Rebeccah DeVan has worked at Homeland Center on two separate occasions.
Other senior-living facilities, she said, simply don’t compare to the level of care Homeland provides.
“It’s easy to work at Homeland because you have everything you need to give A-one care,” she said. “You have everything you need to give the care that is expected of you.”
Today, DeVan’s title is Quality Assurance-CNAs, but with her experience in varied Homeland roles, she is versatile and indispensable to the daily rhythms of Homeland life. Experience in the different areas that keep Homeland functioning smoothly equips her to help wherever she’s needed.
“I can fit in,” she said. “What role do you need me to be in? I can play that role. It’s definitely a blessing to be able to switch roles. I think I have worked in every department except for maintenance.”
DeVan originally joined Homeland in 2002 after completing her CNA training, including Homeland clinicals, with Tri-County OIC, a nonprofit community services organization.
She stayed at Homeland until 2009, when friends lured her away with promises of higher pay at other senior living facilities, but she found substandard conditions and supply shortages there that made her appreciate Homeland even more.
“Once you get in the door at Homeland, it’s hard to leave,” she said. “It definitely increases your standard of what you think a nursing home should be. “
She returned to Homeland in 2017 as a lead CNA in Ellenberger memory care and was promoted to first-floor activities coordinator in 2019. The change offered a mental and physical break at a time when her grandmother and father died in the same year, without having to leave Homeland – the only place where she wanted to work.
“I loved activities,” she said. “I called bingo games. I’d say to my ladies that I have snacks and music, so come out and be with me.”
The period when her grandmother and father were ailing showcased the caring nature of her Homeland colleagues.
“Homeland is an extended family,” she said. “That year when I lost my grandmother and father, my phone was always ringing from staff here checking on me. Everybody was checking on my mom and my sister with cerebral palsy. It was definitely a hug when I needed the extra hug.”
Her natural leadership qualities led her to be tapped for the quality assurance role. DeVan and Homeland’s two other quality assurance CNAs work as a team, conducting weekly audits and leading CNA training to keep Homeland in compliance with state policies and committed to the highest standards in care.
“If you’re a kind-hearted person and affectionate and don’t mind people showing you affection, Homeland is for you,” she said.
Plus, she added, Homeland’s low staff turnover means that her colleagues rarely change. Some have worked at Homeland since DeVan started.
She still provides direct care where needed, which she loves for the opportunity to learn what’s new in residents’ lives and to put names to the faces of the people she greets in the hallways every day.
DeVan became a CNA when her job at an insurance company was moved to Pittsburgh, and a friend encouraged her to look into it. At the time, she was helping provide care for her grandfather, and certification offered a pathway to learning proper procedure.
She is a graduate of Harrisburg’s William Penn High School, where she attended the vo-tech program.
“I went for drafting,” she said. “Nothing to do with nursing.”
Today, DeVan lives just blocks away from Homeland, in the same part of Harrisburg where she grew up. Recently, the mother of five became an official empty-nester when one of her sons bought his own home.
Her family keeps her busy with visits and Sunday dinners.
“I have one grandson, five granddaughters, and two grand-dogs,” she said.
Homeland’s atmosphere will keep her here, she hopes, for as long as she’s working.
“You feel the affection when you walk in the door,” she said. “Homeland welcomes you with open arms. I’m just going to be here as long as they’ll have me.”
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.
