As a life-long west-sider, Bea Entrekin had one requirement when she started looking for a senior living community. “I wanted to stay on the west side,” said Bea, smiling. After growing up in Edgewood, Iowa, during the Depression, she moved to the west side of Cedar Rapids for work after graduating high school during World …
Katie Christensen serves as the Director of Long-Term Support and Services at Meth-Wick. She spends her days working with assisted living staff, meeting with residents and families and generally making sure her resident’s lives are running smoothly. Early Days But during her childhood, her days looked surprisingly similar to the work she does now. Her …
When Ron Jaeger started his career in accounting, he had a plan. He wanted to get experience in a range of different industries rather than sticking with one job his whole life. He spent time working at a bank while he was still in school, then as a controller at an industrial manufacturer, and then …
Gretchen Beckhelm has always had an independent, adventurous spirit. After graduating from Mt. Vernon High School, she left Iowa to attend college and never looked back. Gretchen earned degrees in biology and chemistry from Hood College in Maryland. After a year working in a Philadelphia hospital, she then took a job with pharmaceutical company Eli …
As John and Karen Wagner will tell you, they are members of the Oreo generation. Their adult lives were squeezed by two important sets of responsibilities: after spending a few decades raising their young kids, they began caring for their aging parents. But today their kids are grown and their parents have passed on. It’s …
Julie Farmer is the kind of person you like on sight. Her unmistakable warmth and energy draws people in and her conversations are filled with humor and compassion. She’s the sales manager for independent living residences at Meth-Wick where her charismatic personality works wonders battling the misperceptions prospective residents bring to campus. “Seniors today are …
Teresa Dusil and Meth-Wick grew up together. Teresa graduated from Central College in 1981, when Meth-Wick was 20 years old and The Manor was its only building. Eager to use her degree in business management, she went to Iowa Workforce, where she was told Meth-Wick had an opening. She said, “What is Meth-Wick?” Although Teresa …
Jon and Phyllis Griswold are planners. After seeing how happy and well cared for Jon’s mother, Doris, was during her 18 years at Meth-Wick, it was an easy decision to put their names on the waiting list for independent living. “The care mother had was first class and she loved the staff,” says Jon. One …
