Archive for category: Homeland Center News

In her sixth-grade yearbook, Jennifer Murray wrote that she hoped someday to be married with two children and have a job as a nurse.

Today, she is married, with two children and a stepson, and her entire 18-year career has been in nursing.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a nurse,” says Jennifer Murray, Homeland Center’s Director of Personal Care. “I wasn’t one of those people who got out of high school and didn’t know what they wanted to do.”

As director, Jen’s job is twofold. She makes sure the essential elements of personal care – help with such daily tasks as dressing, bathing, and taking medications – are delivered with cheer and efficiency.

She also makes sure prospective residents and families learn how Homeland’s care goes above and beyond.

Unlike other facilities, Homeland Center’s personal care residents have on-site access to physical therapy and skilled care when needed. Most importantly, the care and services are friendly and attentive.

“Homeland has an outstanding reputation,” says Jen, who initially joined Homeland in 2016 as a clinical manager. “People want to come here. It’s in the staffing. The staff in our personal care is amazing. Rarely do we have a call-off, because they care about the residents. They think to themselves, ‘If I call off, what’s going to happen to my residents?’”

That exceptional staff went more than 100 days in 2017 without calling off work. Even if someone has an emergency, they tell Jen that they found a co-worker to take the shift.

“It says a lot about the staff’s commitment to our residents,’’ Jen says. “Everyone has the heart of a caregiver.’’

A fun part of her job is giving tours to future residents and their families. Homeland’s welcoming atmosphere quickly becomes apparent.

“It makes a big impression on new residents when everyone is saying ‘Have a nice day,’ and ‘How are you?’” Jen says. “It makes a difference.”

Her organizational skills are evident in her neat, bright office in the original, 19th-century part of the Homeland complex. On one file cabinet is a binder full of every piece of information, all updated, that state inspectors seek when they walk in the door. About 12 of her 18 years in nursing have been in administration, and she is committed to ensuring, “that 365 days a year, you’re caring for the residents in the best way possible.’’

Her assignment as personal care director coincided with Homeland’s celebration of its 150th anniversary in 2017. As the buzz started to build around the momentous anniversary, Homeland’s history, growth, and longstanding commitment to the needs of residents began weaving itself into the narrative she shares on tours.

“People are amazed to learn that we have 50 personal care suites in three buildings,” she says. “I tell them that 2017 was our anniversary, and we’ve been here a long time.”

Outside of work, Jen enjoys interior design projects, which shows in her meticulously decorated office.

“My husband always tells me I have to stop with the Pinterest ideas,” she says. “I love to decorate, and I feel like I’m always changing things or redecorating things in my house. My new project for this spring is that I want to paint my cabinets a different color. My husband says I’ve got to chill out.”

Her 20-year-old son is about to join the Air Force. Her daughter, 16, and stepson, 25, are at home. She and her daughter like to go shopping together. Growing up in Steelton, Jen learned the value of hard work from her mother, Gina Snoke, a UPS manager, and her father, James Williams, who worked two jobs – as an optometrist, and drilling bowling balls at ABC East Bowling Lanes.

“Even though my dad worked two jobs, he was always there,” she says. “He’s my biggest supporter. They are awesome.”

At Homeland, Jen hopes to “continue to make people happy.”

“I love the residents,” she says. “I genuinely care about the residents and like building those relationships with their families. I just love being here.”

To learn more about whether Personal Care at Homeland Center might be a good fit for you or a loved one, click here.

The resident didn’t want breakfast. Her worried son told Aprile Greene that his mom wasn’t eating her oatmeal and eggs, but Aprile had an idea. She went into the kitchen for some applesauce.

It did the trick.

“You get to know the residents and what they like,” says Aprile. “I knew how to help her. She wanted something cold. She didn’t want something hot, and she ate the applesauce. She ate her yogurt, too, because it was cold. You have to put yourself in their shoes.”

Aprile, who came to Homeland in 2013, takes to heart that she’s a guest in the place that residents call home.

“What would they do at home? They would laugh. They would dance. They would sing if company came over,’’ Aprile says. “We may work here, but we’re like company to them. We’re in their house. We entertain each other. They keep me smiling. We keep them smiling.”

Before joining Homeland, Aprile worked as a medical assistant in a pediatrician’s office. Dealing with sick children and their parents took a toll on her, and every day, she carried the stress home with her. Then, at a laundromat, she met a woman who works at Homeland, who suggested she apply.

Aprile started as part-time in the dietary department. Six months later, Homeland paid for her to earn her CNA certification. Soon, she was working full-time with diverse duties building-wide as CNA, dietary supervisor, and activities aide. She is known for chatting cheerily with family members and for dancing with residents during musical presentations.

While Homeland staffers often say that coming to work helps them park their troubles at the door, Aprile flips the script. At the end of every day, the joy of Homeland goes with her. She credits her unique perspective to Homeland’s adherence to standards of excellence, which instills self-awareness about the attitude she projects.

“Being in someone’s home, you have to be aware that someone might not be feeling good or if they’re having a problem,” she says. “Your attitude has to change with every single person you run into. It grooms you for better behavior as far as society is concerned. When you’re here, you’re saying good morning to everyone or offering to help, and that’s what you do when you’re on the outside.”

Aprile is a lifelong resident of Harrisburg, from a family steeped in a tradition of service. Family members who served in the military include her father, sisters, brothers, niece, and nephew, and Aprile was in ROTC in high school. Her father, the first black student to graduate from John Harris High School with honors, spent his career as a civilian computer analyst for the U.S. Army. In World War II, he wrote the math test administered to qualify fliers as Tuskegee Airmen, the legendary African-American bombers and fighters.

Aprile’s mother worked hard every day caring for their 11 children – Aprile was the 10th, and the youngest girl – and instilled a strong work ethic in her kids. Even dinner was a time for togetherness and a routine that Aprile can still recite.

“We would say Grace, all eat at the same time, then get up, scrape your plate, put your plate in the sink. Somebody had dishes that night. We wash them, dry them, and put them away. Soak the dish towels, sweep the floor, wipe the stove. Once the kitchen’s shut down, it’s shut down. No eating anymore.”

Aprile’s sense of service has been passed down to her four daughters, who work in healthcare, education, and financial services. Whenever she can, she spends time with her 11 grandchildren, ages 1 to 17.

Residents’ family members have been known to call Aprile their “angel.” To Aprile, that means “doing what we can” for residents.

“We’re supposed to make them feel comfortable in their home,” she says. “We’re supposed to make them feel happy in their home. If they’re having a bad day, we cheer them up. I go out of my way for them because it matters to them. You have a good day here, and you take it out of here.”