At Homeland, titles and job descriptions don’t matter when a resident has a problem.
If someone’s TV is stuck on the wrong channel, a Homeland staffer will step up, said housekeeper Christine McClucas
“The employees are friendly, and they will help you if you need help,” Christine said. “It doesn’t even have to be their department. I will push people in their wheelchairs to activities. A lot of people are like that here. It’s whatever the residents need. If I can fix it, I’ll fix it, just to make it quicker for them.”
As the housekeeper for Homeland’s Personal Care north wing, Christine is a friend to residents and their families.
“I absolutely love this job,” she said. “I never once think I can’t get up and go to work today. I’ve never had a job where I actually loved getting up and going in.”
Christine is a native of the Harrisburg area and a graduate of Trinity High School. After she and her husband had lived in Wilmington, DE, for 13 years, she was thrilled to come home to Harrisburg, but it was 2020, and jobs were scarce during the COVID pandemic.
A neighbor suggested that Christine try home health care, and she loved it. She became close with one of her clients, Jacqueline Young, a past member of Homeland’s Board of Managers. When she helped Jackie move to Homeland, she thought, “Homeland’s the place for me.
With Jackie’s support, Christine applied for and was offered a Homeland housekeeping position. It meant turning down a good job with a health care system, “but you don’t get the one-on-one with the residents. I love being around the residents.”
She especially loves hearing their life stories, from the woman who worked for the CIA to the Italian World War II survivor who designed Pennsylvania’s “Conserve Wild Resources” license plate.
“I’m always a listening ear,” she said. “I’m not judging. I’m not their nurse. I’m not their doctor. I’m just listening to their stories. I love it.”
Residents marvel at Christine’s method for pulling a fitted sheet tight by putting it on the bed opposite corners first. She learned that “catty-corner” trick from her beloved grandmother.
“When they tell me how much they love how I make the beds, it always reminds me of my grandma. When I’m helping them, I feel like I’m giving something back to my grandmother. I treat them all like they’re my grandma. I enjoy every last one of them.”
Christine’s grandmother also taught her to bake, which is her favorite stress reliever. She bakes cupcakes for the monthly Personal Care birthday social, a tradition that started when an activities coordinator requested peach cupcakes. The local grocery store didn’t offer them, so Christine made them by mixing fresh peaches into the batter.
“They loved it!” Christine said. She has also, at the request of activities, made churro cupcakes, bringing the sweet, cinnamon-y treat to a Cinco de Mayo celebration in Skilled Care.
Christine and her husband have four children, ages 24 to 35, and nine grandchildren – seven girls and two boys. The boys live in the Harrisburg area, but she frequently visits the rest in Delaware.
At Christmastime, making sand tarts is a full-day family affair, with Christine, the grandkids, and her daughter and daughter-in-law.
“The kids are my decorators,” she said. “The one part I don’t like doing is decorating. I’ll do the rolling and cutting, but somebody else needs to do the decorating.”
Christine’s parents were avid hikers, and her children’s favorite memories involve excursions outdoors. Today, she’ll take the grandkids kayaking or hiking with her husband on trails around the area – Stony Creek, Boyd’s Big Tree Reserve, and their favorite, Little Buffalo State Park.
For their 30th anniversary, they went to Georgia to hike the Appalachian Trail, but discovered quickly that Georgia has very steep mountains. Even cars groan going up the hills, and hot, humid weather didn’t help.
“I probably only did about five miles,” she said with a laugh. “That was some serious hiking. I always thought I wanted to do the Appalachian Trail end-to-end. That was on my bucket list, but after being in Georgia, I said no. I’ll do half of it and turn around.”
As for Homeland, “I’m going to retire from here, God willing. I love Homeland. I would love to finish out my working years here, and if my mom ever needs a place, I’m hoping she can get in here. It’s just a nice place to work.”
