February marks Black History Month and Bayada Home Health Care has highlighted two of their own employees who have shown great care, initiative and overall grace in their own profession with the agency. All of that also helps with “The Bayada Way.”
The Bayada Way officially reads on their site: Our company philosophy, is at the heart of everything we do, and the ever-present guiding force in our daily work. The core values of The Bayada Way—compassion, excellence, and reliability—are ever-present in our daily work. Its tenets are timeless. The Bayada Way is our shared “true north” that embodies the essence of what we stand for, believe in, and value. Quite simply, The Bayada Way is what keeps us together, yet sets us apart.
It’s that ideology that motivates Shela Bentley, 57, a registered nurse and clinical manager with Bayada. Bentley has been with the company for 17 years, but has had experience in nursing for 25 years after graduating from Widener University.
“The Bayada Way—their philosophy and ethics are in line with my own, so it’s something that I can practice on and off of the job. Loving what we do would be the main thing that sets us apart from others,” says Bentley.
Eunice Benson, 58, also has a similar initiative for working with the company. Benson, who currently lives in Northeast Philadelphia, has been with the company since 2014, but during that time, briefly left after suffering a stroke. However, after coming back, her compassion aligned with the company in its mission to provide home care.
“I’m like a companion. I bathe the client. I assist them with feeding if need be. I make their meals. I do light housekeeping, assisting them by getting into bed, or their wheelchair, or just on daily activities,” explains Benson. “I think they’re [Bayada’s] initiative to care for both sides from all spectrums of people is what sets them apart. They also take time out with their aids, they take time out with their clients, and they take time out with the employees, period.”
Out of the 26,000 employees—Bayada has more than 345 offices in 22 states and 8 countries—in Philly specifically, both Bentley and Benson were chosen as pillars of The Bayada Way.
Both women have been involved with the healthcare field for quite some time. Bentley worked as an individual contractor for years before working with Bayada. She made the rounds after graduating with a BSN in Nursing at other local institutions such as Penn Care at Home (University of Penn’s home healthcare), Mercy Home Health and others. Benson also worked in the home healthcare field for over a decade before starting to work with Bayada at another company called HealthCare Associates. Both women are very gifted at what they do, and that’s because they believe in it.
“Being a nurse for all of those years, I know that people tend to live longer when they stay at home than when they’re in other facilities. They live longer and remain happier when they’re in their own home,” explains Bentley.
The mother of three doesn’t only educate and supervise health aids for the company, she also has raised a family of nurses. Bentley’s son also received a BSN in Nursing from Widener University, her daughter also attended the university and has a Master’s in Social Work, while her youngest daughter is currently attending Temple University to receive a Bachelor’s in Social Work.
Benson has had to work through her own personal struggles, having recovered from a stroke and taking care of her mother—but she still shows up to work to achieve The Bayada Way for clients.
“Bayada is flexible with you, they work with you especially when you’re having your own daily issues. Being a home health aide and caring for others, you also have to be able to care for your own home and needs too. At the same time, we’re able to balance both,” says Benson.
Bentley also had similar sentiments when talking about what she does with the home healthcare company on a daily basis.
“Bayada is a wonderful place to work, I’m so blessed to be there. I love working for Bayada, I love the philosophy, the mission and the ethics. They all align with my own, so it makes it easy to be the same on and off the job. I would hope that we can get more people to come to Bayada, because I think they will be very, very happy there.”
To learn more about Bayada Home Healthcare, visit bayada.com
