Pennsylvania proud: Fine artist Valerie Moyer brings memories to Homeland residents.

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homeland center Valerie Moyer finalValerie Moyer doesn’t remember a time when she wasn’t doing artwork.

“It’s like breathing,” she says. “I was called to do it. It’s a gift from God and Kutztown University.”

The Pennsylvania native and proud Kutztown alum lives in Beaver Springs, proudly supporting the Snyder County art scene and preserving the commonwealth’s historic treasures. Valerie is Homeland’s featured artist for summer 2022. Her work is hanging in the Florida Room gallery as part of the Art Association of Harrisburg’s exhibition program.

The quarterly exhibits, selected by the Art Association, bring the beauty of works from local artists. Residents, staff, and visitors often stop to admire a painting and take a moment to choose a favorite.

In Valerie Moyer’s work, there is also a chance to play “Spot the Bunny”—as in, find the rabbit hidden in every painting. They are tiny creatures, often found only through the glimpse of a white tail. The bunnies are always on the ground—never in some un-rabbity spot like the clouds or a tree.

The idea came from the suggestion of her husband that a trademark would further distinguish her work.

“What is most common in central Pennsylvania? Rabbits,” Valerie said as she hung her artwork in the Homeland gallery. “I paint a landscape, and there are rabbits.”

Valerie says she doesn’t have a gift for portraiture, but her landscapes and buildings come alive with their own sense of character. Many may recognize the sites depicted in the paintings, such as the famous Neff Round Barn on the road to State College.

“My paintings are pastoral, peaceful, a nod to what life was like in the good old days,” she says. “There are a lot of barns, mills, and covered bridges.”

Valerie uses her artistic gifts to help preserve those landscapes and historical treasures. A portion of the sales from paintings created with Farmland Preservation Artists, a collaborative of the Art Alliance of Central PA, goes toward the Centre County Farmland Trust. And when organizations and individuals commission her work, they can buy the rights to the final piece and make prints for sale or gift giving.

“Some churches will use it as a fundraiser, and then they can buy new windows or mission trips or whatever they like, which is nice,” says Valerie. “That way, it’s more than one painting on the wall. Because it can be reproduced, many people can enjoy it.”

In Valerie’s world, the scenes sometimes choose her as their portraitist. In the Homeland exhibit, there’s the charming portrait of Bessie and Bossy, two calves in a barn door. Valerie was working at a historic barn with the Farmland Preservation Artists, “and I turned around, and they were sitting there going, ‘Valerie. Valerie.’ They were calling my name.”

The same goes for a pair of sheep named Ethel and Emmet.

“I was at my Amish neighbor’s home, and I walked out the door, and there they were,” she says.

Some of the paintings Valerie chose to bring to Homeland were first-place award winners at art shows. A vivid still life of bottles in a historic mill was another case of the subject choosing her, the beauty taking her breath away when she discovered it during an apple butter festival at Little Buffalo State Park. She says awards “validate that you are doing what you are meant to do.’’

Valerie recently joined the Art Association of Harrisburg at the suggestion of a friend, branching out into southcentral Pennsylvania. At heart, she is Snyder County proud and “local, local, local,” working with and buying from other businesses in the scenic county tucked between Harrisburg and State College. The day before hanging her artwork at Homeland, she took 16 framed prints to Snyder County courthouse.

“Snyder County Courthouse will now be decorated in Snyder County prints by a Snyder County artist,” Valerie says.

Valerie can be found on Facebook and Instagram or contacted at vmoyerartist@verizon.net.

“These are our friends and neighbors, and we should support each other. That’s what makes a community,” she says. “Everybody working together makes small towns so great.”

Memories of Winnie Reese: Three daughters credit Homeland with extending their mom’s life.

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Edwina “Winnie” Reese rarely made snap decisions, so her daughters were surprised when she visited her sister at Homeland and, on the way home, asked, “What do you think of Homeland?”

“Within 48 hours, she had her house on the market, she had made all these decisions, and she gave a deposit to Homeland,” says her daughter Kathy Wilson.

Today, Winnie’s three daughters agree that Homeland extended the life and vitality of their mom, providing excellent care and socialization during her final 10 years. They also agree that their mom’s decision to live at Homeland was a gift, offering them peace of mind with knowing she was safe and secure.

Winnie’s daughters continue to support Homeland, and the two who live in Pennsylvania attended the Homeland 155th anniversary gala honoring Betty Hungerford. Winnie also left a gift for Homeland before she died in October 2021 at age 97.

