Bethany

Title: The History of Bethany of Waupaca
Time: 32 min 12 sec

Description:

Major events in the history of Bethany of Waupaca, from 1897 to 2017 and beyond.

Transcript:

[Music] in 1897 funded by the United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church Society and by the local community a children's home was built in Oaxaca Wisconsin to accommodate up to 40 children widowed and Peterson was hired as first matron and superintendent to manage a home for an initial 12 children who soon grew into a group of 33 children my name is Willard Khalsa I don't remember the first part of is it was a story because in four months before my birth so I continued as I said a tent from there it was part of the plan of the Danish Lutheran Church in America headquartered in Blair Nebraska to start an orphans home in Minnesota this endeavour for some reason failed and had was moved to Ithaca two years or so later at this point is where Ann Peterson comes in the story as I understand the story she became the first matron of the home to the average person this would be one of those no consequence but to meet with my grandfather's sister that came to America and 63 along 1863 along with her husband Christian Peterson and other members of the family Christian and Ann had three children two of them died in the early years leaving victory survivor for a normal life as a question was asked what was the victor like I'd like to say that he was of the kind of souls that I ever knew and never a word or criticism add more criticism of anyone the homes mission was to provide a ministry for the physical and spiritual needs of the children hands incredible 10-year management until 1908 was followed for about 40 years by a dozen superintendents the Society's movement from orphanages to foster care placement led to a phasing out of Bethany's Children's Home in 1953 Reverend a s Peterson and his wife Marie of the local Waupaca Lutheran Church with the general support of the Society of Lutheran churches recognized a new evolving need that are providing a retirement home for older people he led a campaign that renovated the vacant children's home and turned it into a home for the aged and infirm it opened with four guests in 1954 was renamed the Bethany Corporation and soon filled to capacity with 22 residents under the management of matron and nurse Alma flanker Reverend Paulson was hired as administrator in 1958 the renovated home for the aged and infirm was comfortable for all who lived there but the small increase in residency barely put a dent in the need for such services for the elderly in the community during this time Reverend Roy Paulson matron Alma Schlenker and the Bethany Board of Directors were busy calculating the costs of a state-of-the-art Bethany retirement nursing home a Federal Housing Administration funding program covered the expense of construction landscaping and furnishing for a new building so in 1958 the building of the six wing home commenced when construction was completed in 1961 Bethany home was a single level building with six wings projecting from a central court the facility served 86 residents and was staffed by 25 skilled nurses there was a Lobby kitchen large dining room laundry small living rooms on each wing and a warmed chapel that created a comfortable Christian environment my name is Hannah and I have been here since September of 1986 well this the nursing home was built in 1960 so that would put me in about age five and I remember her telling of how Bethany was the Cadillac of nursing homes and and when I started to think about how I would answer you today I thought about how really this is the only nursing home in my area because I'm from my old lab we didn't have a nursing home until 1965 I believe so our churches were very involved way back and this was a really a neat new progressive thing for in this whole area so for my Yola which is 15 to 20 miles away and we had so many congregations in the area as far as the valley reaching you know to help out when when this nursing home was built so the Cadillac of nursing homes you just don't forget that when you're you know hearing that from your parents at age five so so if I had never dreamed I'd work here I just thought this is a neat place and we had a lot of family and neighbors that came here and what was really neat back in the day was a couple could come here and stay and live in a room together and have their own bathroom they didn't have to share with another you know rule so it was well-planned at the time and it was in met the needs of the people that were here so and that Cadillac name is David and as I as I worked here - I thought about oh yeah look at built-in handrails I mean it was fancy for the you know a lot of tile work a lot of the that was really pretty neat when you think about it so so that was good yeah throughout the 1960s 70s 80s and 90s Bethany home continued to provide care to elders under the direction of administrators Robert Larson from 1964 to 1976 Lyle Roberts from 1977 to 1984 and William Parker from 1985 to 2000 for excellent service and good quality of life were offered thanks to the contributions of Bethany's resident council the dedicated support of Bethany home auxilary and the active direction of the Board of Directors which represented 32 congregations my name is Alan Anderson and I worked in nursing homes for 34 years I was a social worker in a nursing home when asked by Robert Larson to become a member of the Bethany board of directors and I considered it a privilege to have the opportunity to work with the board and in the years that I served there a lot of interesting things happened but I would be happy to say that the emphasis everything that was done by the board was done for the purpose of bettering people's lives especially those that were members of Bethany throughout the 