and everyone works as one team, each contributing as well their own personal expertise. Residents can contribute in caring ways too. In short, the human value of love and kindness to others undergirded every word, every action I saw. What a rare characteristic these days! It is one that cannot be bought or sold. I sincerely recommend Bethel for anyone in need and who wishes to perpetuate this most intangible human virtue.

Wonderful place! The staff takes great care of my mother in law. They keep up with her appointments and handle all the transportation. Very appreciative of all they do for her.