Archive for month: October, 2018

Sandra Friedman’s resume said she had a “community conscience.”

“I still do,” she says today.

Her professional and volunteer career, all in pursuit of good public policy and community betterment, put her in contact with a fascinating gallery of historic figures, from presidents and governors, to Mr. and Mrs. James Michener and opera legend Luciano Pavarotti.

Known as Sandy, she is in her second turn as a Homeland resident, living in a sunny skilled-care room done up in antiques, family photos, and artwork. Her “roommate” is a stuffed dog named Penny.

Penolope (aka Penny) enjoying life at Homeland Center

Sandy grew up in Harrisburg, where her father, George Hafer, worked as a lobbyist and insurance attorney. He was a personable man, often representing and conducting business with people in the insurance business.

“He would have the Insurance Department to our house to watch the World Series,” she says. “Any time something was going on, they would leave work and come to our house to watch the games.”

After graduating from Syracuse University with a degree in political science, she returned to Harrisburg and got married. She worked as a staffer for the Joint State Government Commission and state Treasurer Barbara Hafer (no relation). Staffing the 1967 state Constitutional Convention, she got to know James Michener, the Doylestown native and politically involved novelist who served as secretary for the convention, and his wife, Mari Yoriko Sabusawa.

“She liked Harrisburg,” Sandy says. “She enjoyed being here. She was part of the Junior League, so I took her to a Junior League luncheon.”

Junior League played a big part in Sandy’s life, her conduit for community service. Like her mother, she served as chapter president, followed by time as a regional official. Through Junior League, she helped support foster parents and win grants for science projects, including a Pennsylvania State Museum exhibit that took visitors through a giant replica of a human ear. The opening coincided with the March 1979 accident at Three Mile Island, but that didn’t stop 10,000 visitors from touring the exhibit.

“You wouldn’t think we’d have that many visitors to the human ear [because of the fear surrounding the TMI incident],” she says. “You would think everyone was out of town – including me. I was down in Florida. People wouldn’t sit beside us. They thought we were radioactive.”

For Junior League, she also helped organize a lecture series at the governor’s mansion, which attracted such leading names as political commentator William F. Buckley, Jr., and Gerald Ford.

Sandy also planned parties for Temple Ohev Sholom’s fundraisers, when they brought opera stars to Harrisburg. Luciano Pavarotti’s list of demands included a bottle of Korbel Champagne.

Sandy attended high school in a Massachusetts school for girls, where she met classmates from all over the world. She wanted her children, a son and daughter, to get the same exposure, so the family traveled worldwide.

“I was big on education, and traveling is a part of education,” she says. “I wanted them to meet all kinds of people and experience different countries.”

In her career, she also worked as the director of development for Harrisburg Academy and then Penn State Harrisburg, where she conducted fundraising and managed alumni affairs.

At Homeland, she has made personal connections with staff, especially skilled care CNA Marilyn Reid, who calls Sandy “Mom.”

“I love the way she carries herself,” Marilyn said of Sandy. “I take care of my family, and she keeps me going by talking to me.” Sandy’s family knows they can call Marilyn with any questions.

“She’s always very concerned,” Sandy says. “She calls me mom. That’s a big responsibility. I’m lucky to have her. If she gets married, I will be mother of the bride.”

Marilyn confirms that. “She will be there,” she says.

At Homeland, Sandy enjoys the auctions with play money. When Conductor Stuart Malina appeared at Homeland with a quartet of Harrisburg Symphony musicians, Sandy hosted friends and former neighbors for lunch and a concert. She shares her Sunday New York Times with a Homeland neighbor from New York. She also shares her copy of the Harrisburg Patriot-News with a Homeland housekeeper interested in getting her children to read newspapers.

Sandy has long appreciated Homeland, where her mother was a resident, and friends of hers serve on the Board of Managers and Board of Trustees.

“The staff is wonderful, and they have a wonderful board, both the Board of Trustees and the Board of Managers,” she says. “They’re very dedicated. They work hard.”

Voters also pick Homeland at Home as 2018 Readers’ Choice for Health & Wellness

Homeland Center and the Homeland at Home network of outreach services were honored recently as the 2018 Readers’ Choice in Harrisburg Magazine’s Simply The Best competition announced earlier this year.

For Homeland Center, it marks the seventh straight year of winning the recognition, which this year was called the Readers’ Choice Award for best Retirement Facility/Independent Living. It also comes on the heels of U.S. News & World Report giving Homeland a perfect 5.0 rating for the second year in a row and including it in the publication’s Best Nursing Homes 2017-18.

Additionally, Homeland at Home was named by Harrisburg Magazine’s more than 50,000 readers as the 2018 Readers Choice for Health & Wellness. The outreach services, made up of Homeland Hospice, Homeland HomeCare and Homeland HomeHealth, also were named in the Carlisle Sentinel’s “Best of Cumberland 2018’’ contest.

“These recognitions and honors reflect the caring and dedication of our staff, who truly care about our residents and patients,’’ said Barry S. Ramper II, Homeland’s President and CEO. “Homeland remains committed to providing the highest quality of care to the Central Pennsylvania community for all services we provide.’’

Homeland HomeCare assists seniors with daily tasks such as meal preparation and transportation, while Homeland HomeHealth provides doctor-ordered medical assistance, ranging from wound therapy and cardiac telehealth care to physical and occupational therapy. Homeland Hospice works with patients and families faced with a life-limiting illness to address the physical, emotional, spiritual and practical needs to ensure quality time with loved ones.

Founded more than 150 years ago to look after Harrisburg residents left widowed and orphaned following the Civil War, Homeland Center remains true to its mission of providing care to those in need. Over the past year, Homeland has provided almost $3 million in charitable care for residents, bridging the gap between the actual costs of care and shrinking public reimbursements.

“We are continuing a proud tradition, founded by citizens of Harrisburg who saw a need and gathered the resources to address it,” Ramper said. “We are proud to carry on their legacy and to demonstrate, in our daily tasks and our outlook for the future, a history of caring.”