Winnie dove into the life and activities of Homeland, making close friends who brought laughter to the Homeland halls—and a bit of spice to political discussions.

Winnie grew up in the Philadelphia-area town of Roxborough. She married her childhood friend and sweetheart William in 1944, and they had three daughters—Sally Herzog, and twins Bette Hoffman (who jokes about being “the middle child” because she was born first) and Kathy Wilson.

Winnie was a rarity in her time—a working mom serving as administrative assistant to the executive director of the Girl Scouts in Philadelphia. Her daughters recall her mastery of robbing Peter to pay Paul, prioritizing which bills to pay first. When John F. Kennedy was assassinated, Winnie determined that her children needed a television to witness history. She bought a set on layaway at a local appliance store—and then talked the salesman into letting her take home the 150-pound “portable” while she continued to pay it off.

William died when he was only 61, after years of bad health. Ever resourceful, Winnie managed on her own. In 2011, she found her perfect fit at Homeland, enjoying the attentive staff and calling herself “blessed.” Her sister, Lou Hepschmidt, was already a well-known resident whose philanthropy included the gifts of Hummel figurines bringing cheer to spaces throughout Homeland.

For Winnie, one of Homeland’s selling points was the naturally lit, bay-windowed corner room where she stayed when visiting with her sister, and which ultimately became her personal care suite.

“There was a church across the street, and she would talk about the weddings and funerals she saw there,” says Kathy. “She stood at that window and watched elements of the community at that church and felt connected to it in some way.”

In her 23 years with the Girl Scouts, Winnie saw how hard her colleagues worked just to get by. She developed a liberal point of view and became a diehard Democrat.

“I have an Equal Rights Amendment pin she gave me in the early ’70s,” says Kathy.

With the move to Homeland, Winnie made it her mission to be a “bastion of liberalism” in central Pennsylvania, Kathy adds. In retirement, Winnie had a talent for making and keeping friends, and her Homeland friends formed into a group that would play cards—pinochle was Winnie’s favorite—and share their political views proudly. In the runup to the 2020 presidential election, they became known as “The Biden Babes,” for their vocal support of Joe Biden’s successful campaign.

“On Inauguration Day, they had their lunchtime meal in the Homeland Diner instead of in the dining room so they could watch the inauguration together,” says Bette.

Even in her final years, Winnie enjoyed her birthday parties, a 2019 Christmastime family gathering at the shore, and the day she finally met her youngest, COVID-baby, great-grandchild. That was a cold, rainy day, but she turned down Bette’s offer of a heavier jacket.

“She said, ‘My heart is so warm,’” Bette recalls. “She was holding a baby, and she was thrilled.”

On her 97th birthday, the family gathered in Homeland’s Chet Henry Memorial Pavilion.

“She had a shrimp cocktail, Jersey Mike’s hoagie, Dr. Pepper, and chocolate birthday cake, and she looked like a million bucks,” says Sally.

Just a few days later, Winnie died peacefully. Winnie never failed to praise her daughters, calling them “three of the most wonderful women you’d ever meet.”

During their mom’s decade at Homeland, Sally would take the train from Long Island to Harrisburg once a month, rent a car, spend time with her mom, and take the train home. Kathy and Bette visited together monthly from their homes in the Philadelphia and Allentown areas.

“When we would leave,” Bette recalls, “she would always say, ‘I’m the luckiest woman in the world.’”

Employee health: Apps bring wellness messaging and behavioral change into the moment

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Many doctoral dissertations collect dust on the shelf.

Not Roxane Hearn’s. She is living out her research on “Exercise Adherence Among Active Working Women” and the use of apps to encourage movement.

Now, skillfully using a wellness app, she is helping staff stay healthy so they can focus on the needs of Homeland residents.

Roxane – known to staff as Dr. Rox – leads, educates, and supports Homeland Center’s staff in taking control of their health and wellness. When the pandemic arrived, she adjusted her methods to acknowledge the daily personal and professional pressures confronting health care workers.

“You meet people where they’re at and ask how to best support them in that stage of change and within their current set of circumstances” she said. “Sometimes, it’s just education; other times it’s in a role of accountability. Many of the health goals they set in the beginning of 2020 were put on hold due to the pandemic. When their health priorities shifted, she provided guidelines as needed so they could adapt, but she also let them know she was still available when they were ready to shift the focus back to their pre-pandemic goals.”

