Betty Benulis, R.N., ended 2024 with one half-century milestone and started 2025 with another.
Today, Jan. 6, she becomes the longest serving employee at St. Luke’s Miners Campus in Coaldale. She's breaking the hospital’s record while celebrating 50 years as a nurse just two months after hitting half a century with her husband.
After five decades of service, the 71-year-old said it’s the people that keep her going.
“My favorite part about it [is] talking and dealing with people,” said Benulis, a New Philadelphia resident.
Benulis graduated from Allentown’s Sacred Heart Hospital’s School of Nursing in 1974. She then started a career that would lead her down many paths.
After graduation, she began her career briefly at the Hamburg Center, which closed recently and treated people with physical and mental disabilities. In 1975, she started working at what was then Coaldale State Hospital. Benulis worked in the general medical-surgical units, then moved to the intensive care unit (ICU), which she eventually managed. She now works in cardiac rehabilitation.
“In cardiac rehab, it's really nice seeing people that have gone through surgery... and it's interesting seeing in 12 weeks, how much better they are than when they started,” she said. “Sometimes people just need that little push to get active again. A lot of times, they're just afraid. They get afraid to move, so they don't move, and then they get deconditioned. When they start rehab, they do improve. So it's fun seeing how people improve.”
St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) appreciates Benulis’s service.
“Overall, Betty enjoys helping her patients,” said William Mekert, the director of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation at SLUHN. “She doesn’t take life too seriously but always provides a safe experience for her patients. She is flexible and willing to do what is necessary to provide an exceptional experience in Cardiopulmonary Rehab.”
According to Mekert, Benulis remained the department’s only constant after multiple staffing changes. She also mentored new graduates as they started their nursing careers.
The Miners Campus became a part of the St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) in 2000. Benulis saw many changes in the five decades of her career, as well as in the past two and a half decades since the ownership change.
“Things have changed drastically. I started out in a small, little hospital, and now being part of St Luke's, everything's here,” she said. “You have so much more opportunities.”
Benulis adapted to advancing technology throughout her career. She was recently trained to use Epic software, which assists healthcare professionals with patient data.
“I remember when there was just one fax machine, and we used to go down and fax papers,” she said. “Now everything is just at your fingertips. Definitely learned a lot of new technology, and I think that is for the better.”
With so many changes in the industry, her patients remain her priority.
“The assessment of the patient. You have to look at the patient. Talking to the patient, listening to what they're saying to you has remained the constant,” Benulis said. “I mean, because that's what it's all about.”
Benulis learns something new most days, whether it’s a technique from a newer nurse or how to use the most updated technology, even after a 50 year career.
“You have to always keep learning, that's part of life,” she said.
Benulis is now older than many of her coworkers, and her career is even older than some of her youngest colleagues. Her ability to adapt to change has helped her navigate her career.
“Don't be afraid to change, because change is a constant,” she said.
Although it’s been hard at times, she does not regret her decades long nursing career. She hopes young people continue pursuing nursing.
Her advice to new nurses is: “As a nurse, listen to your patient. Go by your instincts. You can't take things for granted. You have to have to look, you have to listen, you have to assess and see what's going on. Keep up to date, keep learning, keep reading and be compassionate.”
After a long and rewarding career, Benulis sees retirement in the near future, although she’s grateful to be able to work at her age. Now, she is part time.
“I feel God blessed me that I've had my health, I was able to continue working,” she said. “If I feel I can't do it, I would definitely quit. But right now, I feel like I'm fine.”
Benulis raised three children with her husband of 50 years. Now a grandmother to seven grandchildren, she looks forward to someday spending retirement watching their sports’ games and matches.
She said she’ll work for another year or so.
When she started her career in the 1970s, she never thought she’d still be at the same place in 2025. However, she’s thrilled with how her life panned out and wouldn’t change a thing.
“I'm very happy with my marriage, and I'm very happy with my work career,” she said. “I mean, I think I'm blessed that way.”
