Tag Archive for: Employee Spotlight

Amanda Williams only knew a bit about Homeland Center when she applied for a social worker position. After getting the job, she quickly realized that she was in a unique place.

“You can tell when you’re in a place where administrative staff has been there a long time,” she says. “They’re committed to the mission and the organization and upholding the standards of excellence and quality care.’’

Amanda joined Homeland in December 2020, quickly finding her place as a friend to residents and a help to family members. As a social worker on second-floor skilled care, she helps develop care plans, guides families through the health care system, and whenever she can, visits with residents to hear their stories and share their days.

Before joining Homeland, Amanda was a social worker for an aging-in-place service in York, helping the low-income elderly with the needs of daily life – making grocery runs, helping pay bills, assisting with Medicaid enrollment.

“Sometimes, we were their only family,” she says. “In those moments, you could see the smile on their face with the simple task of going to the grocery store for them.”

Still, she wanted a job where she could have a more significant impact. She found that at Homeland.

Amanda has always wanted to work with the elderly. Even while growing up in the Montgomery County town of Souderton, she often volunteered at nursing homes.

“The elderly have so much to offer and so much life experience,” she says. “Getting to talk with them, hear their stories and help them — it’s very rewarding.”

Amanda earned a bachelor’s degree at Elizabethtown University and a master’s from Marywood University. After three and a half years in York, she came to Homeland to work because her soon-to-be husband (she’s a newlywed now, having married in March 2021) lived in Harrisburg.

Family contact is an essential part of her job. When families schedule visits, they can turn to Amanda for help. They might call with requests as simple as assistance in finding a loved one’s favorite shirt or blanket. If they have questions about a loved one’s care, she conveys it to the nursing staff.

After the recent death of a resident, she recognized the impact that she and her colleagues have.

“The family was so grateful that I was a phone call away,” she says. “I could answer their questions and calm their minds about how their dad was doing. It’s never an easy time, but they showed overwhelming gratitude for the staff.”

When she’s not at work, Amanda and her husband love spending time with their 3-year-old German shepherd, Kona.

At Homeland, Amanda appreciates the guidance she gets from her supervisor, Director of Social Services Daniqwa Buckner.

“She has been a great teacher and a great mentor,” Amanda says. “Our unit managers have been very helpful and don’t mind explaining things. Everyone is willing to help you with questions. They’re very supportive here.”

Even at her busiest, Bethany Traxler intuitively knows when it’s time to slow down and give a Homeland resident a listening ear.

“It’s natural to readjust yourself at that moment,” says the Homeland Center Assistant Director of Activities. “You can be so caught up in the hustle and bustle, but there is something that naturally stops you and makes you reset and refocus on their needs. Our goal is to be resident-focused – their health, their well-being, their safety. Ultimately, that comes first.”

Bethany joined Homeland Center in February 2021, but it was not her first encounter with the Homeland family. For the previous four and a half years, she worked for Homeland at Home, which oversees the continuum of services offered through Homeland HomeHealth, Homeland HomeCare, and Homeland Hospice.

With Homeland Center’s Activities department, she is responsible for various oversight duties, including scheduling entertainers, producing a weekly calendar, helping with the gift shop, and filing regulatory compliance documentation.

“I jump in and help as needed,” she says. “I’m here to be part of the team.”

Activities, Bethany believes, “truly enhance the residents’ quality of life. We have something every day that keeps them engaged.”

Bethany’s mother, a career nurse, now working as a clinical liaison with Homeland at Home, introduced Bethany to the health care field. For many years, Bethany was a certified nurse assistant, enjoying the hands-on care and serving as an outlet for people who need companionship and compassion.

In her Homeland journey, Bethany started in August 2016 with Homeland HomeCare, which provides individualized care plans to help patients stay safely at home. Very shortly, she was elevated to community liaison for Homeland at Home. She was responsible for outreach to doctors, nursing facilities, and the public to raise awareness of Homeland at Home’s high-quality continuum of care.

“I always felt you need to have a relationship with trust built into it,” she says. “You have to provide consistency to your prospects.”
Once those relationships generated referrals, Bethany had the confidence of knowing that Homeland at Home delivered on its promises of compassionate, personalized care.

“You hear a lot of compliments,” she says. “People say, ‘Thank you to the nurse who came in,’ or ‘Thank you for providing the aide who came an extra day.’ Small accommodations make a big difference.”

She also volunteered monthly at Homeland Center, becoming familiar with the operation and the people. Volunteering made the transition from Homeland at Home to Homeland Center feel organic.

“Any time I would think about the transition, I felt at peace about it,” she says. “It felt natural because I’m still part of Homeland no matter which entity I’m in.”

With her career goal of remaining in health care in some form, the change made sense. Bethany is studying for an associate degree in marketing from Central Penn College and then plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in health care administration.

Bethany commutes to and from her home in Lewistown and serves with her husband, a volunteer firefighter, on the fire company’s board of directors. They also share two cats named after favorite “Friends” characters: a gray, white, and orange tabby named Phoebe and Chandler, a long-haired gray.

They enjoy spending days off with family – his and hers. She is very close to her grandparents. Bethany’s father is their next-door neighbor and landlord. Her husband’s father is their church pastor.

Bethany says Homeland Center’s seamless teamwork and can-do attitude assures residents a wonderful experience.

“I hope that residents find peace in knowing that we are there to serve them and that we are doing our best to make them feel as comfortable as possible,” Bethany says. “It’s their home. It’s not our home. We’re the guests.”

(L) Major and (R) Donald

Running a facility as multifaceted as Homeland is a nonstop, all-year-around job.

Snow removal and grass cutting. HVAC repairs and maintenance. Cleaning water coolers. Hanging holiday decorations. Inspecting emergency generators.

“The water temperatures are probably the most important in our daily checks,” says Maintenance Director Steve Ramper. “Water temperatures can’t be over 110 degrees in a skilled care facility because of the risk of burns. We check multiple locations throughout the building daily, making sure it’s below that 110-degree mark.”

Every day, the eight people of Homeland’s maintenance department efficiently go about their duties, ensuring that all systems work correctly. The demands are never-ending, but the rewards are tangible in assuring that residents are safe and comfortable.

“When I came here, I was surprised at all that goes on behind the scenes for a building maintenance department,” says Assistant Director of Maintenance James Sparkman. “It’s pretty complex.”

Checking the emergency systems are functioning is a critical weekly task. The staff tests the backup generators, fire extinguishers, and even the bulbs in the exit signs.

And then there are the resident needs, which are a priority as well.

“A problem with the phone, furniture to move, a picture to hang,” says James. “It’s usually straightforward stuff, but it is a priority because for the residents, this is their home and it is very important.”

The residents know they count on James when they need something.

“I like the interaction with them,” he says. “I like to put a smile on their face. It means a lot to me. I pride myself on taking care of whatever they need.”

L to R: Steve, James and Joey; not pictured: Jim, Raymond, Quon

Homeland staffs the maintenance department around the clock, and Ramper and Sparkman are always on call. Every Homeland department intersects with maintenance in some way, so coordination and collaboration are a constant. There are planned projects, such as moving furniture for housekeeping, or unplanned, such as repairing an appliance for dietary.

During the pandemic, maintenance took on a new role – spreading good cheer. While department staffers worked with Homeland security and health officials to assure compliance with strict safety guidelines, they also visited residents “to make sure they were okay,” says Steve.

“Just stopping and saying hi to them and seeing that they were doing well meant the world to them,” he says.

James agrees.

“This is the best job I’ve ever had,” he says. “The residents are very gracious. I’m told many times each day that they’re thankful that I’m here, that they appreciate what I do.”