Born and raised in Northern Indiana, Chris Behrendt moved away to Arizona for a while before settling in Valparaiso in 2004. For the past three years, Behrendt has worked at Back Home Again, a home health care service which holds skilled RNs and knowledgeable staff with over 20 years in the Home Health Care Field.
Behrendt is on the front line of customer service, and is usually the first line of communication with new patients. Besides direct patient contact being first and foremost for Behrendt, she also works directly with the nurses and case managers as a part of the discharge planning process for the best outcome for their patients.
"Once admission is completed with Back Home Again, these new patients then become family and I am beside them and their family members if they are re-hospitalized or end up in a skilled nursing facility for rehab," Behrendt stated as she spoke of her work at Back Home Again.
When asked what drew her to this job, she answered, "Very honestly, I feel like it was meant to be. I'm very intrigued with health care. I truly have a passion for the sick and needy, whether its pediatrics or geriatrics."
Behrendt had been seeking new employment from her previous job with the Post Tribune of the Chicago Sun-Times when she discovered the position at Back Home Again. Due to the changing economy, plus a talk of her having to relocate to Chicago, the territory she held at the Chicago Sun-Times no longer seemed to be the right fit.
"The current position I hold today, to my knowledge, was never advertised. I just happened to drop off a resume and the rest is history," she said. "I would also like to say how grateful I am for the Administrator and Owner of Back Home Again, who is truly an advocate for patient care and for the patient's choice."
When Behrendt is not working effortlessly at Back Home Again, she also serves as the co-president of the Porter County Triad, alongside Linda Gurgel. She has been involved with the Porter County Triad for the past three years.
"Once I understood what Triad provides, the worthwhile services and information to seniors that improve and enrich their lives, well I knew I committed myself for all of the right reasons."
In the following years, she became Secretary, and during their last election in February of 2013, she was voted co-president.
"Our senior populations are very vulnerable. They need trustworthy individuals to help educate them on scams while helping with other services," Behrendt said about her work with the Porter County Triad.
They provide many services to the community, such as File of Life, a medical information packet designed to provide ER personnel with necessary medical information so they can begin immediate treatment; and Beacon Light, a light bulb that fits into an outside socket that strobes brightly as a beacon to help identify your home in an emergency.
On top of all this, Behrendt is involved in many other community organizations. She is the treasurer of the La Porte County Triad and President of Connections of Porter County, as well as being a member of the Leadership Council for the Alzheimer's Association. Behrendt sits on a local advisory board, is a member of the Portage Mayor's Senior Advisory Council, and serves on the public relations committee as a member of Continuity of Care Association of Lake & Porter County and Circle of Care of La Porte County.
Recently, she also took part in the CPA (Citizen Police Academy) program through the Valpo PD.
"I highly recommend this program. Residents of Porter County need to know exactly what our local law enforcement does, how and why they make certain decisions they do," she said.
In March of 2014, she will join the "NRA women on target" at the Michigan City Rifle Club. In her free time, she enjoys landscaping, gardening, camping, biking, and spending as much time with her new granddaughter.