Sharing the “why” behind the work of the Good Samaritan Society is front and center as the organization climbs towards 100 years of service.
“The mission of serving the lost and the least. ‘In Christ’s love, everyone is someone,’ has always been at the heart of what we do,” Nate Schema, Society Vice President of Operations, says.
Bringing stories of health care heroes and treasured residents to the light is a goal heading into the future.
“I think our mission might be lived out more publicly than it once was,” Nate says.
Nate, from Faribault, Minnesota, came to the traditionally humble organization in 2006. After a few years working at locations in New Mexico, where he met his wife, he made his way back to the Midwest. He says the Society is special because of its staff and residents.
“I’m just so thankful for all that have called the Good Samaritan Society their place of work. Their place of calling. Maybe it’s a resident. We’ve got some folks who have been with us for 20-plus years,” Nate says.
That sense of calling played a big role in the organization’s founding in Arthur, North Dakota, in 1922.
“You can’t think of the Good Samaritan Society without thinking of the Hoeger family and what it was like in some of those early days. Whether it’s starting in the old one-room schoolhouse in Arthur or what it might have looked like 30-40 years later,” Nate says.
'Expand our mission'
A lot has changed in senior care over the years and Nate says the Society will continue to successfully adapt.
Bringing clinic services to Society campuses that don’t have any nearby is just one of a few new ideas.
“Whether it’s augmenting what we do and how we do it through virtual care. Is it bringing more services to the home?” Nate says. “We can really expand our mission in ways that maybe our founders never dreamed possible.”
Want to make a difference? Nate says developing future nurses and staff members is a major priority.
“I don’t know that many opportunities have the same heart that our Good Samaritan Society and Sanford Health affords people,” Nate says.
He adds he "can’t wait to serve the generations to come. I can’t wait to connect with all the team members looking for an opportunity to serve.”
Team members playing important roles in their communities.
“I’m not sure what the next 100 years will look like, but I’m pretty darn optimistic they’re going to be pretty exciting,” Nate says.