Still, the message of prevention and management to attain and sustain a healthier lifestyle didn’t change. The keys to success – sleeping, managing stress, healthy eating, mindfulness, and physical activity – remain constants for those trying to reverse health conditions, minimize chronic symptoms, get off of medications, and improve their overall well-being.

In 2021, Dr. Rox launched Homeland’s first app-based wellness challenge, focusing on mindfulness of key factors in health. During this wellness challenge participants tracked and logged their mood, sleep, and physical activity on a daily basis. Through tracking, they could spot trends and connections between such factors as a good night’s sleep, if they were too sedentary, and if their mood was trending positively, or if they were having trouble coping with life’s stressors. This wellness challenge was supported by online training tools provided through the Homeland EAP program which allowed employees to further develop skills necessary to manage their real-life demands and the stressful times we were living in.

Texting was the key to success, and Dr. Rox found she could utilize a platform Homeland was already using to share messages and manage their workforce. She was able to schedule and send texts at critical times when the message might coincide with the recipients’ frame of mind. For instance, a message on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve reminded recipients of the power of alcohol to deplete the immune system. Or, a lunchtime message might prompt the reader to consider a healthy choice.

“We call that being able to provide real-time support,” Dr. Rox said. “That’s key in health behavior change.”

The average American checks their cell phone 262 times a day, she notes, and unlike emails, they are read immediately.

“It’s the perfect opportunity to help cultivate behavior change,” she said.

Dr. Rox’s education and research have taught her that people need the “why” behind their wellness recommendations. Not just the ‘how”. When they reach the “volitional” stage of health behavior change they need group support, action planning, and coping skills to adapt as their plans hit obstacles along the journey of sustaining the newly adopted behavior.

Capital Blue Cross supplies Homeland with free use of the Walker Tracker app, through which the app based wellness challenges are run. The user-friendly app allows employees to join team challenges while entering private information, such as rating their activity, sleep, moods, water intake, and quality of their meals.

Users can access educational questions and informative articles as well as post and view pictures for inspiration and ideas. Scrolling through can even motivate users to make healthier choices, perhaps deciding to forego the Oreos and try a luscious seasonal fruit they saw on the app instead.

“This has been a fun and effective way to expand our reach and bring employees from different lines of business together,” Dr. Rox said. “They get competitive, support one another, and have found it instrumental in helping them becoming mindful in the steps they are taking to achieve their health and wellness goals. Mobile technology has allowed us to effect change in real-time.”

From June 19 to Aug. 14, Homeland staffers can participate in the Destination Vacation Challenge, virtually traveling to nine global islands as they log their daily steps. It takes 570,000 steps to reach all nine destinations, including Bora Bora and Santorini Island, Greece, and participants can see where they stand in relation to others.

The app even converts activities such as gardening and cleaning into equivalent steps for those without a step-tracking device.

“It’s all about mindfulness,” Dr. Rox said. “When you are mindful you are more aware of your thoughts, feelings, and actions. It allows you to check-in with yourself and make more meaningful adjustments to help you move more, manage your stress, and even relate to others and oneself with kindness and compassion.”

In further support of teaching employees to become more mindful, free access to a new meditation app, made possible through a Penn State Health Initiate with long-term care facilities, will be made available to employees this month.

Dr. Rox plans to pair this resource with text messaging to send suggestions for specific five-minute meditations relevant to what employees may need in the moment.

“I can send a meditation suggestions to their phone in real-time, and in the midst of a stressful shift they might think, ‘That’s right, let me stop & take a few deep breaths’, she said. “Then you start to influence behavior change in real-time when employees need it most.”

Attention to real-time behavior change through mindfulness strengthens Homeland’s power to sustain an atmosphere devoted to quality of care and the well-being of residents.

“The better we can take care of the health and well-being of the staff, the better care they will take of the residents,” she said. “The healthier and happier the employee population, then the better equipped they are to care for the residents.”

Click here to view the Homeland Destination Vacation Step Challenge flyer.

The Homeland picnic returns: Residents host guests and share happy memories

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picnic collage

Freda Fontaine and her four sons always enjoyed their summer picnics. What did the gang eat?

“Everything we could!” she said, laughing.

Homeland was awash in summertime memories with the revival of the annual picnic in the beautiful Chet Henry Memorial Pavilion. The party celebrated two momentous events – the return of summer and a continuation of Homeland’s 155th anniversary celebration honoring the beloved Director of Development Betty Hungerford.

