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A people person: Homeland Director of Personal Care and Director of HomeCare embodies trust

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When Jennifer Murray gives tours to potential personal care residents and their families, she shares Homeland Center’s amazing 156-year history of devotion to the community.

“We’re not going anywhere,” she said. “A lot of times, people like our homey feel. It’s cozy and comfortable here. When I’m doing tours, everyone stops and says hello, and that makes visitors feel welcome. It’s all genuine. That’s how it is all the time around here.”

Jen’s role has expanded since she first joined Homeland in 2016. With a career in nursing – the only thing she ever wanted to do – and 11 years in administration, she stepped in as Director of Personal Care in 2017.

Now, she is in the dual role of Director of Personal Care and Director of HomeCare. Like the Homeland Center personal care staff, the CNAs of Homeland HomeCare help clients through their daily tasks, ensuring they take their medications, eat right, and get any help needed with bathing, dressing, or other needs.

Maintaining Homeland’s stellar reputation for quality across a new front isn’t hard because the foundation of quality “was already there,” Jen said.

“The staff we have in place are exceptional in HomeCare and Personal Care,” she said. “The HomeCare clients absolutely love their caregivers. They care. They get involved. They will let us know if something seems wrong. Their relationships with families are so good that the families will often call the caregiver to tell them that a loved one has been hospitalized before they call the HomeCare office. That’s the level of trust they have in the staff.”

Speaking of trust, Jen is the person you’ve seen in Homeland Center’s television commercials. She is proud to raise awareness of Homeland’s exceptional care, whether at Homeland Center or in clients’ homes.

Her dual role lets her give inquiring callers more options – perhaps letting them know about home care if a loved one isn’t ready for a facility or pointing out available personal care suites for someone who can no longer live at home.

Once in Homeland, residents flourish. Jen works closely with the maintenance department, housekeeping department, and the dietary staff to uphold living and dining standards. She also collaborates regularly with the activities department, cooking up a roster of fun that keeps residents engaged. For Assisted Living Week 2023, Homeland held a fashion show, and residents’ family members got in the spirit, wearing everything from a Rosie the Riveter costume to Hawaiian shirts and leis.

“I love that our families get so involved,” said Jen. “If we invite them to things, tons of family members show up. I’ve never worked anywhere else where families were so involved. Our staff love the residents so much that it’s not work to do special things for them.”

Outside of Homeland, Jen and her husband enjoy traveling to regional sights such as the Poconos, Niagara Falls, and the Finger Lakes. A Florida fishing trip her husband dreams of, postponed by COVID, is back on for next year.

Jen also loves to cook, and she carries on her childhood tradition of Sunday dinners with family, including her daughter and son, who recently returned home from military service.

With her love of decorating, she also brings seasonal cheer to her office in Homeland’s original 19th-century building. Fall décor includes pumpkin figurines and a plaque saying, “I love fall most of all.”

“Fall is my favorite season,” she said. “I like the cooler weather. I love everything pumpkin spice. I just love all of the smells and colors of fall.”

Jen can say, with complete honesty, that work is fun. She carries on the Homeland tradition of treating staff respectfully, recognizing that they have family and obligations outside of work. In turn, the staff focuses on the residents’ needs.

It all comes back to that word — trust.

“Our families trust that their loved ones are going to get the care they need,” she said.

“I’ve had people come up to me and just say, ‘Trust,’ because they hear me say it in the commercials. People see our name, and that’s what they will think of,” Jen said. “You want to have someplace where you can trust the staff and know your loved ones will be cared for. It’s part of Homeland’s legacy.”

Registered Nurse Assessment Coordinator Tammy Wiser: A resource gatherer for every resident

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Registered Nurse Assessment Coordinator Tammy WiserWhen Tammy Wiser announced that she was leaving her previous employer to work at Homeland Center, her company’s HR director responded surprisingly.

“I can’t even ask you to try to stay,” the HR director said. “Everyone who goes there never leaves. I don’t blame you at all.”

That was in April 2022, when Tammy joined Homeland Center as a registered nurse assessment coordinator (RNAC). It’s a crucial post, demanding that she be a healthcare provider, puzzle master, and detective. Her combined skills contribute to ensuring that every Homeland resident receives all the support they need to thrive.

In a career across diverse healthcare providers, Tammy prefers working for nonprofits like Homeland. “You can tell the difference,” she said. “I always loved the nonprofit atmosphere – the family orientation and the resident focus. You enjoy coming to work, not dreading it.”

