St. Francis Manor

Dion Schrack, Executive Administrator – Dion has served 30 years at St. Francis Manor and is instrumental in growing St. Francis Manor to what it is today. Including, Seeland Park which is now over 135 retirement homes and apartments, starting Community Services of St. Francis the home healthcare services which has been operational for over five years, and on-location therapy department which soon will be available for outpatient care.

Since his first year on staff, St. Francis Manor has grown from 50 to 125 employees and is the highest rated Medicare Facility in Grinnell. In 2009, he also oversaw the commencement of the St. Francis Manor Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization. Born and raised in Tama, IA he now resides in Grinnell with his wife Shelley and daughters Mariah and Madison.

Dianna Hoye, RN, Administrator – A native of Tama, IA, Dianna grew up in the nursing home business working at her grandfather’s convalescent home during her childhood. In 1973 Dianna enrolled in the nursing program at Marshalltown Community College where she graduated in July 1974. In October 1974 she became a Licensed Practical Nurse. Dianna returned to school in May 1983 and was licensed in August 1983 as a Nursing Home Administrator. Returning to school in 1989 she graduated with honors as a suma kum laude and received her license as a Registered Nurse in March 1990. Dianna has worked in various nursing homes and Doctors offices. On April 24, 1999 she became the first certified Dermatology nurse in Iowa. In 1998, she began work at St. Francis Manor and in 2000 was named Administrator / RN.

Dianna has served as President of the Iowa Dermatology Nurses Association for four years. Additionally, she was nominated for the Dermatology Nurse Practice award in 1999 and has served on the Iowa Health Care Board.

Dianna lives in Ankeny with her husband Pat and enjoys golfing, cooking, Chicago’s famous Garrett’s popcorn and spending time with her son, Jeremy, his wife Betsy and her daughter, Jessica and her husband Matt. She especially enjoys the company of her three grand dogs and one grand cat.

Heidi Niedermann, Director of Nursing – Heidi was born in Ames, Iowa, and attended Garwin High School graduating in 1984. Upon graduating H.S., she went to Marshalltown Community College where she completed Surgical Technology Training and became Certified. Heidi continued her education in Nursing. She became a Licensed Practical Nurse in 1987, and then her Associate Degree (R.N.) in1992.

Heidi became an employee at St. Francis Manor in June, 1987 as a nurse aide until she became licensed. Heidi has worked all three shifts as a charge nurse. In March 1994, Heidi became Director of Nursing. Additional credentials include: Resident Assessment Coordinator-Certified (2007); and IOWA Certified Assessment Coordinator (2011). Heidi’s major responsibilities involve the scheduling of the Nursing Department, and coordinating Minimum Data Set (MDS) schedule, along with coordination of weekly Care Conference meetings with families. Heidi is married to Randy Bonnett. They live out on an acreage by Gladbrook where they enjoy their menagerie of poultry, their 3 cats (recently took in an orphan kitten to make the 3); and Tina, a 2yr. old Brittany. Heidi’s hobbies are reading, gardening, being outdoors, and attending music concerts of all types of music.

Susie Jorth, RN, Director of Community Services – Susie was born and raised in Grinnell, IA.  She graduated from Grinnell High School in 1994 and from Iowa State University in 1998 with a B.S. degree in Public Relations.  After graduating from Iowa State University, Susie worked in sales for 4 years in the pharmaceutical industry.

In 2002, Susie moved back to Grinnell and started nursing school at Marshalltown Community College earning her Associate Degree of Nursing (RN) in 2005.   After receiving her nursing degree, Susie began working as a registered nurse at St. Francis Manor.  In April of 2007, Susie became the director of Community Services of St. Francis, our private home healthcare agency, which is the role she continues to fill today. Susie was married to Mack Jorth in June of 2004. Mack is a science teacher and coach at Grinnell High School.

Don Schrack, Culinary Director – Preparing meals for day to day resident service and events in the social center, Don has brought new culinary ideas and preparations to the campus. In addition to his cooking duties he is working closely with Chris Goodrich on the new kitchen layout and equipment selections. Don joins us with 35 years of food experience in the private club, resort and restaurant business.

