Business of the Month: Brookdale Senior Living
Greg Bittke, Sales Manager
I work at Brookdale Camino del Sol. Our community is an Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care community. We are an all private pay community with nursing on site 24/7 and three staff members that provide programming and activities seven days a week for our residents. I am most proud of our care team as it is their work that really makes the difference in the lives of those we support. Visiting our community is the best way to see how our team support residents.
My official title at Brookdale is Sales Manager. My actual role is so much more. I spend time with residents and I provide residents and families with information about senior living. The main thing I do is being open, honest and empathetic to different situations that come our way and seeing how we can help. What I really do is help people. Believe it or not, I get inspired every day by the residents and their families that are in our community. When I see the commitment of our residents to exercise, walk, helping other residents, doing art work, singing to music and whatever task they are interested, it is inspiring.
I was born and raised in Southern California and have 3 siblings. We lived in an area where we could have animals, and we had a farm full; horses, steers, pigs, sheep, goats, rabbits, chickens, ducks, game birds, dogs and cats. I attended Lutheran schools from K–8th grade. I was involved in swimming at age nine and swam and played water polo in high school. I also did volunteer work while in 4-H and sang at nursing homes.
I did a complete career change in my 40’s and used my experience and management skills to work for a non-profit that provided housing and habilitation for individuals with
intellectual and developmental disabilities. I started in California and then transferred to Oregon and eventually we moved to Arizona. I love working with all of the families from different parts of the country and I feel that my experience living in the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest helps me relate to why people live here. The people I have met here have been very friendly and welcoming.
My favorite community cause is the Alzheimer’s Association. Their focus and efforts to better understand and search for a cure for Alzheimer’s and Dementia related diseases. This hits home with me as I have parents going through this and I understand how this impacts families. When you witness day in and day out how this disease effects individuals and their families, it is clear that we need to unite to find a cure.
My guiding philosophy comes from Matthew 7:12 The Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
