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Employee Spotlight: Teamwork is rewarding for activities coordinator Shari Yahner

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Shari Yahner

Homeland Center Activities Coordinator Shari Yahner

Teamwork is rewarding for Activities Coordinator Shari Yahner.

With an extensive career in long-term care, Shari Yahner knew that she wanted for work for Homeland Center. When a friend told her about an opening, she was thrilled to get the job.

“The staff is so caring and wonderful,” she says. “I feel so blessed to make a difference in someone’s life.”

Yahner first came to Homeland as a part-time dietary technician in June 2016, but soon, she was working full-time, spending one day a week on nutrition and the rest as a skilled-care activities coordinator. Some days, she’s helping residents make music by distributing homemade maracas to shake while a visiting musician sings familiar songs.

Other days, she works one-on-one, playing games or helping residents color adult coloring books. She’s always searching the internet for new ideas. She brought one favorite game from home – the classic Pass the Pig, when players toss plastic pigs like dice and earn points depending on how the pigs land.

“They really enjoy it,” she says. “It doesn’t take up much room, and it’s fun. It calls for adding numbers, to keep the mind working.”

Shari Yahner with a resident

“I feel so blessed to make a difference in someone’s life,” Shari Yahner says.

Homeland’s versatile staff members don’t draw boundaries on their roles but work as a team, ensuring Homeland’s continuity of care, Yahner said.

“Not only do we know the residents, but we interact with each other to make sure the quality of care is as good as it can be,” she says. “Instead of relying on agencies and contractors, Homeland is wise in using the people they have.”

With her dietary background, Yahner brings a nutritionist’s eye to Homeland’s many food-related activities. At a recent Chef’s Choice with Gill program, when residents gather in Homeland’s unique Olewine Diner to make delectable treats, the menu called for pizza bagel bites, but she helped those with difficulty chewing make little donuts, “and they really enjoyed that.”

“We have people on modified texture diets, or with disease-related illnesses, like diabetes,” she says. “I can keep an eye on those kinds of things to make sure they’re being safe while they’re having fun.”

Soon, Homeland might help Yahner learn some nursing skills, adding to her usefulness and demonstrating that Homeland “cares about the staff and helping us grow.”

“There’s a sense of caring all around, from the housekeepers to the laundry to nursing to the administrator,” she says. “It’s noticeable, and I’m so proud to be part of a team like that.”

Outside of work, Yahner enjoys walking along nature trails, reading, spending time with family and friends, and cooking especially Italian dishes or grilling chicken kabobs. Her daughter is a senior at West Chester University, studying business management and marketing.

Yahner loves hearing stories from Homeland residents. “It educates me, and it helps them reminisce,” she says. “Sometimes they’ll look at you and smile and say, ‘I love you,’ and that’s so rewarding.”

Even when she was giving manicures – “not one of my stronger suits” – she learned a lesson about Homeland teamwork when a nurse stopped to help, saying “You don’t have to be perfect at everything you do.”

“That’s the kind of care they give at Homeland,” she says. “People step in to give you a hand. The residents were laughing at us. We were like a bunch of women at the beauty parlor.”

Employee Spotlight: Nurse manager Trenisha Gray helps make Homeland a home

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Nurse Manager Trenisha Gray helps make Homeland a home!

Trenisha Gray talks with a resident in skilled care at Homeland Center.

She earned her associate’s degree from Harrisburg Area Community College. She also has credits from Millersville University, with plans to re-enroll soon and finish her bachelor’s degree. In the rapidly changing world of nursing, she says she “would love to advance my knowledge.”

The best part of nursing is that “every day is totally different.”

“You learn something new every day,” she says, adding for emphasis, “Every day.” She had just learned from one patient’s experience about the testing for and causes of decreased blood flow. She even enjoys learning the extensive regulations involved in long-term care, and getting acquainted with Homeland’s procedures and policies.

Since joining Homeland, Gray has worked on sustaining the teams devoted to resident care. Homeland is special because “they make everyone feel like family. The residents and their families are incorporated in everything that we do.”

That interaction with family helps staff get to know residents better, so they can craft individualized care plans for personalized treatment and help every resident “be more comfortable and at home.”

Outside the office, Gray loves to shop, travel, and explore other cultures. Most of her close-knit family remains in Harrisburg. She talks every day with her mom and grandmom, who have taught her independence and “how to be a loving, caring woman, and always wanting to grow and do better for myself.”

