Stories

stock image of a group of seniors walking in the park together

Returning To the In-Person World

By Barbara Goll, BS, Community Education Liaison/Nutritionist The COVID-19 pandemic brought pain, hardship and profound changes in the way we socialize and engage with each other. It made us feel like Bill Murray in the popular 90s movie Groundhog Day,

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Speech therapist Shayla Oaks-Rester looks on as activities coordinator Anita Payne sets out ingredients for residents Doris Gingrich and Harold Hixon

Homeland Center’s cooking club spice up residents’ lives

Dorothy Bettinger enjoys coming to Homeland Center cooking club sessions. “I can play with food,” she said. “Anything that’s good, I’ll eat.” Every other Monday, Homeland’s cooking club brings residents together around a table to cook, chat, learn about new foods and, of course, eat their creations. The club meets

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Joe Merlina and his mother, Frances

Celebrating 105 years ‘young’!

Homeland’s oldest resident Frances Merlina going strong as she celebrates her 105th birthday Living on her own at the time, Frances Merlina had fallen and broken her ankle. On the way to the hospital, the EMTs asked when she had last been in the hospital. She turned to her son, David,

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hospice volunteer Claudia Diane Brown working at a desk

Volunteers, a Key Part of Homeland Hospice

Hospice care in America was founded by volunteers and remains a core part of the strength, support, services and comfort that hospice continues to provide to patients and their loved ones. Indeed, Medicare regulations require that hospices have trained volunteers for the services they deliver to individuals and families. At

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homeland musician Cass Jendzurski with a harp

Music offers Healing and Comfort

Homeland Hospice offers patients music for healing and comfort Human beings don’t simply enjoy music. Our minds and bodies need and thrive on it. Sound and vibration stimulate every region of the brain. Music can heal and comfort. It can even free the soul. Homeland Hospice certified healthcare musician Cass

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dog being pet

Homeland Hospice ‘Extras’

Time is precious. And life is to be lived. None of this changes when time grows short. In fact, the richness of remaining days should be as full as possible. Homeland Hospice believes this to be true. It’s why our array of services and added therapies go well beyond the

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collage of doors decorated for christmas

Contest imbues the doors with Holiday Spirit

From a smiling snowman to a cozy fire complete with stockings on the mantle, the doors of Homeland Center were transformed into beautiful seasonal postcards as part of the first annual “Holiday Door Decorating Contest.’’ More than 40 doors brightened the halls with holiday cheer as residents and their families

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hummel collection in a large display cabinet

Homeland’s Hummel collection

In the 1920 and ‘30s, a Bavarian nun named Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel drew sketches capturing the innocence and charm of the children around her. As her sketches grew popular, German porcelain maker Franz Goebel began producing them in figurines – each piece subject to Sister Maria’s approval. But while

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close-up of someone knitting with purple yarn

Knitting groups

For a small group of Homeland Center residents, their twice-weekly knitting circle isn’t just a chance to chat as they create intricate patterns. These four ladies knit with a purpose – creating slippers for homeless women and children. The effort started in the early 2000s, when a former resident taught

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caretaker with an older man using a cane

Guiding a loved one with dementia toward the right kind of care

It’s perhaps the most insidious of all diseases. Dementia doesn’t sicken the body. It steals the mind, slowly robbing an individual’s very essence, their personality. All that makes them who they are. Up against this kind of foe, families often need help for a loved one with dementia. But how

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Events

'view from behind of two people sitting and holding hands'

Bereavement Six Week Support Group

June 30, 2026 - August 4, 2026
3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Homeland Hospice Office, Suite 265B, 2300 Vartan Way, Harrisburg

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'a table with various art supplies like paint and colored pencils'

Grief Art: Creative Collaging with Mixed Materials

August 1, 2026
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Giant Foods Community Room, 3301 Trindle Road, Camp Hill

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