1980s the Bethany campus expanded to include 17 jeddah Woods duplexes providing 34 living units the village overlooked shadow lake and the Crystal River amenities included all appliances care of exterior and interior maintenance three-season lawn care and snow removal the layout of all the duplexes were quite similar in rooms and dimensions all units contain two bedrooms a living room a dining room a kitchen a laundry area in a garage the village has always had a degree of neighborliness sharing coffee hours informational meetings potluck dinners and other special events I was on the board when the first buildings were constructed there and I I recall that while Roberts did several attempts at surveys doesn't check out the needs among the community and it was his desire to construct some some of the shadow woods buildings to give a different opportunity for people interested in some type of assisted living and because it's such a beautiful setting and on the lakes edge it was actually a very ideal area and ideal project for trying to provide extra services in 1991 and 1992 the board of directors and the administrator William Parker expanded and remodeled the Bethany six wing complex transforming twenty-six older double rooms and two private one resident rooms and added jaywen to the facility Jayenge contained 16 double rooms and a nurse's station the new basement housed equipment and records and also served for years as well pekka's food pantry they also built the pines 20 apartment assisted living extension the original Bethany Pines assisted living section was a one-story structure built with a westward wing and a northward wing providing 10 one-bedroom apartments and 10 two bedroom apartments both wings included a string of connecting garages at the end also featured were some offices a self-serve laundromat and a great room that served as a dining and social room laundry and housekeeping services meals in some assistance with bathing and dressing and limited nursing service were made available for those who needed and desired them that was the most interesting time when when jaehwan was under construction not only did we have this crew on site we found out that the old building had asbestos so we had to have asbestos removal and so forth all as part of the plan for hanandjam wing and there was this little I might have called a little Jerry that was his name he was very short but he was the the crew in charge of the crew for building Jay wing and he was a talker he loved to mingle and whatever and he got with talking with Bill Parker about you know you have this whole big parking lot wouldn't you like to see something built there wouldn't you when when the apartments be appropriate and and bill pulled out this floorplan that he had of an apartment building because he was very visionary he thought it had a lot and he said well I have this plan and I had you know taken it to the board and they said well no we don't need that now and and Jerry said well the crew is here why don't we ask him again and boom within a month all of a sudden now the crew was going to start building Bethany Pines because they were here and it would be cheaper and and it was just very interesting so all of a sudden they cleared out this parking lot area and started adding Bethany Pines and it was just like all of a sudden boom boom boom when but it was the right timing for sure it was a great thing because I saw another level of care and here that we needed and as the years went on it was first just an independent living at home and then when the regulations were written by the state so that you could have caregiving in an apartment then we changed over and made it an assisted living and we licensed the building for that but as time went on I mean I see average ages of people in Bethany Pines at 85 and older some people not coming here till they're in their 90's now if we didn't have this you know they'd be in their homes or they'd be going to a nursing home somewhere that they don't need so so this is this is a very fun thing throughout the 2000s Bethany continued to provide excellent care under the administration of Sheila Sebald during 2006 Scott Ross from 2007 till 2010 and Pauline darling took over in 2010 in this aerial view the six wing retirement nursing home built in 1960 occupies the whole middle section on the right East lower front section is J wing in the upper left l-shaped structure is the assisted living wings with garages the rectangular great room leads into them with the courtyard behind it Berlin Street winds around in the right lower corner the lovely Crystal River and wetlands around entwined through the lower left side beautiful shadow lake occupies the top section shadow woods village circles the shoreline of shadow lake on the lakes south and east sides also three shadow woods independent living duplexes were added by 2004 though we are Chris and Jerry chapo we live here in mountainous a shallow woods independent retirement village we're going to read a letter we wrote for the Waupaca County Post in January of 2010 entitled Bethany home is a little an asset it tells a personal perspective of the experience my mother Myrtle cook had while living in Bethany in 2004 removed my mother from a nursing facility in Northeastern Ohio into Bethany nursing home special care here during the next two and a half years until her passing late in 27 we visited her know what bacca home nearly daily and felt it was a very satisfying home like living situation for a person requiring 24 hours skilled nursing care through our daily visits we got to know and appreciate the dedication of moms caregivers she was under the care of her own doctor because mom's stroke left her a map logic and in a wheelchair she needed much assistance from her nursing aides for basic life activities dressing bathing getting into an out of