In an age when many health care facilities are increasingly depersonalized, Homeland focuses on the residents.
“Homeland made me believe in nursing again,” said Mary Ellen Roberts, one of Homeland’s assistant directors of nursing. “People here pay attention to the residents.”
While Mary Ellen treats residents like family, she can also say that Homeland is truly a family affair. Her sister, Barbara Jones-White, has worked in the Homeland financial office since 2016. Her niece, Abigail Jones, is Barbara’s daughter and an LPN who loves the time she spends with residents.
Mary Ellen joined Homeland in October 2021, with 32 years of nursing experience in acute, long-term, and short-term acute care. She came to Homeland through her connection to Jennifer Tate-DeFreitas, now Homeland’s director of nursing, whom Mary Ellen knew from working years ago at another facility.
“When she was there for the night shift, I always knew I was getting a good night’s sleep because she could handle things,” Mary Ellen said. “Coming to Homeland is hopefully paying it back instead of forward. She took care of me, so let me take care of her.”
Mary Ellen began her career as a CNA. She entered nursing at the urging of another sister, who was already a nurse.
“In this family, you’re either a nurse or you’re married to a nurse,” said Mary Ellen.
The “married to a nurse” siblings include Barbara. She manages her payroll and benefits duties diligently so Homeland staff can focus on residents without distractions.
“I support those who support the residents,” she said. “I love that role. I want to have that open door.”
Mary Ellen adds, “I’ll be walking down the hall and people will say, ‘Is your sister here today? I need her.’ I could never do what she does.”
The family tradition inspired Barbara’s daughter, Abigail Jones, known as Abby, to enter nursing, starting as a CNA. Abby came to Homeland when Jennifer Tate-DeFreitas asked Barbara, “Isn’t your daughter an LPN?”
“I like working with older people,” Abby said. “I always have fun with them.”
Barbara, Mary Ellen, and two siblings grew up in Steelton. One grandmother worked at a combined store and bowling alley in Upper Dauphin County – a fascinating place to visit as kids.
Another grandmother lived next door to the family’s childhood home. She met their grandfather when he was HR director at the steel plant in his native Danville, and she had moved there to open the first beauty shop in a state hospital. After he died young, their grandmother continued working for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and became a chairwoman of the state Democratic Party.
Outside of work, the Jones family stays “codependent,” as Mary Ellen puts it. They vacation together, go bowling, attend the theater, and share big holiday dinners.
As nursing changed over the years, Mary Ellen returned to long-term care because today’s acute-care nurses – and many in other nursing facilities — have to look at the numbers on screens instead of the people they’re caring for.
“We’ve become so technologically savvy that we have forgotten the person,” she said. “At Homeland, we see them, we feel them, we touch them. I can take care of the individual.”
Abby appreciates the Homeland difference as she sees other facilities becoming more corporate.
“Here, it feels more like a home,” said Abby, who plans to get her RN. “It’s not businesslike at all. It’s more like a family.” Chatting with residents or just watching TV with them “makes work seem a little less like work. It just feels like I’m like hanging out with my family or my friends.”
Abby also appreciates being part of a team.
“I love the nurses I work with,” she said. “We’ve got each other’s back. Without hesitation, we help each other. I don’t feel scared to ask for help with anything.”
Plus, she adds, “it’s gorgeous here. The whole building is gorgeous.”
From her position in the finance office, Barbara is a witness to Homeland “going the extra mile” to support the staff. Homeland administrators work in the same place where residents live and employees work, so “everything that happens, happens under this roof.”
“The focus is on what they see every day,” she said. “That’s how everything goes forward. I see the employees and residents act like family, too. I can’t imagine working at a place that isn’t like this. The idea, I do believe, is that we all have to be happy to be able and present for our residents.”
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.