Tammy grew up in the rural Huntingdon County town of Three Springs. Her mother was a seamstress at a local factory. Her father started his own auto mechanic business. At Southern Huntingdon High School, she was active in “a little bit of everything” – band and playing piano, cheerleading, 4-H.

The family also had a farm, raising beef and tending a garden. Tammy remembers shelling peas to help her mom can 44 pints.

Early in her freshman year of college, Tammy suffered a car accident that broke her nose and jaw. Her teeth required five years of reconstructive surgery. That experience led her to work as an EMT with the local ambulance company. In time, she returned to college.

With a Penn State degree in business management, she opened a business that she would have for many years, making custom wedding gowns and renting wedding items.

In the meantime, travel nursing seemed like a good opportunity, so she obtained her CNA certification and continued attending nursing school. She worked in various roles in nursing homes, personal care homes, and hospitals.

In one setting, she started preparing the MDS (Minimum Data Set), required for documenting Medicare and Medicaid-funded services for every patient.

Around this time, Tammy met her husband, who was serving as a military contractor in Afghanistan. They communicated online, and for their first in-person date, Tammy flew to Sydney, Australia, where he had gone for vacation.

Tammy continued working at nursing facilities through COVID. Each place had its challenges, so when she learned about Homeland through an RNAC job posting, she went for it. “Everybody’s been great here,” she said. “Everybody’s very pleasant.

Everyone has been very approachable from day one.” She continues preparing those MDS documents, which she compares to filling out tax forms. There are a lot of details to enter, and the filer’s signature attests to the accuracy of the information. In the end, these are the forms that help Homeland residents receive the most accurate payments for their optimal care plans.

Behind every form is an entire team entering how they help residents live their fullest lives, including aides, doctors, nurses, therapists, social services, dietary, and activities staff. It’s a living document, updated at least every quarter and more often if residents’ needs change. “When you look at that form, you should have a pretty good idea of that resident,” Tammy said. “We do the juggling. That’s what I like to do. It makes sure the residents get what they need.”

Outside of Homeland, the workday doesn’t end for Tammy and her husband, who works in a quarry. They bought 50 acres in Huntingdon County about three years ago and started a Christmas tree farm.

That one property grew exponentially when a neighbor offered to sell 90 acres. It meant putting off building a new home and living in an old house on the property, but the dream is coming true. “For the past three years, I’ve been planting Christmas trees,” Tammy said. Of course, there is always mowing, trimming, and spraying. They also have dogs, a cat, chickens, and a 29-year-old horse. “He’s still feisty,” said Tammy. “That’s my boy. He’ll follow me around. He’s like a big dog.”

At Homeland, Tammy loves meeting the residents and learning their stories. She is proud to play a part in gathering the resources needed to make their lives comfortable and fulfilling. “This is their home,” she said. “They need to feel it’s more than a place to stay. Homeland is wonderful at focusing on the residents.”

 

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.

Homeland receptionist Kristen Tate: Giving with love

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Homeland receptionist Kristen TateWhen Kristen Tate accepted a part-time job as a Homeland receptionist in August 2022, she loved it so much that she wished it could be full-time. Two months later, a full-time position opened.

Now, Kristen is the friendly voice and smiling face greeting family, staff, and visitors from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“I just love meeting and greeting everybody,” she said. “I love the feeling they give me, and I give them in return. Good vibes bring good vibes.”

Kristen brings family ties to Homeland. An uncle and an aunt are residents. Her grandfather spent his final years here. One of her sisters, Jennifer Tate-DeFreitas, is Homeland’s Director of Nursing. They talk every day, calling each other’s extensions even though Jennifer’s office is steps away from the reception desk.

“I love it,” Kristen said. “She brought me breakfast this morning. We have breakfast. We have lunch.”

Kristen grew up in Steelton around the family business — Major H. Winfield Funeral Home, a fourth-generation family business. Her parents raised Kristen, her two sisters, two cousins, and two children her father met when he went on a death call and learned they had no one to care for them.

“My parents are beautiful, beautiful people,” Kristen said. “They love so hard. They taught us to love and to do everything with good intentions. Our intentions are never to get anything out of it, but to make sure we’re giving all that God has given us to share and bless others.”