bed etc the aides were always organized on time and available she liked them all and she had many favorites her health thrived in the Bethany home able to feed herself or their good arm in hand Myrtle ate her meals in the main dining room at a table with three table mates fortunately the site from a hearing loss her communication was good the meals appreciated and satisfying custom-tailored for her dietary status and swallowing and chewing capability the activities and recreation teeth gave her life in Bethany home greater meaning and enjoyment they knew all residence well-orchestrated movies birthday parties holiday events restaurant excursions and music concerts each month they also oversaw the daily coffee and cookie social power attending church with Myrtle almost every Sunday in the Bethany Chapel Chris and I became familiar with the for retired pastors which presented a Sunday service and Bible study one week each month from myrtles perspective and ours their presence and messages were inspirational and well tuned for the Bethany home residents violate the maintenance and cleaning staff did wonder to keep the facility functioning and clean in talking to people in the waka area we have been impressed with how many have had the lives of parents relatives and friends touched and bettered through a residency and every home circa 2012 the Board of Directors noticed a trend in geriatric facilities they were downsizing and repurposing not complacent with a status quo they entered three years of thoughtful discussion research and planning to create a place where Bethany still would responsibly meet the needs of a pekka's aging citizens and would remain the premier service facility in central Wisconsin they met with visioning marketing and strategic planning consultants and interviewed various local providers and residents my name is dick did well I've actually had a long history with Bethany but most recently served on the board for six years and the last of those was president of the board well there was kind of a rough start back in about 2008 the board at that time and the leadership at that time was looking at expansion they what property across town were we gonna sue us Bethany gonna stay here was definitely gonna move and then economic collapse for lack of a better word came and at the time I was on a hoc committee to raise money and we decided that now was not the time to go to the community to raise money and so it was sort of put on the shelf and then after Pauline was here for a year or two or three you know it was just obvious that the more more room was needed or more we had more to offer the community and the campus needed to expand and I mean really thinking out of the box like the Wellness Center where we are now and you said this is the dance studio on you this is not your father's nursing home I mean this who ever heard of a nursing home that sponsors a little league team you know I mean it's just a restaurant you know yeah within the facility and open to the public and it's it's just a community resource and I think it had to do with forward thinking out-of-the-box thinking of the board the management staff and just you know Bethany started as an orphanage in a house on the corner and you know hundred and some years later reinvented itself to this magnificent facility were you know you've gone all the way from living in the condos self-sufficient independent living to around-the-clock skilled nursing care and you never have to leave the campus you know so yeah we're pretty lucky they have it in 2014 and 2015 the Bethany Board of Directors and the administrator Pauline darling with her management team proceeded through all the necessary hurdles logistics and technicalities to attain approval for a campus expansion and renovation project they needed approval from the Waupaca City Planning Commission and council the Wisconsin Bank and Trust and the United States Department of Agriculture the groundbreaking was in the fall of 2015 and construction began shortly after workers abounded attending to trucks digging machines cement mixers cranes and loads of building material tons of dirt were removed on the east side of Jayenge to create a vast hole in the ground for a three-story building in 2015 in the midst of construction at the end of shadow lake drive which is adjacent to the Bethany campus a beautiful home became available for acquisition the Bethany administration recognized the value of the home and purchased it to be a recreational Lodge the history of the house goes back to about 1957 Laurie and Lois Anderson began with the basement Laurie designed it himself having head courses and architectural design in college thereafter the akahl ski contractors built the rest the fireplaces were built first and the house was built around it Bethany named the building the shadow woods retreat which became available for rental the shadow lake drive suburb of 11 homes continued to be a quite charming neighborhood on November 1st 2016 continuing with construction an assisted living extension was completed found in green on the schematic it brought the total number of assisted living units to 40 apartments two new long hallways commencing with a lounge area and activity room completed a square loop circling a courtyard also the blue barn Bistro has been a great addition to Bethany as part of the pines expansion the great room was transformed into and renamed the blue barn it became a social area providing a full menu now our dining areas are restaurants there are actually licensed restaurants and people are coming in just to have lunch our I would say one of the really things that I noticed that it's different for our residents and for our families is the guest meal amount of people that come now for guest meals verse what came before has tripled at least there's not a single time that I don't