nursing assistant

dietary aide

registered nurse

assistant

licensed practical nurse

Bethany Life

Bethany is going through a lot of changes and the focus is on residents,  employees,  and developing a different culture. There are many employees that have been employed for years and have seen a lot of changes, and they are reluctant to positive change, even if it’s for the better. Your experience is what you make of it and the attitude you choose to have...you can make it a positive one or a negative one..just like in any facility or job. The management busts their butts to help direct care staff and continue the behind the scenes work as well, unfortunately unless you have been on both sides it’s really hard to see or know what goes into running a facility and keeping up with regulations. I haven’t been to many facilities that management staff will step in and work side by side with floor staff, do the admissions, complete orders, take the time to listen to concerns, answers lights, etc...but this happens at Bethany! If there are call ins management will jump in the floor and come and assist if necessary. The staffing levels are amazing compared to other facilities and well above state requirements. The Household model puts residents and homelike atmosphere first which creates many smaller communities throughout the facility. There is new HR leader that is committed to staff retention and satisfaction, which unless employees put in the effort, it is hard to see those changes. For a well functioning facility it takes just as much effort and participation from the core staff as well as the management. With the new culture the core staff are asked their opinions and input as well, to put toward changes , but it’s up to them to provide it. Communication has been a struggle, but also employs 300 staff and licensed for 180 beds.  If you haven’t given Bethany a chance I highly suggest it and if you have and it wasn’t for you I would recommend another look. Bethany also have an excellent benefits including: affordable health insurance, 401k, life insurance, adequate PTO, bonus program, discounted meals, wellness gym, consideration for winter driving, competitive wages, and so much more.

The CEO is completely nuts. This is a nursing home. We provide help for people and our job is to take care of their everyday needs. In order to do that you have to have a few things: supplies, equipment that works, lights and showers that work, etc. we FREQUENTLY have issues with ALL of these things and have no way of resolving issues. All the CEO cares about is making the facility LOOK like “home”. She cares more about what furniture is where and if it matches than if we have shampoo and conditioner and body wash and hand wash. How can we give good care when we can’t even get SOAP DISPENSERS THAT WORK?? We are frequently severely understaffed, putting our residents and our employees in danger. But don’t worry, the CEO is just busy planning her next vacation. But heaven forbid you have any concerns, because HR is DEFINITELY not in your side, especially when it comes to the CEO. The head of HR is rude. And we frequently get “reminders” of things saying they’re “mandatory” then they send another reminder taking back what they just said. They can’t seem to get it together. 

I LOVE my residents, I love my Coworkers, I love the patient centered care philosophy. But management needs some work.

I like working here overall! I actually never considered healthcare as a career possibility until my job here. 

My few areas of improvement would be scheduling as one: Often what happens is people call in (with little notice) and then it stresses other employees out who are suddenly stressing out and working a ton when they need their rest too. 
2) Gossip. Everybody gossips and the management tries to implement policies on not doing it but it happens all the time still. And it can definitely be hurtful. 
3) Bethany is a huge company with the households, assisted living, at home, independent living, etc. Sometimes for people who work at the assisted living  / other areas you feel like you're not even part of Bethany life. You only really see people in your building. I sometimes feel employees at households look down at others at Cedar Place or Timberland. Just feels a bit disconnected

Overall I think it's a good place to work. Lots of improvements being made. No place is perfect but Bethany is overall a positive environment. 

First of all this place has too many changes within a week and employees arent notified by management with these changes you hear it through other co-workers. Management doesn’t come to help unless everything is already under control. It seems they avoid chaotic situations; for example, had a supervisor come in and I asked for help but they turned around and left because of the chaotic situation. When it comes down for management to help like if a resident asks for help they are sure to find a CNA or nurse who already are busy and ask them to deal with the situation instead of management helping in the first place. Also, I find ironic how the ratio of outside help (agency) far exceeds that of Bethany’s own employees. Upper management lies about bonuses in order for their own employees to pick up and help out. Instead of looking to the future and fixing the problem they would rather put a band-aid on it and wait until later to deal with the problem.