Most recently working at the Depot Crossing Restaurant, he spent years at the Des Moines Club, Lake Panorama National Resort and other private clubs throughout the Midwest. This varied background has provided him with experience in all forms of dining and food service which will be valuable to the changes occurring at St. Francis and will bring new dining developments for the campus.

Chris Goodrich, Dietary Supervisor  - Twenty years ago Chris started as a C.N.A at St. Francis Manor. After two years of employment she transferred into Dietary Department as a cook and has worked in the kitchen for the last eighteen years. In 1993-1994 Chris attended Marshalltown Community College and passed the Dietary Supervisor Certification course and shehas been St. Francis’ Dietary Supervisor since 1994. Chris is responsible for supervising daily menu and development, food production, serving over 250 meals per day, care planning, MDS 3.0 documentation and working closely with the registered dietitian insuring proper nutrition for all residents.

During her tenure as Dietary Supervisor she has received very high marks from state surveyors regarding the operation of the kitchen and nutritional programs at St. Francis. Because of her experience and knowledge of nutrition Chris is pursuing the education and training to become a registered dietitian. In December 2011, Chris will celebrate her 25^th wedding anniversary with her husband Charlie who is a Regional Supervisor for the Des Moines Register & Cedar Rapids Gazette. They have four boys: Justin, Matt, Zach and Charlie Jr. and her two pekonese dogs, Elivs and Pricilla.

Courtney Michalek, Activities Director - Courtney graduated from B.G.M. High School in 2004. She went on to nursing school at Marshalltown Community College where she graduated with a licensed practical nursing degree. Courtney soon discovered this was not her desired field but always wanted her work to be helping take care of people, especially the elderly. When the activities position became available in 2008 at St. Francis Manor, she applied right away. In 2009, she received her Activity Coordinators Certification and has been Activities Director since. Courtney is responsible for coordinating multiple daily activities, events and holiday décor throughout the year. Courtney says the residents bring a smile to her face every day and her job is very rewarding.

In her free time Courtney spends time with her friends and family, and also her husband Curtis. He proposed to her around Valentine’s Day 2011 and were just married on October 1st.  Courtney and Curtis also just adopted a baby kitten they named Carol that the maintenance men had found here at St. Francis.

Scott Gosselink, Maintenance Supervisor – Scott manages all maintenance both on site at St. Francis Manor and all of Seeland Park. Graduated from Western Illinois University in 1995 where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology with an emphasis in Law Enforcement & Justice Administration. After graduation, he moved to Arizona where he worked as a plumber for 10 years and was a Phoenix sales representative for Jeld-Wen Windows.

Kristin Jennings, Fitness Specialist – Kristin grew up in Cedar Rapids with her dad, a now retired FBI agent; mom, a city employee; and older sister, who is currently an attorney in Des Moines. Kristin attended Xavier High School where she earned a full basketball scholarship to Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska. Kristin has always had a passion for physical fitness and healthy living, so when choosing a degree it was an easy one to choose Exercise Science at Wayne State.

After graduating in 2008, she was hired as the Fitness Specialist for the Meth-Wick Retirement Community in Cedar Rapids. Kristin designed, developed, and implemented the fitness programs for residents of all levels at Meth-Wick. Along with offering exercise classes multiple times on a daily basis, the Meth-Wick In Motion exercise program led by Kristin participated annually in nationally recognized events, was a host site for the Senior Fitness Test, Active Aging Week, and National Senior Health and Fitness Day.

Since coming to St. Francis, Kristin has already implemented many programs and events for both the residents of St. Francis and also Seeland Park. Kristin also is a personal fitness instructor for Community Services of St. Francis.

Kristin moved from Cedar Rapids to Newton this past June after she got engaged to her fiance, Rob.  Currently, Kristin and Rob are finishing the plans for their wedding in spring 2012.  In addition to her work at St. Francis, Kristin enjoys teaching fitness classes for Grinnell Regional Medical Center at Fly High Fitness Studio.