Archive for month: September, 2025

In the height of the lunch rush, Registered Dietitian Meghan Sechler popped into the Homeland kitchen to ask the cook to make a special sandwich for a new resident.

“And she did it,” Sechler said. “She actually did it for me.”

Plus, she adds, “We have a really good kitchen here. We prepare a lot of food from scratch. I try to pass compliments on to the cooks whenever I can.”

Since joining the Homeland team in 2018, with one break for the birth of her daughter, Sechler has built a community of supportive colleagues who all pitch in for the well-being of the residents.

As a registered dietitian, Sechler is responsible for assessing and maintaining the dietary health of skilled care and Ellenberger memory care residents. Her first bachelor’s degree, from Penn State Harrisburg, was in marketing, but she didn’t have a passion for the work.

With her love for cooking and healthy food, she decided to switch careers after talking with a cousin who was a dietitian. Inspired to help others, she earned a bachelor’s degree in nutrition from the University of Alabama and a master’s degree in nutrition from Penn State.

At Homeland, her work touches the lives of every resident in skilled care and Ellenberger memory care, and she’s happy to help any personal care resident with their questions or needs.

Her primary duty is conducting quarterly assessments, reviewing the full range of health and dietary factors needed to create a plan for nutritious and enjoyable eating. There are weight, medications, supplements, diagnoses, speech and occupational therapies, activity levels, wound care, and appetite to consider.

The result? Individualized nutrition plans that help residents maintain their weight, build muscle, eat well, and get helpful supplements.

“It’s like putting together pieces of a puzzle,” she said.

Sechler passed the rigorous exam needed to become a registered dietitian – anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, she notes – but not after knocking over a hand-sanitizer dispenser in her nervousness. Working early in her career in Homeland’s kitchen helped her answer many of the nutrition questions.

Working with the entire Homeland team, she plays a key role in maintaining the residents’ quality of life.

“It’s such a warm, welcoming environment,” she said. “My supervisor provides all the resources I need. I feel like I have the time I need to complete assessments correctly. I can go home and know that my job is complete for the day.”

On a fun note, Sechler is happy to tell family members that it’s okay to bring in their loved one’s favorite foods, within the boundaries of dietary plans. What do they bring?

“Cookies a lot,” she said. “Usually dessert-y and snack-y. I saw someone carrying a whole pizza to share with his dad and his dad’s roommate.”

The residents are a source of delight and “so fun to work with,” Sechler added. They teach her patience. She is awestruck by their stories of childhood, careers, and families.

“They show me what a lifetime can amount to,” she said. “They make me laugh all the time. You really build bonds with them. They almost become another set of grandparents. I love to see them interacting in the activities.”

Sechler grew up in the Philadelphia suburb of Plymouth Meeting. Her parents were government aerospace contractors, so Take Your Child to Work Day was always an adventure, with visits from astronauts and the opportunity to see satellites being built.

Sechler and her husband, Wil, met at a friendsgiving gathering at Penn State Harrisburg. They married in September 2019, just before the pandemic, and eventually enjoyed a honeymoon in the Bahamas.

Their daughter Adeline, nicknamed Addy, is 20 months old. She was still a baby for her first Homeland trick-or-treat night, coming dressed as an avocado while her mom was a taco and her husband was a chef. Ironically, the daughter of a registered dietitian doesn’t like vegetables, but she eats fruit and is a fiend for seafood, especially shrimp.

From her office overlooking Homeland’s greenery-filled Kunkel Circle at the 6th Street entrance, Sechler noted the remarkable longevity of Homeland’s staff and the support they provide each other, from bringing in food to sharing Secret Santa gifts.

“So many people have been here for so long,” she said. “It’s very much like a family. A lot of workplaces will say that they’re family and good places to work, but you can tell that they don’t care. Here, here you feel cared about.”

Homeland Center (www.homelandcenter.org) offers levels of care including personal care, memory care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation. Homeland also provides hospice, home care, home health and palliative care services to serve the diverse and changing needs of families throughout central Pennsylvania. For more information or to arrange a tour, please call 717-221-7900.