Matthew Fischer
Executive Director
Matt has been a licensed nursing home administrator for 10 years and has been at Bethany on the Lake since 2016. He believes the Alexandria and surrounding communities have something special and loves to help the elderly in the communities with all the services Bethany on the Lake has to offer. Matt loves the people he works with and enjoys being a part of the community.
Deb Buker, RN
Director of Nursing
Deb has worked in long-term care since 1975, starting as a nursing assistant and working her way up the nursing ladder to her current role as the Director of Nursing. Deb’s passion for working with the elderly has been her motivation to stay in long-term care for so many years. Deb wants to assure that our residents receive the best care possible, allowing resident choice, providing dignity, and making our residents happy!
Rita Kopp, PT
Director of Rehab
Rita has worked at Bethany on the Lake for over 14 years as the Director of Rehab. Her role includes overseeing the therapy department as well as providing hands-on PT care to rehab patients. Rita’s biggest passion has always been providing high quality, individualized PT treatments to her patients in order to help them achieve their highest level of safe functional mobility. The team approach her and her team provide covers all aspects of a patient’s recovery.
Ali Huntley
Business Office Manager
Ali has been in business management for 8 years with previous experience on the clinical side as a nursing assistant. Ali enjoys working with the elderly to provide them with the best knowledge and financial services Bethany has to offer. She is very excited to help serve the community and be a part of the close-knit, passionate, and caring team at Bethany.
Heidi Pearson, LSW
Social Service Director
Heidi started as the Social Services Director at Bethany on the Lake in March of 2019 and is very excited to be a part of the team. She has a passion for caring for the senior community and wants to ensure the residents at Bethany on the Lake have the best services provided to them. In 2020, she earned her Masters of Social Work from Simmons University.
Rachel Primus
Human Resources Director
Rachel started her career at Bethany on the Lake in August 2008 where she has worked her way to her current position as Human Resources Director. Her passion for healthcare and human resources are related through the strong team dynamic that Bethany on the Lake portrays, the residents you meet and their stories and the staff that provide exceptional care and customer service to our seniors.
Sara Justison
Marketing Director
Sara has been in corporate management, sales, and marketing since graduating with her BS in Marketing in 2005. In 2020 she joined the Bethany on the Lake team as the Marketing Director to transition her career into the healthcare space. Her passion and respect for the senior population and the close-knit team at Bethany made for an easy decision. She enjoys visiting with the residents and doing her small part to help ensure they are getting the attention and care they deserve. The residents, community relationships, and awesome team of like-minded people motivate her every day. Bethany is a special place and she loves to broadcast all that we have to offer!
Kristi Saffert, RN
Nurse Manager
Kristi started her career as a nursing assistant while in high school and furthered her education to become an LPN. As her passion for nursing continued to grow, she went on to become an RN while working at Bethany and accepted a position as a Nurse Manager. Kristi has over 20 years of experience working with the elderly in a long-term care setting.
Jessica Kelly, RN, BSN
Nurse Manager
Jessica started her career caring for the elderly at a young age and knew that nursing was her calling as her mother, sister, aunt, and friends are all nurses. She finds it very rewarding to give back to the community by caring for the elderly who live in it. Jessica has been with Bethany on the Lake for 8 years, started as a nursing assistant and has worked her way through nursing school first as an LPN, then RN and finished her degree with her BSN. Jessica worked her way up to become the Nurse Manager at Bethany on the Lake on Darling Springs and Latoka Landing households.
Jessy DeZeeuw, RN, MDS
Admissions Manager
Jessy started her career at Bethany on the Lake in 2008 as an LPN enjoying her work as a PM shift nurse. She then became an RN where she grew her nursing skills working in the rehab area. With continued growth and development, she moved into a Nurse Manager position where she completes MDS, which provide the reimbursement for the facility and works with discharge planners to help facilitate new patients and residents coming into Bethany on the Lake as part of the Admissions Team.
Jen Meyer, RN, BSN
Admissions Manager
Jen began her career in the long-term care field in 2007 when she accepted a position at Bethany on the Lake as a Registered Nurse. After finding her passion for caring for the elderly, she advanced to Nurse Manager of the short-term rehab unit and has recently moved into the Admissions/MDS Coordinator role. Jen finds it very rewarding to be given the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of her residents by providing care and guidance to them in their time of need.
Brittany Schmidt, RN
Manager – Restorative/Memory Care/Adult Day Services
Brittany has been a Registered Nurse for almost 10 years with experience in the medical and surgical departments. She has been at Bethany on the Lake for almost two years starting on the PM shift, and advanced her way to her management roles. Brittany is the Infection Preventionist nurse, RN that oversees the assisted living at Pelican Bay, Adult Day Services program and she helps run the restorative program for long-term care.
Emily Mielke, RN
Clinical Manager – Short-Term Rehab
Emily transitioned to her career in nursing in 2018 after several years working in the business world. She started as an aide at Bethany on the Lake while she worked to achieve her Registered Nursing degree in 2020. She worked as an RN throughout Bethany on the Lake after graduation and was promoted to Nurse Manager of the short-term rehab unit in 2022. Emily is looking forward to what the future holds in nursing and is grateful to be able to influence and shape that future.
Chris Hall, RN
Occupational Health & Learning Manager
Chris started her career in nursing as a nursing assistant in 1995 and has worked in long-term care ever since. She furthered her education by getting her TMA, LPN, and most recently, RN. In January of 2022, she joined Bethany on the Lake as the Occupational Health and Learning Manager. She is in charge of teaching and training the staff to ensure everyone is up to date on their skills and knowledge. Chris is also the head of the safety committee where she helps with emergency planning and making sure everyone stays safe. Chris feels her job is rewarding because she continues to take care of residents, just in a different way. Chris is excited to be a member of the friendly Bethany team and looks forward to many years of serving our elderly population.
Melissa Braund, LPN
Assisted Living Clinical Manager
Melissa started her career in healthcare in 1986 as a nursing assistant. She has enjoyed working in several types of senior care settings- long term care, assisted living, memory care, home care, and day services. She has been an LPN at Bethany on the Lake since 2016.
Tracy Kent, LSW
Social Worker
Tracy has worked at Bethany for over 11 years as a Social Worker. Her passion for the long-term care setting began when she interned at a nursing home during college. She enjoys working in the short-term rehab setting and getting to work with so many different people where every day is different! Tracy’s role includes helping residents with their stay from admission to discharge and planning for post-discharge as well. She enjoys working with the team of co-workers that I have to help each resident's stay go as smoothly as possible.
Lori Zastrow
Health Information Supervisor
Lori’s journey began over 35 years ago in Housekeeping. Each of her positions since then have allowed her to interact with the people that enrich the atmosphere at Bethany on the Lake. Lori enjoys the flexibility and variety because it keeps her position as Health Information Supervisor interesting. Along with her regular responsibilities under the health information umbrella, she schedules physician services and keeps the supplies on hand that are needed for daily living.
Laurie Ghizoni
Housekeeping and Laundry Supervisor
Laurie transitioned from a corporate sales management career into a position of helping people as a Direct Support Person for people with intellectual and physical challenges. After a move to the Alexandria, Minnesota area, she joined the Bethany on the Lake Management team in February of 2018 in the Housekeeping / Laundry Supervisor role.
Pam Schauff
Therapeutic Recreation Director
Pam has been the Therapeutic Recreation Director at Bethany on the Lake since September of 2018. Her background is in activities with disabled adults and children and she loves to provide interactive and creative activities for our residents. Pam’s motto she believes in is that "Time is precious... waste it wisely." Each day gives us new opportunities to live life to the fullest.