After graduating as valedictorian from an all-girls Catholic school in Columbia, Pennsylvania, Kristen founded a hairstyling salon that is still going strong 29 years later, The Glam Spot, in Oberlin. She also attended Hampton University and Morgan State University, two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

She earned 110 credits, but after 9/11, her work and life took her away from school. She had two children, but in her second marriage, she suffered extreme domestic violence. On a February day in 2012, after a particularly savage beating, she found herself outside with the boys, ill-dressed for the bitter weather. A friend took her to the police station, where she pressed charges.

“It worked out that I’m okay, and my kids are okay,” she said.

Today, her older son, 24, is a men’s basketball coach at Harcum College. When his previous coaching job at a residential school ended with its sudden closure, he brought 15 stranded students from all over the world to Kristen’s home. They spent the summer sleeping on futons and mattresses, fed with help from generous family and friends. Most got into U.S. colleges, and all remained like family.

Kristen’s younger son, a rising senior at Bishop McDevitt High School, is involved in so many school activities that Kristen fears he needs a second page to list them on his college application.

“I pride myself on the fact that I have raised two amazing men,” she said. “God provides, always.”

As her younger son looks forward to attending an HBCU, Kristen herself is returning to school – accepted by Morgan State University. At the school she left years ago, she will finish her degree in health and human services. Helping a childless uncle navigate the social services network in his final years inspired her to want to enter the field.

“Who do people have when they don’t have anybody to stand in the gap for them?” she said.

Will she stay at Homeland when her degree is in hand?

“The social workers are all joking with me, saying, ‘We’re waiting on you to go to school so you can do this with us,’” she said.

When she’s not deep in her long workdays at Homeland and the salon, Kristen cooks dishes her grandmother taught her, travels, and enjoys family time.

“We still have Sunday dinner,” she said. “It’s all my sisters and our kids and our parents. It’s every Sunday. We don’t miss. I like family. I’m always with my family. We’re always doing something together.”

Homeland, she said, “is a well-oiled machine,” providing residents the best care.

“At this stage of people’s lives, they should have a nice, serene, beautiful atmosphere to live in,’’ she said. “Homeland provides that.”

Homeland rehabilitation: Serious fun helps long-term and short-term residents achieve their goals

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Director of Rehabilitation Liza Burkey

Recently, a resident who came to Homeland successfully rehabbed after a stroke and left for independent living. A couple of months later, flowers arrived for the rehab staff, with thanks from the grateful resident.

For Director of Rehabilitation Liza Burkey, taking time to build relationships is the key to success.

“It reminded me that we do make an impact on people’s lives,” said Liza. “You get to really know some of the residents and their families.”

Homeland provides exceptional rehabilitation services through a contract with Powerback Rehabilitation (formerly Genesis). Highly trained clinicians offer physical, occupational, and speech therapy, customizing services to help long-term and short-term residents achieve their highest quality of life.

Liza became an occupational therapist in 2013, working for a nursing home in her hometown of Millersburg. There, she fell in love with skilled care and found a post, through a Powerback contract, as rehab director in a local nursing home.

When the nursing home sold, she looked into working at one of Powerback’s other contracted sites. She had heard of Homeland from other therapists she had assigned there.

“You have to see the building,” they told her. “You have to see the staff.”

At her Homeland interview, Liza felt that the Homeland leadership team was “actually asking the right questions.” How would she contribute to care plans? How could therapy help in certain situations? It was a change from other settings where therapy was a service but not a collaborative one.

“Six years ago, I transitioned here, and I haven’t looked back,” Liza said today. “We feel like we are part of Homeland. They include us in all the different things they do for staff, which makes us feel wanted and like part of the team.”

For residents, that means seamless services. Liza continues providing OT while managing the physical, speech, and occupational therapists. She also attends Homeland’s daily clinical meetings, where department directors welcome her input and solutions. When nursing leadership wondered about any education they could provide staff on further minimizing falls, Liza prepared a one-page handout on safe practices.

The goal is helping the residents reach the goals they set for themselves.

And of course, residents just want to have fun.

“We’re going to pass balloons,” said Liza. “We’re going to play basketball. We’re going to play volleyball. A couple of therapists were doing an Easter egg hunt to work on residents’ mobility and balance.”

After all, she said, people still need to play.

“As adults, we forget to play, and it’s very therapeutic,” she said. “Yes, we have to be serious and reach goals and exercise and work hard, but if we can make it fun, we get better results.”

