Bethany Life

What Bethany Life does

Bethany Life is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, faith-based Continuing Care Retirement Community headquartered in Story City, Iowa, operating a full continuum of senior care services across central Iowa since 1914. Owned by 24 Lutheran, Methodist, and Catholic congregations, the organization is licensed as a CCRC and operates approximately 180 skilled nursing beds, 49 specialized memory care beds across three secured households (Julia's Place, David's Place, Walker Place), 60 assisted and independent living apartments at Timberland Village, 12 Twin Homes duplex units, and HUD-subsidized housing at Cedar Place. The proprietary "Household Model" structures care delivery around small, home-like households with private rooms, living areas, dining areas, and kitchens rather than institutional wards.

The organization generates revenue through multiple streams including Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements for skilled nursing and transitional care, private pay and long-term care insurance for assisted and independent living, monthly fees for home-based services (Bethany at Home within a 20-mile radius of Ames), LifeChoices® membership dues for its Iowa-first life care at home model, donations to the Bethany Life Foundation, and proceeds from the Affordables thrift store. Go-to-market is direct-admissions-led, supported by a 24/7 admissions line, a dedicated Director of Admissions, and a 25-year affiliation with Mary Greeley Medical Center that drives LifeBridge Transitional Care referrals across seven counties (Story, Boone, Hamilton, Hardin, Webster, Marshall, and Polk).

Supporting service lines include on-site physical, occupational, and speech therapy with a 98-degree therapeutic pool, an on-site spa and salon, Carlson Cafe, a multi-denominational Chaplaincy Program, and a wide-ranging activities program. The organization is actively divesting Cedar Place by Spring 2026, returning that asset to independent living under new ownership due to financial unsustainability of HUD-funded assisted living operations.

Name

Bethany Life

Legal name

Bethany Life

Website

https://bethanylife.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1914

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Bethany Life is a 501(c)(3), faith-based Continuing Care Retirement Community in Story City, Iowa, founded in 1914, serving central Iowa seniors with a full continuum of care including skilled nursing, memory care, transitional care, assisted and independent living, home healthcare, and the LifeChoices® membership program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Senior Living and Skilled Nursing Services

NAICS

Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly (62331), Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly (6233), Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly (623312), Nursing and Residential Care Facilities (623), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120)

SIC

Services-Skilled Nursing Care Facilities (8051), Services-Nursing & Personal Care Facilities (8050), Services-Home Health Care Services (8082)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLADAHAC

Residential Hospice / Hospice House (Facility-Based)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Elder Care & Long-Term Care/Hospice & Palliative Care (Home/Facility-Based)

SECONDARYHLADAHAE

Hospice Care in Assisted Living / Residential Care Facilities

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Elder Care & Long-Term Care/Hospice & Palliative Care (Home/Facility-Based)

SECONDARYHSABAHAG

End-of-Life 24/7 In-Home Care (Hospice Support)

Home & Personal Services/Elder Care & In-Home Care Services/Live-In & 24/7 In-Home Care

SECONDARYHSABAFAA

Routine In-Home Hospice Care

Home & Personal Services/Elder Care & In-Home Care Services/Hospice & Palliative In-Home Care

Keywords

• Senior living services
• Skilled nursing care
• Memory care facilities
• Assisted independent living
• Home healthcare services

Headquarters

HQ city

Story City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Skilled Nursing & Long-Term Care Services: Residential care services including long-term care, memory care, and skilled nursing. Revenue generated through Medicare, Medicaid, private pay, and long-term care insurance.
2. Assisted & Independent Living: Timberland Village offers assisted living and independent living apartments. Cedar Place offers affordable independent and assisted living under HUD housing. Revenue from monthly rental fees and care service fees.
3. Bethany at Home - Home Healthcare: Home healthcare services including personal care, homemaker services, transportation, and wellness services within a 20-mile radius of Ames, Iowa. Fee-for-service home care model.
4. LifeChoices® Membership: Life care at home model - a membership program providing holistic approach to wellness, independence, and asset protection for seniors who want to remain in their homes.
5. Donations & Foundation: Bethany Life Foundation accepts donations for various funds including Mission Fund, Good Samaritan Fund, Chaplaincy Endowment Fund, Employee Appreciation Fund, and Scholarship Fund. Monthly giving program (Compassionate GEMs).
6. Affordables Thrift Store: Non-profit resale store selling clothing, household items, and furniture. Operated through volunteer support with proceeds supporting Bethany Life's mission and facilities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Bethany Life operates a full continuum of senior living and healthcare services in central Iowa, including skilled nursing and long-term care at The Households of Bethany, memory care, LifeBridge Transitional Care, assisted and independent living at Timberland Village, Twin Homes, and Cedar Place, in-home healthcare through Bethany at Home, and the LifeChoices® life-care-at-home membership program. Services are delivered in a faith-based, non-profit setting using a resident-centered Household Model of care.