As she goes about her “very, very hectic” days and helps provide for 36 people, she hopes that residents receive “the best care possible. We try to maintain their independence and allow them to enjoy these years of life. That’s always my goal.”

Employee Spotlight: Assistant Director of Development Ed Savage pursues a passion for caring

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Assistant Director of Development Ed Savage pursues a passion for caring!

Ed Savage reviews the images selected for printing in a “lottery calendar,” to be sold as a Homeland fundraiser. Buyers of lottery calendars qualify for daily cash drawings throughout the year.

Savage is a history buff, particularly enamored of the Civil War, and he marvels at Homeland Center’s endurance dating from its founding in 1867 as a home for Civil War widows and orphans. That makes the 2017 gala celebrating Homeland’s 150th anniversary especially important.

“How many organizations get to this phase?” he says. “You only have one chance at this. You want to make sure it’s done right.”

Development offices stay fresh by always dreaming up new ideas, Savage believes. Homeland is in the midst of its “$20 million by 2020” initiative – meant to raise funds to assure Homeland’s renowned benevolent care will be available to future residents. Savage is part of “a truly committed’’ team tasked with reaching the goal – a team that includes that includes members of the volunteer Board of Trustees and Board of Managers.

“We’ve been encouraged to think creatively,” he notes. “It’s nice to work for folks who have a real feel for the organization.”

Growing up in Brooklyn, Savage learned to appreciate diverse cultures and people. His parents were both educators who taught him to value learning, and his father is a longtime sports referee. His all-male Catholic High School instilled in him a spiritual foundation and a sense of social justice.

His wife, Kathy, a psychometrician, is passionate about empowering women through martial arts and teaches and practices in four disciplines, holding a second-degree black belt in Jung Sim Do.  He bonds with his three sons, ages 21, 18 and 13, over their athletic pursuits, and he and his youngest son enjoy excursions to the region’s charming towns, sometimes letting the car guide the way.

Development, Savage says, “is about storytelling,’’ and Homeland “has a great story to tell.” Though Homeland is steeped in history, it stays relevant by keeping pace with changing needs, such as the recent creation of Homeland Hospice, Homeland HomeCare, and Homeland HomeHealth.

Sometimes, the development office will get a note from someone thanking them for the excellent, compassionate care that Homeland has provided a loved one. “It makes you stop for a second and say this is why we do what we do,” Savage says. And then he repeats, “This is why we do what we do.”

Employee Spotlight: Gillian Lawrence focused on helping others

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Gillian Lawrence is focused on helping others.

Whether she’s on the job or volunteering in the community, Gillian Lawrence is always doing good for others.

Homeland Center Activities Assistant Gillian Lawrence, left, enjoys a visit with residents Rosie Massaro and Ethel Boyer

“I’m very passionate about helping people, especially individuals who are not able to help themselves,” she says.

Lawrence is Homeland’s Activities Assistant, becoming a full-time employee in July 2016 after working part-time for two years. The Harrisburg native left the area as a teenager, attending high school in Providence, Rhode Island. After graduating, she returned to Harrisburg to help care for her older sister, who was battling pancreatic cancer and eventually succumbed to the disease.

She stayed in the city, building a close relationship with her sister’s five children. She studied early childhood education for a while, but her career trajectory changed when her mother suggested she apply for a job at Hamilton Health Center, the Harrisburg-based community health care provider. As HIV/AIDS educator, counselor, and case manager, she realized she could “give a little bit of hope to people in a devastating situation.”

“As soon as I started working in it, I found my niche,” she says now. “I didn’t want to be a nurse, but I noticed that I liked the education, awareness, and prevention side of health care.”

Now at Homeland, Lawrence’s goal is finding new ways to help residents enjoy their days and stay active. For the morning exercise class, she introduced kickball, and by the second day, residents were kicking the ball to each other like soccer pros.

“We’re giving them hope that there are still things to learn and that they’re able to do,” she says. “They like new things. They like new activities. I like to help make them happy in that moment or that day, if I can.”

Lawrence gets her ideas for activities from many sources, including the residents themselves. “One of the residents said they like to bowl,” she says, hinting at a future possibility.