While some residents know about and seek out the benefits of rehab, others might be shy about speaking up, or perhaps they don’t recognize the slow creep of limitations that rehab can improve. To make sure that everyone is getting the rehabilitation services that help them perform to their highest abilities, Liza reviews resident records every three months.

Even a small improvement, such as being able to get into a wheelchair, helps residents feel good about themselves and their abilities.

“Being independent in one aspect of your day can really make a difference,” Liza said.

Through Powerback, the whole team has access to research, best practices, and continuing education to ensure that residents benefit from the latest rehab developments. The therapy room is fully stocked with weights, bands, therapy putty for hand exercises, patient-specific tools, and more.

“Our therapy room is small but mighty,” Liza said. “You’d be surprised at what we can fit in there.”

Outside of work, Liza stays busy with her husband and 2-year-old son. She enjoys yoga and Zumba and golfing with her husband when possible. They live in Millersburg, and Liza’s mom lives up the street, so they are back and forth to each other’s homes for dinner.

“Homeland is a great place to be,” Liza said. “Seeing the smiles on the residents’ faces and seeing the relationships and strong bonds my staff have created with them – it’s very rewarding.”

Homeland QA CNA Supervisor Sharria Floyd: A servant leader for residents and colleagues

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Homeland QA CNA Supervisor Sharria Floyd

When Sharria Floyd moved to Harrisburg, she thought she would work for the same nursing home group where she had worked in Lancaster County, where she grew up.

Then she walked into Homeland for an interview. Immediately, she thought, “I’m going to work here.”

“Everyone I came across had a smile on their face,” she said. “I’m a pretty happy person, and that was refreshing. It made me feel welcome. It made me feel I could do the same in return.”

That was 18 years ago. Today, Sharria is the Quality Assurance CNA Supervisor for the Ellenberger Unit, which cares for those with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia or memory impairment. She is a trusted friend to residents, their families, and colleagues.

CNAs are the backbone of Homeland’s care teams, offering help with the daily tasks that assure quality of life. The QA CNA supervisors are team leaders upholding the exacting standards that keep residents safe, healthy, and living life to the fullest.

Sharria has been a CNA since age 17, inspired by visits to the nursing home where her mother worked as a CNA. She was hooked.

“I appreciated the wisdom I saw in the residents’ eyes,” she said. “I saw their youth and their wisdom all at the same time, and I’d wonder what their life was like. I figured there was something there to learn, and maybe I could make their days better.”

She moved to Harrisburg and joined Homeland at age 21, working in the Ellenberger Unit, where she remained. Serving residents with dementia has taught her to stay optimistic and agile because they teach her that things can change.

“Be prepared for whatever life throws at you,” she said. “I’ve learned how to adjust and still find joy and happiness in those difficult moments. If I can help the residents and their families find joy, I can do the same for myself and my children. I can look at life sunny side up.”

Around 2017, Homeland created QA CNA supervisor positions in all units. To Sharria, the fit was ideal. She continued her work with residents and families while upholding Homeland’s standards of excellence and acting as a liaison between her unit’s CNAs and leadership.

Her days are filled with training the CNAs and conducting audits to check adherence to the countless details that promise residents their dignity and safety – name labels inside their clothes, teeth brushed, eyeglasses in place, room in order, care plans followed.

Reflecting on the countless encounters that touched her, Sharria recalls one resident’s final moments of life. At her mother’s side, the resident’s daughter gratefully accepted Sharria’s offer to pray with them. Then Sharria brought them a Bible, and the daughter read scripture as her mother passed away.

“She wrote a letter thanking me for that,” Sharria said. “It’s those moments I don’t think about being acknowledged. I don’t look at it as a job. I don’t often get the time to step back and say, ‘That’s why I’m here.’”

Her own family of three “fantastic, awesome, full of energy” kids keeps her busy. Jacob, 17, is loving and kind, and a football player at Trinity High School. Lincoln, 10, is the outspoken one, with a “larger-than-life attitude.” Sharria once lost sight of him at a football game but later saw him on the TV news, cheering the team in a sea of high schoolers who took him in like a mascot. Nyla, 5, is the family dancer and singer.

“She prays for all of us,” Sharria said.

Sharria devotes her free time to Bible study and volunteering for Jesus is the Word Ministries and Harris AME Zion Church, passing out food and clothing to the homeless. At work, her faith has taught her “to continue to serve others with kindness.” That encompasses not just residents but coworkers – perhaps making a bed when she sees that someone hasn’t had a chance to get to it yet.