Product overview

Bethany Life is a non-profit, faith-based senior living and healthcare organization offering a comprehensive continuum of care services for older adults. The organization operates primarily as a platform of integrated service offerings rather than a single unified product. Core services include The Households of Bethany (long-term care with Memory Care units), LifeBridge Transitional Care (post-hospital rehabilitation), and various independent/assisted living options (Timberland Village, Twin Homes, Cedar Place). Supporting services include Bethany at Home (home healthcare), LifeChoices® (life care at home membership model), therapy services, on-site spa/salon, dining (Carlson Cafe), and spiritual care (Chaplaincy Program). The organization also operates the Affordables Thrift Store and maintains a Foundation for fundraising. Bethany Life has been serving the central Iowa community since 1914.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LifeBridge Transitional Care: A regional center of excellence in transitional care helping to bridge the gap between hospital stay and return home after surgery, injury, or illness. Features rehabilitation and wellness care with excellent nurse-to-patient ratios.
• @HOME Tech
• Lifestyle Wellness
• Compassionate GEMs

Products and services

• LifeBridge Transitional Care Post-acute, goal-oriented rehabilitation and skilled nursing bridging the gap between hospital discharge and return home for patients in Story, Boone, Hamilton, Hardin, Webster, Marshall, and Polk counties; offers physical, occupational, and speech therapy 7 days a week and handles IV therapies, wound care, tracheostomies, and feeding tubes, with free transportation to and from the hospital upon admission.
• Long-Term Care at The Households of Bethany Skilled nursing long-term care delivered in small, home-like households with private rooms, living areas, dining areas, kitchens, and bedrooms designed to feel like home, serving older adults who require ongoing medical supervision and daily personal assistance.
• Memory Care at Julia's Place, David's Place, and Walker Place

Quantifiable outcome

• 100+ years of continuous operation since 1914
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Mid Iowa Planned Giving Council (MIPGC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2024MIPGC championed the new RIFT (Release IRA Funds Timely) bill in Iowa legislature, allowing estate funds to be released to designated organizations more quickly. Bethany Life's Foundation Director McKenzie Alvarado Lopez is a member of MIPGC.
• Representative Bill GustoffminorOthers · 1 January 2024Iowa Representative and MIPGC member instrumental in writing the RIFT bill for timely release of estate funds to charitable organizations.
• Johni HaysminorOthers · 1 January 2024Executive Vice President of Thompson and Associates, member of MIPGC with expertise in wills/estates. Instrumental in writing the RIFT bill.
• Comfort Inn (Story City)minorOthers · 1 January 2024Hotel partnership providing free accommodations for Bethany Life staff during winter weather emergencies, enabling staff to maintain safe commutes to work.
• Story City Police DepartmentminorOthers · 1 January 2024Local police department assisted during January 2024 winter storm emergency, helping Bethany Life staff who were stranded at Comfort Inn reach work.
• Iowa Western Community CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2023Partnership for nursing student clinical training. 11 nursing students completed first semester clinicals at Bethany Life, spending 6 weeks gaining hands-on experience in long-term care settings under the guidance of Infection Preventionist and Wound Nurse Tara O'Connell.
• Roland-Story Elementary SchoolminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 December 2023Quarter drive donation program. Students raised $444.14 for the Good Samaritan Fund. Students have connections to Bethany Life through family members who are or were residents.
• Norma's KidzminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 December 2023Baby doll donation partnership for Memory Care Units. PRN Kathy Chapple sponsored four dolls through Norma's Kidz, donating them to The Households of Bethany's memory care households.
• The Norsemen Food PantryminorOthers · 1 November 2023Food insecurity partnership. Bethany Life's Wellness Committee hosted a food packing event packaging 10,000 meals distributed to Cubbies Cupboard in Nevada, St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Nevada, Food at First in Ames, ISU SHOP, and The Norseman Food Pantry.
• Slim's Country MarketminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2023Partnership with Bethany Life Volunteers. Slim's Country Market served as storefront for volunteers to sell handcrafted products (tea towels, dog toys, dish scrubbers, wooden toys), generating $1,777 in sales donated back to Bethany Life.
• Mary Greeley Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999Bethany Manor (now Bethany Life) became affiliated with Mary Greeley Medical Center in 1999. Ongoing hospital referral partnership for patient transitions to skilled nursing and transitional care.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• WesleyLife: Iowa-based non-profit operator of senior living, CCRC, home health, and hospice services across central and eastern Iowa. Directly comparable as a faith-rooted, non-profit competitor offering a similar continuum-of-care model in overlapping Iowa geographies.
• Western Home Communities: Cedar Falls/Waterloo, Iowa non-profit CCRC with independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, memory care, and home services. Direct peer given similar Iowa footprint, non-profit status, and full continuum-of-care operating model.
• Friendship Haven: Fort Dodge, Iowa non-profit CCRC serving north-central Iowa with independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, memory care, and home health. Comparable on continuum-of-care, non-profit model, and central Iowa rural-mid market presence.
• The Bridges at Ankeny: Ankeny, Iowa non-profit senior living community offering assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing, and therapy services. Comparable as a smaller Iowa non-profit operating a full continuum of care.
• Glenwood Place: Marshalltown, Iowa non-profit senior living operator providing independent living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing. Direct geographic peer within Bethany Life's central Iowa catchment.
• Ebenezer Senior Living: Minnesota-based faith-rooted non-profit operating independent living, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing, and home care. Comparable as a larger non-profit with similar core service mix and continuum of care.
• CountryHouse Residence: Midwest non-profit memory-care-focused operator with locations across Iowa, Nebraska, and surrounding states. Direct peer given its dedicated memory care positioning that overlaps with Julia's Place, David's Place, and Walker Place.

Emerging players

• Lifespark: Minnesota-based senior services operator combining home health, hospice, primary care, and senior living under an integrated life-care model. Comparable on the integration of housing, home, and clinical care that LifeChoices and Bethany at Home approximate.

Broad incumbents

• Atria Senior Living: National for-profit senior living operator with independent living, assisted living, and memory care communities nationwide. Broader incumbent offering overlapping services to Timberland Village/Cedar Place but lacking Bethany's non-profit, faith-rooted, CCRC, and home-care model.
• Brookdale Senior Living: Largest U.S. senior living operator offering independent living, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing, and home health. Broad incumbent with overlapping service categories but a for-profit, geographically diverse operating model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/bethanylifesc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles24 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bethany Life