With support from her husband, Marcellus Sumpter, Lawrence earned her associate’s degree in health care administration from University of Phoenix and is pursuing her bachelor’s degree from Central Penn College, majoring in health care management and minoring in business. Her athletically inclined 16- and 10-year-old sons and 5-year-old daughter keep her busy. So does volunteering to help the city Parks and Recreation department and LOOP BNG, a youth-activities organization, hold summer and after-school events for kids.

“The children in our city have so much potential,” she says. “A lot of them are talented, and there is a lack of programing for them. Kids need a positive outlet. They need people to pay attention to them.”

Lawrence gives 100 percent to her job at Homeland because “everyone’s like a family here.” And like her, Homeland is committed to the city of Harrisburg. “They could be anywhere, but you know what? They’re right here,” she says.

Lawrence was raised by a single mother, Carol Mitchell. Her mom, she knows, taught her to keep her priorities straight. “She taught me to put God first in all that you do,” she says.

Employee Spotlight: Kathy Kuchwara looks after Homeland’s feathered friends

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Kathy Kuchwara looks after Homeland’s feathered friends!

Resident Mary Jane Baum noticed that the birds in Homeland’s second-floor aviary seemed to appreciate their new toys.

Homeland’s “Bird Lady,” RN Kathy Kuchwara, explains why birds love swings and millet to residents (from left) Mary Jane Baum and Peg Harnish.

“They love the swing,” agreed nurse Kathy Kuchwara. “They’re probably like people and the way we love to rock. For birds, maybe it’s the same type of thing.”

Kuchwara has been a registered nurse at Homeland since 2005, full-time until retiring and part-time in 2015. And while she performs such nursing duties as immunization audits and teaching CPR to staff, she is also known throughout Homeland as “The Bird Lady.”

That’s because the avid birdwatcher brings her knowledge about birding and bird care to Homeland, which has aviaries in the first-floor gathering room, second-floor solarium, and Ellenberger dementia care unit.

Kuchwara, of Hampden Township, started working in healthcare at age 16. Homeland excels because “the quality of life is very good,” she says. “I’m very happy to be here. The staffing ratios are better, and activities are very, very attuned to residents’ needs. They work on getting resident input on activities offered. It’s a lot of fun. It makes it very special.”

Kuchwara’s lifelong interest in birds took flight around 2006. Since joining the Appalachian Audubon Society, she has developed a cadre of friends with whom she takes birding trips. She might go to the shore, balmy Monterey, Canada in February, or somewhere in Central Pennsylvania, where the birding is excellent. She once took a day for birding while in Guatemala, and just when she despaired of seeing the rare pink-headed warbler, one popped out of the greenery to show off its bright colors.

Homeland’s investment in three aviaries provides a special treat for residents, who experience “that ability to get out of themselves and look at the birds and appreciate them,” said Kuchwara. For residents with dementia, birds can trigger fond memories.

“They might say, ‘I remember when I was a little girl, and we had a parakeet,’ or ‘I remember when I used to feed the birds, when we would throw seed out in the yard and all the birds would come,’” Kuchwara said.

Two of Homeland’s aviaries had been established when Kuchwara arrived, but she quickly took an indispensable role in maintaining them and helping the other staff who take care of daily food and water. She helps direct birds to veterinary care when needed. She answers questions about temperatures and the right kinds of toys. Sometimes, she’ll separate injured or ill birds from the others for their safety.

“Believe me; there were many days when I was here full-time that I shared my office with a little bird in a cage, just to monitor it,” she said. “When it got better, it would go back in the aviary.”

One day, Kuchwara was explaining to residents Mary Jane Baum and Peg Harnish that the service contracted to clean the aviaries had just installed new toys and hung millet.

“Millet to birds is like chocolate candy to us,” she explained.

Kuchwara is “a darling lady,” said Harnish. “She’s been a mainstay of the place, and I think she’s great.”

Baum said the birds are fascinating to watch, and told Kuchwara that she, too, had been a birder. Immediately, Kuchwara asked where Baum had gone birdwatching.

“The shore,” Baum said. “West Virginia. In Virginia, to the Peaks of Otter.”

It was just the kind of interaction the aviaries are meant to encourage.

“Our residents relate to the birds,” said Kuchwara. “It’s nice for them to be in that environment where they have the opportunity to see the birds and all that activity.”