Bethel Lutheran Home

Roberto

My sister is at Bethel Lutheran Home. She went there on a temporary status to get physical therapy after an emergency hospital visit for a breathing problem. She is technically only there for rehab. The place is rundown. It's tired and needs to do a facelift. It seems nice enough, but it's pretty small. The room is small, and everything is a little tired. My sister has a private room. There is a two-bedroom, but they don't put the memory patients into a shared room. All the rooms are shared. They have a whole program of activities there. It seems like almost every day they have some activity in the multipurpose room. They watch movies, they do crafts or things like that. The interaction with the staff is good. They kind of left us alone. They suspended her physical therapy session, and they let us handle my sister's lunch. They just dropped it off and picked it up. They also came back and checked and made sure that she drank some juice and things like that. They seem to be conscientious. I talked to some of the staff separately about my sister's circumstances, and I would say that there's some lack of communication between the staff and the admissions. My sister came in at 7:30 at night. For a while, there was a lot of confusion as to what her status was, and they didn't know that she had severe memory problems. They didn't know whether she was incontinent or not. There were all sorts of questions. Everything is sorted out now, but even when I talked to the nursing staff then, they didn't know a lot of the background about my sister. The communication between the admissions and the nursing staff needs to be improved. Also, they have this beautiful courtyard, but no access to it, so it was weird. It was like there were some outdoor areas, but you can't go in there.

Rachel

My mom is at the skilled nursing area of Bethel Lutheran Home, and I have been very happy with them. I like that they spoke Spanish since my mom does not speak English. They are very kind and they assist my mom in whatever she needs. They are very positive too. The social worker and the people up in the front office are very helpful. It is very professional and clean. I was shocked that the food is very good. They are also very attentive, and they help her eat. They will cut up her food for her because she lost one of her dentures. They do not just set the food there and forget about her. It is an old facility, but it is clean and does not smell. It is a good place for her.

Cid

My mom moved in to Bethel Lutheran Home and since August. The community is excellent. The staff has been very helpful and kind. They make my mom laugh. I know right now some of the ammenitis are limited like physical therapy because of COVID and they are still in a lockdown and we can't go see her. But I know they have internal activies like coffee social and movies. From the oustide you could tell it's been around awhile. But it looks clean and well-maintained.

The4Montys

My mother was a resident at Bethel Lutheran Home. She had advanced Alzheimer's. She had previously been in another facility...very pretty, homey, but the care was sub-standard. We transferred her to Bethel Lutheran Home and were so pleased with the atmosphere, the involvement of the staff, and the fact that they had RNs on staff, plus doctors making their rounds in the facility. Having her private physician checking in on her made it so much easier than at the previous facility, where we had to line up transportation and then wait in a doctor's office, which if any of you have had a loved one with advanced Alzheimer's, it is very difficult for them to deal with changed surroundings. Since it is a Lutheran home, it has a chapel as part of the building, so the residents can either go in themselves or have a staff member wheel them in for Sunday services. And they had bible studies in one room during the week. My mom wasn't communicating much anymore when she entered there, but she would be happy and peaceful listening to the bible study. Also, the local Lutheran church makes quilts and blankets for each of the residents. At Christmas they receive a new quilt, just for them. They celebrated holidays and birthdays with all of the residents, even having live music in front of the facility for the residents and their families to listen to. Having a nurse's station right outside my mom's room was a relief to me, and to my dad, because they were always right there when help was needed. The staff was caring and friendly, talking to the residents by name and getting to know the families. My father would go in every day at lunchtime to feed my mom himself, and the staff respected and supported that decision. At night he'd be there after she finished dinner, to talk with her, wheel her around the facility and visit with other residents, and to hold her hand after she'd been put to bed. In her last days the staff was there for her and us as we stayed with her until she passed. If I could go back and do it all over again, I would have had my Mom go to that facility in the first place. I feel very strongly that, especially with Alzheimer's and memory loss patients, a skilled nursing facility is a much better choice than one of the retirement homes that have a small section provided for memory care. The extra professionalism and round-the-clock care will not only help your loved one through their later years, it will help you and your family sleep more peacefully at night, knowing they are in good hands.

blueflowers11

One of my grandparents had an extended stay at Bethel Lutheran Home. I remember some very fond memories of the place and the experience. Many people often stereotype assisted living facilities as being very bureaucratic and often depressing. With Bethel Lutheran Home, not so. This place was clearly a cut above. In fact the term "facility" doesn't even describe the place. It was so much more inviting, warm, and homelike with a very relaxed atmosphere. I remember all the nurses my grandfather had there because all of them greeted me personally at each visit, and they remembered him and myself and pretty much all of my family on a first name basis. It seemed like every time I went to visit him there were several people who would stop by just to ask how things were going, even simply how my grandfather was feeling. At the same time, a more independent lifestyle is encouraged and patients are not smothered or treated like farm animals. It's for this wonderful balance between the two that I highly recommend the Bethel Lutheran Home for you or your loved ones.