In the years before COVID, the picnic had become a cherished Homeland tradition. Held in the pavilion adjoining the 5th Street garden in full bloom, the picnic enabled Homeland residents to host family and friends for summer fun. Everyone enjoyed music, picnic fare, and sweet treats.

COVID restrictions limited Homeland’s events, but the 2022 picnic felt like a return to a masked version of normal. The pavilion was decorated in a mini-version of Homeland’s recent 155th anniversary gala, with roses and giant balloons saying “155.”

Residents and guests enjoyed all the foods prepared by Homeland staff – hot dogs and burgers, corn on the cob, coleslaw, pickled eggs, and watermelon. Homeland Chef Manager George Chum’s grilled chicken in a homemade marinade was a popular new addition to the menu this year.

Resident Elner Mann’s great-grandchildren politely but anxiously awaited their favorite course – dessert. Goodies from the Pennsylvania Bakery included macaroons and mini eclairs. The grand centerpiece of the dessert table was a sheet cake celebrating Homeland Center’s 155 years, adorned with a picture of Betty Hungerford, three roses (Betty’s favorite flower), and a “Queen Bee,” the fond nickname given her by her many friends and admirers.

Janice Hutchison, visiting her mother-in-law, was pleasantly surprised to find that, unlike homestyle picnics, guests were served by Homeland staff. Her 98-year-old mother-in-law, Nancy Hutchison, has lived at Homeland for six years and Nancy’s church is very active with Homeland, supplying volunteers. In fact, Nancy is one of three members of her church living at Homeland.

“It’s the only place she wanted to go,” Janice said. “Everyone’s great here.”

Resident Jill McDonel and her sister, Joy Lustig, reminisced while enjoying their picnic lunches. They remembered packing picnics and taking them to parks all around the region, from Williams Grove and Willow Mill to Hersheypark.

“I love picnics,” said Jill. “I’m having a good time seeing my sister.”

Homeland, Jill added, is “a nice place. Very nice. And the people are great. The staff, they are wonderful.”

Joy called her exposure to Homeland and its support for her sister “an eye-opener” that changed her perception about continuing care.

“It’s been a lovely experience,” she said.

Guests were treated to serenades from guitarist-singer Kirk Wise, Susquehanna Style magazine’s 2022 Best of Harrisburg musician. He provided a versatile array of musical accompaniment, from Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” to Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon.” When one table called out a request for “Hound Dog,” he happily complied.

Those guests calling for an Elvis classic included Freda Fontaine, hosting her son, Ken Kramer, and daughter-in-law, Susan Kramer.

“It’s nice to be with everybody again,” said Susan. “It’s so sweet that we get a picnic with our loved one.”

Ken remembered the big family picnics at local places like Pinchot State Park, where his mom’s fried chicken was the star attraction. His mother has made many friends at Homeland, he added.

“I’m very impressed every time I come here,” added Susan. “The staff is so attentive.”

“They are so caring,” added Ken. “They take her concerns so seriously.”

Ken is a retired nurse who lives near Homeland. When his mother was widowed, he brought her to Harrisburg from Maine and made sure that she came to Homeland to live.

“We’re just honored that she could be here,” he said. “I’ve always known about the quality of care here, and I was really happy she could be here.”

Homeland resident Elner Mann: Loving the care she’s getting after a life of caring for others

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As a career nurse, Elner Mann worked in hospitals, doctors’ offices, and as a night nurse for a trucking company, where she once saved the life of a stricken man. A 1956 newspaper story recounts her administering first aid to a reckless driver and his passenger.

“I loved taking care of people,” she says.

Elner, known as Ellie by her friends, is a Homeland Center personal care resident who praises the staff and says her family feels better knowing she’s in good hands.

Born on a farm in the Wilkes-Barre area of Conyngham Township, her family later moved to West Pittston along the Susquehanna River, and her father worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad.

At G.A.R. Memorial Junior/Senior High School, Elner was active in organizing dances, including the annual “Grenadier Gambol” held in the girls’ gym. She also sang in her church choir and met her future husband, Kenneth, through church youth activities.

While Kenneth served in the Army, Elner entered the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital School of Nursing: “It was a challenge, but it was a good experience.’’

Elner and Ken married in 1956, after he served as a sergeant in the Korean War. On that day in March, a newspaper story about her wedding reported that she was “attired in a ballerina-length gown of Chantilly lace and nylon tulle over satin.”

