Entering our 146th year with commitment to top-quality service & charitable care
Recognized as one of the area’s best places to work and a recipient of Medicare’s top rating, Homeland Center is celebrating its 146th year of providing quality care to residents of Central Pennsylvania.
Chartered as the Home for the Friendless in 1867, Homeland originally sheltered destitute women and homeless children, including Civil War widows and orphans. Today, Homeland Center continues its tradition service as a personal care home and skilled nursing facility, with 50 state-of the-art personal care suites, 71-bed skilled care unit, and 21-bed Alzheimer’s and dementia unit.
Homeland’s recent five-star Medicare quality designation – Medicare’s highest recognition for quality in care, staffing, and safety – ranks it among the country’s elite continuing care retirement communities.
In keeping with its dedication to serving the community, Homeland Center established Homeland Hospice to help patients in the end stages of life and provide emotional support for their families.
“We are continuing a proud tradition, founded by citizens of Harrisburg who saw a need and gathered the resources to address it,” said Executive Director Barry S. Ramper II. “We are proud to carry on their legacy and to demonstrate, in our daily tasks and our outlook for the future, a history of caring.”
No resident in financial distress has ever been asked to leave, and Homeland’s commitment to charitable, uncompensated care stands as a resource for the community.
While Homeland is still located on its original Fifth Street site, the generosity of those who called the facility home and of their families has made the center one of Harrisburg’s gems. Among the amenities available to residents are a solarium, conservatory, aviary, gardens, pavilion, and courtyards boasting a butterfly pond and wheelchair-accommodating glider.
In providing unmatched care for its residents, Homeland looks to lessons from the hospitality field to create a welcoming and supportive environment, Ramper said.
“The first requirement of our administrative mission is to be considerate, respectful and proficient in serving our residents and family members,” said Ramper. “Every request or need is addressed as a top priority. We truly believe that caring for the elderly is a privilege and an honor, and our work every day is grounded in that philosophy.”
That spirit of caring and respect has also led to Homeland enjoying one of the highest staff retention rates in the personal care industry and being named “The Best Place to Work’’ for medium sized companies in Pennsylvania.
“Homeland built its foundation on caring for those who have no other options,” said Ramper. “That foundation remains rock solid, rooted in the genuine concern we feel for all residents and their family members.”
