“I’ve never felt more comfortable, welcomed, and like I’m going to be here until I retire, until now.”
After years in hospital systems, Anita Kalogeropoulos, DNP, MSN, RN, Executive Director, Hospice, has seen the difference between a workplace that casually speaks about its culture and one that truly lives it.
Lifespark is the latter.
Here, Anita found leaders who empower employees to take initiative, colleagues who genuinely support one another, and a company willing to evolve as new ideas emerge, all while keeping its people—both its employees and the seniors and families it serves—at the center.
It’s one of the reasons Lifespark has once again been named among The Minnesota Star Tribune’s Top 200 Workplaces, marking the 15th time the organization has earned this recognition.
A confidential survey informed the award by inviting employees from around the state to weigh in on mission, values, culture, leadership, pay and benefits, career development opportunities, and other factors.
This award recognizes organizations where employees report high levels of engagement, organizational health, satisfaction, and confidence in leadership.
We’re honored to be one of them.
Fifteen Years of Consistency
Lifespark has evolved significantly over the years. Yet their mission remains untouched.
What began as a small start-up with three employees has grown into an organization of more than 4,000 team members serving seniors across the continuum of care in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
For Jeremiah Lideen, Director, Engagement and Development, the repeated Top Workplace recognition reflects Lifespark’s continued commitment to its people and purpose.
“It says to me that Lifespark has been consistent,” he said. “We’re really clear about the impact we want to have on seniors and their family members. And therefore, our workplace has to match. The seniors’ experience is a direct correlation to our employees’ experience.”
Anita sees this consistency in Lifespark’s continued adaptation to the needs of seniors and their families.
“[Lifespark] has always looked at what the community needs from us and what seniors need from us,” she says. “They’ve shifted and changed and morphed into what it needs to be.”
That willingness to evolve has shaped both Lifespark’s service lines and the employees’ experience within the organization.
Trusted to Lead
One of Anita’s earliest impressions of Lifespark was the extent to which leaders trusted their people.
For someone accustomed to navigating large health care systems, that level of assurance stood out. Instead of layers of bureaucracy and navigating red tape, Anita found leaders who were willing to listen to new ideas and support them.
“Lifespark is so innovative. They’re quick to pivot, pivot, pivot. They hire a lot of smart, capable people. They’re so open to listening. When you’re gifted that by your leaders and founders, it’s easy to look at your own team that way, too,” Anita says.
Jeremiah also notes this entrepreneurial spirit as a unique characteristic—and one of his favorites—of Lifespark.
“The opportunity to run with a new idea and be entrepreneurial is true to Lifespark,” he says. “Those are the reasons why I work here—the entrepreneurial opportunity, the ability to create something and have people say ‘yes’ to it, and the focus on human beings. That’s why it’s such an exceptional place for me, we really are focused on humans.”
Behind the Recognition
It’s not the innovation or entrepreneurial opportunities that make Lifespark a Top Workplace.
It’s the people.
Every day, Lifespark team members serve seniors and families during some of the most important moments of their lives. Although it’s incredibly meaningful work, it’s not easy.
“It’s important to name the difficulty and the weight and the importance of working in senior health,” Jeremiah says.
For Anita, this reality is especially visible in the hospice team she leads.
She describes clinicians who walk alongside families through loss, then find the strength to show up again for the next person who needs them.
For both Anita and Jeremiah, the relationships employees build—with each other, with leaders, and with the seniors they serve—are what make Lifespark special.
“We really are focused on humans,” Jeremiah says, and that human connection remains central to everything we do.
Thank You To Our Team
Perhaps that’s why this recognition means so much. It’s not simply an award about workplace perks or benefits, but a reflection of the culture that supports people doing extraordinarily important work. Lifespark has built a culture where innovation and ideas are celebrated and where people wholeheartedly care about one another and the seniors they serve.
Thank you to every Lifespark employee for your dedication, compassion, innovation, and commitment to changing the aging experience.
To explore job opportunities at Lifespark, visit our Careers page! We look forward to meeting you!
