Homeland’s Founding Churches and Visionary Women Featured in 2024 Lottery Calendar

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More than 156 years ago, nine churches and 18 women came together to find a way to meet the growing humanitarian needs in our community after the Civil War. Their work made history and led to the creation of the “Society for the Home for the Friendless” which is now Homeland Center. Historic photos of the churches along with insight about the founding female leaders are featured in Homeland Center’s 2024 Lottery Calendar which is now on sale.

The lottery calendar has become a tradition for friends, volunteers and supporters of Homeland’s work. The monthly calendar costs $25 and supports the organization’s benevolent care programs. More than 1,000 calendars are produced and sold and everyone who purchases a calendar is eligible to be entered into daily drawings for cash prizes.

“This year’s calendar is exceptional and truly unique,” says Homeland Board of Trustees member Marion Alexander. “It offers far more than dates and potential prizes.”

The calendar tells a story about the power of faith and purpose coming together to serve Harrisburg families and lay the groundwork for today’s Homeland Center. Plans for the calendar began more than a year ago with the help of David Morrison and Jeb Stuart of the Historic Harrisburg Association, along with Homeland volunteers including Marion.

“Homeland’s foundation was built by the compassionate leadership of 18 women,” Marion adds. “This vision continues today through the Board of Managers.”

When the “Home for the Friendless” was formed, the Board of Lady Managers, as it was called, served to help meet the needs of its orphans and widows. More than 156 years later, the Board of Managers includes 18 women who work to make Homeland a home for all residents.

Proceeds from calendar sales provide financial support and additional services to Homeland residents, patients and clients in need. Homeland provides more than $3 million in benevolent care annually to ensure all residents, patients and clients receive high-quality, supportive care when they need it most. Through the Lottery Calendar more than $70,000 has been raised since 2015 to support Homeland’s benevolent care program.

To learn more about our nine founding churches, please visit our Nine-Founding-Churches page.

Homeland Center and Homeland at Home Earn Deficiency-Free Survey Results from Pennsylvania Department of Health

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Homeland Center and Homeland at Home, which provides a full continuum of services to care for residents, patients and clients, has earned deficiency-free survey results across all five of its care services based on routine annual examination by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) for the survey year 2022-23. The results signify 100 percent survey compliance with all federal and state standards of care.

The five health care services earning the deficiency-free rating are Homeland Center Skilled Nursing and Personal Care at Homeland Center; and Homeland HomeHealth, Homeland HomeCare and Homeland Hospice.

“Our deficiency-free survey results are a testament to our sincere and endless commitment to our Residents, Patients and Clients, and the Families who entrust us to care for them,” said Homeland Center and Homeland at Home President and CEO Barry S. Ramper II. “Having all five of our service lines earn this outcome in the same licensure and certification survey period makes this achievement even more outstanding. It is our privilege to provide compassionate care to those whose lives we have been entrusted, and we will continue to relentlessly strive to maintain the standards that earned these deficiency-free results every moment of every day.”

Occupying a full block in uptown Harrisburg, Homeland Center is a licensed not-for-profit Continuing Care Retirement Community offering personal care, skilled nursing care, memory care, and short-term rehabilitation. Homeland at Home provides hospice care (compassionate end-of-life care), home health services (in-home physician-ordered medical treatment), home care services (in-home non-medical daily living assistance) and palliative care (comfort and relief from the symptoms and stress of serious illness).

Earlier in 2023, Homeland HomeHealth and Homeland Hospice were named 2023 CAHPS Honors Award recipients by HEALTHCAREfirst, a national provider of services for hospice and home health agencies. The awards recognize Homeland for continuously providing a positive patient experience and high-quality of care based on results of the Home Health Care Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey, a nationally recognized tool to assess and improve patient care and patient and caregiver satisfaction.

Homeland’s tradition of care began 156 years ago after the Civil War. Eighteen women from nine churches in the city of Harrisburg came together to consider what could be done to help orphans and widows. In 1867, the group chartered the “Society for the Home for the Friendless” and raised funds to begin operating what today is Homeland Center and Homeland at Home.

Home Care vs. Home Health: Distinct Programs Providing High Quality Care

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Home is more than where the heart is. It is the place we find comfort, peace and independence. For aging and homebound individuals, home is often the best and most preferred place to be when receiving care. In 2016, Homeland at Home launched its HomeCare and HomeHealth outreach efforts to meet the needs of individuals and families. Since that time, both programs have grown in scope and breadth.

For Lora Bierce, RN, WCC, COS-C, Director of Homeland HomeHealth, the development of these programs has been an essential goal to meet the needs of our region’s growing population. Pennsylvania is highly ranked as a place to retire based on the state’s affordable living and high-quality medical facilities.

“We continue to see more options for people to remain at home,” Lora says. “The demand for our services is on the rise.”

Lora has worked in home care since 1993. She helped lead the creation and implementation of Homeland HomeCare and Homeland HomeHealth. In her daily work, she is frequently asked about the differences in the programs.

“It is easy to assume home care and home health services are the same,” Lora adds. “Each offer distinct types of care.”

Home care is comprised of non-medical services to assist with the activities of daily living. Services are customized to meet the individual needs of clients with an emphasis on companionship, comfort and independence.

Services may include:

  • Light housekeeping
  • Errands such as grocery shopping
  • Transportation to medical and other appointment
  • Medication reminders and/or administration
  • Bathing, dressing, and grooming
  • Monitoring diet and appetite
  • Assistance with meal preparation and eating

Homeland HomeCare services are provided by Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), who are supervised and trained by licensed nurses as Direct Care Workers in accordance with Pennsylvania Department of Health guidelines.

Home care is typically paid directly by the individual receiving services or through long-term care insurance.

Home health provides physician-ordered medical treatments in the comfort of a patient’s home. This can be as effective as care received in a hospital or medical facility. Highly trained medical experts provide care based on a patient’s individual needs.

Services may include:

  • Wound care
  • Cardiac care
  • Palliative care
  • Fall prevention
  • Rehabilitation services
  • Intravenous therapy

The Homeland HomeHealth teams includes nurses; physical, occupational and speech therapists; a nutritional counselor; social workers; and CNAs.

Homeland at Home consistently receives the highest recognition for quality care, staffing, and safety by CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services).

Lora believes Homeland’s continuum of services eases the burden and confusion many families face when their loved one is in need of support beyond what they can provide. While long hospital stays or time in a nursing facility used to be the only course of action, at-home services provide equally effective care in the comfort of one’s home.

“We are here for anyone in need of support and care,” Lora says. “We treat all clients and patients like family.”

For more information on Homeland HomeCare and HomeHeath, complete our contact form or call 717-412-0166.