go through the dining area and have family members sitting there and before when people come to visit they would make sure that they were gone by noon so that mom could go eats off to the tray lines and now they actually make a point of coming for lunch and I think that's excellent and a great thing for our residents as the pines was being expanded a new Wellness Center was constructed to the left bottom green knob on the schematic the Wellness Center was designed with specialized programming and fitness equipment specifically for seniors multiple space and rooms were included even a demonstration kitchen one of the most needed additions to the Bethany campus was the community-based residential facility or CPRF found in blue the 1966 wing structure which served as a nursing home for over 50 years was going to be repurposed it was to become a CB RF to meet a level of care between assisted living and skilled nursing care it provided a one-room apartment for the elderly with laundry housekeeping social interaction and minimal health monitoring part of the community-based care was a space devoted to the special attention needed for memory care and dementia but the advancement of the CB RF had to wait till the new three-story structure was complete so that the services that the 1960 facility were providing could continue in the new building several portions of the old facility became deserted as residents and offices were moved to the three-story structure people from the rehabilitation unit went to the third floor named Hickory Heights to continue in their rehab others went to the other two floors and the continued care of Bethany's Bruce Ridge included in this move was the therapy department the nursing home was built with therapy in mind in 1961 Bethany home brochure listed mrs. Alma Schlenker then activities director is planning to provide physiotherapy and occupational therapy in the mid-1990s the facility became Medicare approved an officially made a therapy department in 2012 the genesis company started serving Bethany continuing to provide physical speech and occupational therapy these excellent therapists had the challenge of finding time in their guests busy schedules of doctor visits meals and special events they were always busy and had little room to work in most of the time the busy little therapy room was like a beehive during June of 2017 the department moved into a spacious new therapy room on the third floor the activity department also saw a change in the period of time the history of Bethenny's activities department has not been documented well enough in the past for its outstanding role over 55 years the in-house activities director and staff as well as many volunteers have strived to spark joy in the hearts of the Bethany resident population many hearts have been lifted by birthday parties sing-along concerts social and coffee hours to name a few things over the years the activity department experienced a demise and rebirth it was renamed the life enrichment program in June of 2017 it moved from the old building to the front of the new structure and expanded its ability to enrich the residents lives the new structure was a three-story skilled nursing section the brown new on the right side the east lawn and trees were replaced by a state-of-the-art building that housed 37 private skilled nursing rooms on floors 1 & 2 and 18 private rehabilitation rooms on the third floor the basement was a fourth floor for offices maintenance laundry in various other rooms there was a facility wide open house held on May 7th 2017 about 1,200 community visitors took the open house tour to see the structurally completed components of the new three-story building residents began moving into the new three-story building the next month one of Bethany's last projects was the creation of Main Street during the summer of 2017 a corridor was created between the blue barn and the Fireside Grill along this hallway were a variety of rooms including a game room library and a bar and lounge area finally in 2018 the CBR F that is the community-based residential facility opened bringing the new expansion to a completion completion of these projects made bethenny for vodka and residential skilled nursing and rehabilitative services quality with Medicare and Medicaid operative Bethany's comprehensive list of services included independent living duplexes community-based residential rooms with some assistance MOU doubling of assisted living apartments with nursing care as needed improved skilled nursing bedrooms with extensive care advanced rehabilitative bedrooms with both the skilled nursing and therapy care a retreat center a wellness center and a new distinct dining experience ok I'm Pauline darling and I am the executive director I have been at Bethany for about 12 years um I think the noticeable change to me would be how the community perceives us that before I think it was we actually did a market study on this and recognized that the community sauce really just as skilled nursing they did not recognize that we do a lot of other services here and so I think the project gave us an opportunity to show the community what we really have to offer we were able people now recognize us for our Wellness Center for assisted living our independent living our dementia care our food service our rehab care our long-term care so they pretty much can see that bigger picture that you really people just really thought we were just a nursing home and so I am told that all the time I can't believe what kind of a campus you have over there it's really cool it says the true religion is the caring for the orphan and the widow the orphan and the widow then it's been the history of Bethany to care for the orphan and to care for all of us [Music] you for more information about what our campus offers call our admissions office at 754