Experience 100% determined by the household you work on. I work overnight and Some nights on certain households I literally never sit down, and I don't get to take a lunch because if I do I won't get everything done.a lot of nurses don't help at all even when they're not busy and other nights there's only one nurse for 3-4 households. Some households are insanely easy and others make you want to pull your hair out. Management sucks, will also purposefully ignore texts or calls. Needs more communication between departments and maintenance sucks. Frequently run out of supplies and constantly asked to pick up shifts yet staffing ratios are always way over or way under. But they offer mental health days and picking up shifts buys you back attendance points. Some employees really suck but it gets overlooked because they're willing to work. Pays well for shift differentials etc tho. Overall not super bad and it really depends on the household you work. 

They pay well. But it's not worth what they expect from you. Management does not care about residents or employees. I rarely had a pay period that I worked less than 100 hours and they still wanted more. Rarely if ever get a break, even during 16 hour shifts. Frequently the only person on a hall with 15+ residents, mostly 2 assists,with next to no way to get assistance. There were many times I was the only CNA on the hall, with a nurse floating 2+ halls, and I also had to temp the food, take orders, serve the food, and do all the clean up.  Management, specifically the DON is no help when looking for advice on anything. The scheduler talks down to floor staff frequently, and tries to manipulate them into working additional hours. The building itself is nice, but that's where it ends. The residents are wonderful and deserve so much more than this facility has to offer.

2 stars for residents and co-workers.

HR is poorly managed and it is an employee's responsibility to contact them to bug them and make sure benefits are active. My pay and job title weren't even right the first couple of weeks I started. They are very short-staffed and unable to retain employees because they lie about benefits and make staff feel dispensable. MGMT often cares little about the employees and residents--just so long as shifts are covered, that's all that matters. Residents and co-workers are the only reason I stayed as long as I did. Hardest part of the job is losing residents and trying to make the place a better place--not worth the backlash.

If looking for a CNA position in Story County, try Ames. Pay and benefits are better there anyway. Raises and employee reviews are not done regularly at Bethany so there is little incentive to stay on long.

From my personal experience working here, it's not as balanced as they play it out to be. You see fellow employees getting away with being on their phones for hours or disrespecting others but if you're a good employee they will take full advantage of it. I have been trained in multiple areas and have trained others and have not received any raise or bonus for doing extra work. Getting a raise here is near impossible because they never truly recognize the work you do until you put your foot down and stop doing the extra work and just your base job. Management says that they listen to every single employee, but when it comes to burnout or understaffing they only focus on how to bring in new people rather than how to care about the employees that they currently have.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Being able to provide for others and hear that your hard-work is appreciated and seen by not just tenants but colleagues as well!

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The only stressful part is making sure that my work is up to standard and satisfactory.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The environment and culture is very welcoming and diverse. Everyone is very friendly and supportive as well as helpful.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
As lead cook a typical day for me starts in the kitchen as I give helping hands to coworkers from day shift. After lunch all the responsibilities are on me to prep and cook the evening meal for tenants as well as maintaining cleanliness in the kitchen.

Bethany is a great place to be apart of, the leadership team is truly a great team to be apart of and work with. At times we may have differences but at the end of the day we are still a team and back each other 100%. We can speak openly and honestly with one another and that in it self is important to me. Our boss and CEO is present and involved appropriately and treats us fairly. She listens to our concerns and deals with them when they arise, she trusts us to do our jobs and doesn't micro manage everything we are doing. 

A typical day at work for me is different on a daily basis, I wear a lot of hats and am going back and forth constantly but it keeps me busy and the days go fast. The hardest part of my job and making sure I get everything done in a day's work that needs to be done, the best part of my job is that I have a team that is there to back me if I need help.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Nursing assistant 15 salaries reported	$19.83 per hour
Dietary aide 22 salaries reported	$16.16 per hour
Registered nurse 17 salaries reported	$40.78 per hour
Assistant 9 salaries reported	$17.97 per hour
Licensed practical nurse 12 salaries reported	$35.83 per hour

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