Despite the recent sunshine, just a few short weeks ago this community saw historic amounts of snow in a rather short period of time. From Sunday, January 7th to Saturday January 13th, Story City and the rest of Iowa saw several winter weather/storm advisories issued. In total, Iowa has now received roughly 30” of snow during the 2023-24 season, which is nearly two feet above the average for this time of year. Snow was not the only concern for many Iowans during that week, but wind and cold temperatures as well. Parts of the state saw wind gusts reach 40 mph and temperatures drop well below zero.
Rain, wind, or shine, our residents, tenants, and members and their well being are the top priority for all staff at Bethany Life. When weather presents issues for staff getting to and from work, Bethany has hotel rooms at the Comfort Inn available for use. In years past, these hotel rooms have been more than adequate for our staff, providing them a short, safe commute to or from work when the weather is rough. However, this storm proved to be a notch above the rest.
MDS Coordinator Kristen Whaley was on call when the first wave of snow hit, and she herself was staying at the hotel the night before the storm came. Early in the morning, Kristen was woken up by messages from staff explaining to her that they are going to miss the start of their shift because they were unable to get their cars out of the hotel parking lot. Scrambling, Kristen made her way to the lobby, trying to brainstorm ways to work through this problem.
Chris Stoeffler, a weekend package RN, was just ending his shift and Kassie Lein, RN, was just starting her shift that morning. Both employees heard the news that their peers were stuck at Comfort Inn, unable to get to The Households of Bethany, and without hesitation made their way to the hotel to support. In total, 32 employees were stuck at Comfort Inn and suites that morning. “Not to sugar coat it, if I didn’t have those two, no one would have gotten to work that morning,” said Kristen.
Bethany Life would like to extend a sincere thank you to both Chris and Kassie as well as Karl Ford, Comfort Inn and the local police department. All of our residents depend upon our staff for daily care, and because the community came together, they were able to get it that day. Thank you so much for your commitment and continued support of our mission!