Jeffrey Schmidt has had a couple of months to get acclimated to Pleasantview Home.

Pleasantview’s new administrator, who came on board on Oct. 21, is pleased with his experience thus far.

“It’s going exceptionally well. I’m very, very impressed with the entire organization, in particular with the staff we have here,” Schmidt said. “The entire crew is very dedicated and works well together.

“There are a lot of communities that very much brace their nursing home, but there are an exceptional few that demonstrate what I’ve seen here at Pleasantview in this short time.”

Just days after he started, Schmidt got a first-hand glimpse of the bond between Pleasantview and the community.

“There’s still a little something different here at Pleasantview,” he said. “What really bore that out for me was at the Benefit Sale. To think that think it’s in its 64th year and see the dollars that came into the organization. You don’t see that.

“I came from an organization that was very similar in both scope and the amount of services, but certainly never had that kind of community support. It was very heartwarming and very pleasing to be the director of an organization that has that kind of support.”

Schmidt came to Pleasantview after working six years at a similar facility in Decorah.

Originally, he hails from Vandalia, Ohio, a suburb of Dayton, Ohio.

The medical field always seemed to be his calling. His grandmother was a nurse, and his father spent 35 years as the director of a speech and hearing center.

“In Boy Scouts, my first aid merit badge was my first one,” Schmidt said. “I was always drawn to it.”

He enlisted in the U.S. Navy during his senior year in high school and spent 20 years on active duty.

“I was a corpsman, and eventually what is termed as an independent duty corpsman,” Schmidt said. “In civilian terms, that kind equates to a physician’s assistant and paramedic. I provided health care to sailors and marines, both stateside, overseas and various operational settings.”

After his military service, he settled in Iowa and began work on his bachelor’s degree while working in the loss prevention department of a Walmart store.

He earned a bachelor of science and health science degree from George Washington University.

“In 2005, I decided it was time to get back into healthcare, so I became a nursing home administrator,” Schmidt said. “I was originally licensed in Nebraska.”

In 2009, he moved to a facility in Red Oak, where he met his wife.

“I then had the opportunity to go to Decorah,” Schmidt said. “I had completed my master’s degree by that time, and I really wanted to get into the CCRC (continuing care retirement community) market.”

After six years, he decided it was time to relocate.

“I did some interim work during this past summer but had feelers out to a number of CCRCs,” he said. “Kalona was the door that kept staying open for me.”

He did not jump at the opportunity right away, choosing to do his due diligence.

“The more I studied (Pleasantview), the more I liked it,” he said. “What drew me to liking it was not just that it had the means for strategic growth, but it had the mindset for it.”

Schmidt said he is looking forward to the changes and additions that are planned for the future, including the construction of a memory unit.

“One of the things I have stressed to the board and the folks that I’ve met out in town is that I consider Pleasantview an integral part of the community and one that can highly contribute to the economic development of Kalona and the county,” he said. “I’m excited about those opportunities as well, how we can position ourselves to not only continue providing services, but even better services.”

In an effort to continue his own growth, Schmidt is working on his doctorate in health administration from Capella University, where he previously earned his master’s degree in human services.

“I’m a student of my profession,” he said. “What made me successful in the service was the fact that I always had people who recognized my capabilities and trained me hard but understood what I would face as I grew up in my career. I bring that same mentality to my work all the time.

“It is our frontline staff who are the backbone of everything that we do here. They need to have the best equipment; they need to have the best education; they need to have the best tools; they need to feel that they are a part of the organization and have a voice here.”