The young couple started their family of four kids in Wilkes-Barre. They enjoyed boating and visiting local lakes, including the popular Harveys Lake. Elner worked nights in various health care settings and served on the local chapter of Tau Phi Lambda Sorority, where she was elected state president.

Around 1964, the family moved to the Harrisburg area, where Ken was sales manager for General Motors Acceptance Corp. and vice president of Titus Leasing Co.

Elner continued her nursing career, eventually working in the state Capitol doctor’s office, providing health care for members and staff of the state House and Senate. She and the friend and colleague she shared nursing duties with got the call the day that state Treasurer Budd Dwyer committed suicide in front of a room full of reporters. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do.

The Mann family lived in the Harrisburg suburb of Paxtang, where the kids could play in open fields, and everything – schools, stores, restaurants – was within walking distance. Ken served as Paxtang Borough Council president.

After Elner retired, she and Ken bought a home in a Sarasota, Florida, retirement community. They would live there from January to May, escaping the cold of Pennsylvania and returning in the spring.

“It had all the amenities you’d want – pool, clubhouse, on and on and on,” she remembers. “It was a good place.”

Ken died in 2000, and Elner came to Homeland after a 2021 health crisis. As a lifetime needleworker, she enjoys Homeland’s arts and crafts classes and has a drawing she did of a hummingbird in her room.

She lives in a spacious personal-care suite, surrounded by pictures of her great-grandchildren, who currently number five with another on the way.

“I couldn’t ask for a better place,” Elner says, adding that she enjoys Homeland’s food, especially the desserts. “They take good care of you. I think it’s a relief to all families to know that everything’s taken care of. I’m certainly comfortable.’’

Homeland accountant Cindy Zelko: Family ties to Homeland quality

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This year Cindy Zelko celebrates her 25th anniversary as an accountant in the Homeland finance office, but her ties to Homeland go far deeper.

Cindy first worked for Homeland as a secretary during a gap year between high school and college. Recently, her father was a resident who made excellent progress following a stroke under the care of Homeland’s physical therapy services.

“Everybody here is so friendly and personable,” Cindy says. “The care is really good.”

Cindy grew up in the Harrisburg area while her father worked for American Airlines and its predecessors, USAir and Allegheny Airlines. With free flights as a benefit of her father’s work, travel was a constant for the family. The travel itinerary might be to such destinations as Florida, Boston, Arizona, or Hawaii.

“We always got taken out of school during the school year because he had to work during the summer,” Cindy says. “We went to Los Angeles, which was fun because we got to see Hollywood. We went to ‘The Tonight Show,’ and we saw Jay Leno’s first show after Johnny Carson retired.”

Of course, Cindy and her two brothers recognized that their family vacations were different.

“All of our friends went to the beach, and sometimes we wanted to go too,” she says. “But looking back when we were older, we certainly appreciated being taken to these different places.”

Cindy’s decision to work at Homeland for a year after high school was influenced by her mother’s best friend, who was Homeland’s director of nursing at the time. After a year of working as a secretary, Cindy attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a degree in accounting.

She worked in public accounting for about two years, followed by another couple of years with a Harrisburg-area nursing home. When Homeland reached out to her again, the accounting position with its payroll and financial reporting duties was the right fit.

Cindy’s husband also is an accountant. They grew up in the same neighborhood and she has known her husband since she was 15.

Cindy and her husband have two daughters, who are grown now. The whole family has always been “big Disney people,” Cindy says. They visit Disney resorts several times a year, enjoying the food, rides, pools, and customer service.

After her father’s stroke, he had hospital and rehab stays, but the experiences couldn’t match the quality of care at Homeland Center, a Five-Star Medicare facility. The family got him into Homeland’s skilled care as soon as possible, and the difference was palpable.

“The therapy department has been great,” she says. “He’s come such a long way. He’s walking way better than when he came here. They have definitely improved his quality of life.”

Cindy takes pride in her work, especially in the meticulous preparation of financial statements and accounts so that everything runs smoothly when auditors arrive. In 25 years, the workload has increased as Homeland expanded its in-home services – Homeland at Home — but she and her colleagues in the finance office continue to uphold the strictest standards.

“We don’t miss deadlines,” Cindy says. “We’re always on time for everything. I love my job here. I like to make sure that everything’s in order for our auditors and our residents.”