Immnauel’s mission is guided by the simple principle to always do the right thing. Simple, yes, but not always easy. When we first learned of a global pandemic that most threatened those we serve, we knew the road that followed wouldn’t be the easiest. But from the beginning, we never underestimated the passion of our employees, the health care heroes who showed up, ready to do whatever it took to protect those we serve.
Our employee culture is built around six principles—Compassion, Honesty, Relationships, Integrity, Serve and Teamwork. We call them our C.H.R.I.S.T. promises and they remind us of the importance in the work we’re doing. Retirement living means more than games of Bingo and social hours. At its heart, retirement living means protecting the safety and wellbeing of seniors.
In 2020, commitment to safety meant swiftly enacting infectious disease protocols in every area we serve. From housekeeping to care teams to dining and life enrichment, every aspect of Immanuel retirement living and our Pathway PACE® centers needed to be reimagined. And we did this guided by compassion, honesty, relationships, integrity, serve and teamwork.
Employees became frontline workers as housekeeping staff worked diligently to enforce increased cleaning and disinfecting procedures. We invested in personal protective equipment, infectious disease supplies and more to ready our care teams for the unexpected. Our dining teams reimagined our onsite restaurants and provided “delivered with a smile” meals and themed snacks door-to-door. And our life enrichment and wellness teams got creative to ensure wellness of the whole person.
Because physical health is only part of the story. Yes, we can survive COVID-19 by remaining isolated, but life, especially life at Immanuel, involves more than just surviving.
Thriving during a global pandemic took all Immanuel team members thinking outside the box to care for emotional and physical wellness. That meant arranging virtual chats with family members, balcony exercises, outdoor musical concerts, virtual scavenger hunts, door-to-door packages, social clubs via phone, virtual pastoral care and more.
Our healthcare heroes showed up to ensure every resident and participant was not just doing well, but thriving during quarantine and social distancing. Through their diligence, we were able to keep COVID from taking over our communities and centers. That’s life at Immanuel.
No one knows what the future holds, but with our Immanuel heroes, we know that whatever storm or calm is coming, we’ll face it head-on, with a steady commitment to do what’s right for seniors. That’s the Immanuel Difference—mission-driven retirement living.
Awards of Excellence
We recognize and lift up Immanuel team members who go above and beyond in living our mission every day. Congratulations to this year’s CHRIST Promises Award of Excellence Winners. Click HERE to learn more about their accomplishments.
- COMPASSION - Pastor Linda Walz - Trinity Campus
- HONOR - Danielle Richardson - Home Office (Serving our Des Moines locations)
- RELATIONSHIPS - Jim Mann - The Landing
- INTEGRITY - Jody Baratta - Trinity Village
- SERVE - Mark Reinke - The Landing
- TEAMWORK - Alicia DeLuna - Lakeside