She spends a portion of every day encouraging her colleagues with compliments or sharing moments of prayer, which has earned her nicknames like “Preacher Girl” and “Peacemaker.” One coworker, seeing her in the hallway, called her a superstar.

Sharria remains humbled by her responsibilities. Many years after her instant connection, Homeland remains “the right place for me,” she said.

The work, too, remains her anchor, as she draws inspiration from residents.

“I loved the idea of being a CNA before I even got into it,” she said. “I feel like I need them, and they need me.”

Manager of Strategy and IT Jennifer Ross: A Homeland returnee with a passion for quality care

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Jenn Ross

After leaving for six years to take the top spot at the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg, Jennifer Ross said she is happy to be back at Homeland Center and again be “a strong, supportive presence for our residents and their families.”

“I love the care and attention given here to each resident,” she said. “It’s a joyful place to come to work. This is a community here. That’s what is important to me: really doing something meaningful and impactful, enjoying the people I work with, and enjoying being with the residents.”

Since late May 2022, Jenn has been Homeland Center’s manager of strategy and IT, but in her first job with Homeland, she was assistant director of development.

Jenn is a native of Long Island, New York, who came to central Pennsylvania via Dickinson College in Carlisle. There, she studied French and sociology with a minor in fine arts history. Spending her junior year in France made her “incredibly fluent” in French, although she admits now, she could only have rudimentary conversations if a Francophone resident came to Homeland.

She credits her Dickinson liberal arts education with the ability to carve experience in various fields and return to Homeland in a different role. She calls it “the focus on being a citizen leader, on being able to apply yourself anywhere. If something has my interest or it’s something I have to focus on, I’ve learned to dive in and learn about it and be able to apply it.”

Jenn started her career in Harrisburg’s political and policy arena, working for the campaign and government relations firm of former Lieutenant Governor and Acting Governor Mark Singel. Then, for 16 years, she served as chief information officer and public policy for the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations.

She first encountered Homeland and its top-quality care when her husband’s grandmother was a resident. A good acquaintance of Jenn’s, Morton Spector, the late Homeland board chair, encouraged her to apply for her first Homeland post.

She stayed for almost two years and left “with regrets,” but at the time, she also chaired the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg board and felt called to step in as CEO when her predecessor announced an unexpected retirement.

In her six years there, she counts accomplishments and partnerships that included leading the federation through COVID, confronting anti-Semitism by expanding ties to the interfaith community, and strengthening emergency management at a time when Jewish institutions were threatened.

Jenn now brings all that experience back to Homeland, filling the post held by Alice Kirchner before her retirement. Immediately, Jenn continued a project to implement an electronic medical records program, one of many initiatives to leverage modern technology to maintain Homeland’s standards of excellence.

“Especially in a time when for-profits are purchasing a lot of nonprofit homes, I want to do everything in my power to ensure we stay secure and continue our strong passion and mission to provide quality care for the residents,” she said. “This is their home, and we want to make sure it’s a place they love living in.”

In December, Jenn joined Homeland Chaplain Dann Caldwell in leading a menorah lighting and Hannukah service, complete with latkes – a nostalgic treat for Jewish residents and an enlightening event for non-Jews.

“Judaism is clearly a central part of my life,” Jenn said. “I like to enrich the lives of our Jewish residents when I can.”

Outside of work, Jenn and her husband, software programmer Michael Ross, enjoy traveling, including a long-awaited, once-postponed Caribbean cruise they took this year. She chairs Beth El Temple’s social action committee and is chairing Harrisburg’s annual Freedom Seder, an interfaith celebration of Passover that this year is themed “United Against Hate.”

“One thing I value and appreciate at Homeland Center is the great diversity,” she said. “We have numerous African American females in leadership positions, and it makes me proud to work here.”

Jenn loves Homeland’s Board of Directors and unique Board of Managers, the all-women group dedicated to maintaining a homelike atmosphere for the residents. All contribute to “so many amazing things we do at Homeland Center that make us unique and special and allow us to be the strong organization we are,” she said.

She also continues to marvel at the Homeland team.

“Everyone keeps incredibly busy from every department,’’ she said. “We wouldn’t be as successful as we are if people weren’t bringing their passion and best selves to Homeland every day. It’s an honor to work with everyone here.”