A Life of Serving Others Employee Spotlight: Reynaldo Villarreal

test

 

Having grown up in the dry climate of Mexico, Reynaldo (Rey) Villarreal, chaplain for Homeland Hospice, reveres the rolling hills and green trees of Central Pennsylvania. For Rey, life with Homeland Hospice is another chapter in his story of serving others in their time of need. Homeland Hospice is a hospice program that serves communities throughout Central Pennsylvania.

Rey joined Homeland Hospice in January after working as a pastor for churches in El Salvador, California and Las Vegas. Rey’s wife, who is also a pastor, was raised in Pennsylvania. The couple relocated to the area to be closer to their family as they raise their children.

Rey was raised in Mexico where is father is a pastor and his mother leads programs for women and children run by the church. As one of five children, Rey worked beside his parents and siblings to help individuals and families in need of spiritual guidance and basic needs support, like food and shelter. Through their work, Rey and his family often encountered people associated with local drug cartels who stood in opposition of the church’s mission.

“We grew up learning how to stay safe from the cartels,” Rey says. “Receiving threats on our lives, having our cars stolen and being accosted in the streets was a way of life.”

Despite these challenging circumstances, Rey’s family remained in Mexico because of the significant need for their help and the small miracles they witnessed daily.

“It was an incredible experience to see someone leave the cartels for a life with purpose,” Rey adds. “It was affirmation of the power of faith.”

While working as a pastor, Rey loved his time with the elderly members of his congregation. He looked forward to learning about their families and life story. Rey often shared his love of music during his visits. He is an avid guitar player and singer. He knew if he ever had the chance to work with patients in hospice care, he would jump at the opportunity. For Homeland Hospice and Rey, the match of mission to talent and passion has been ideal.

A few months after Rey joined Homeland, the COVID-19 pandemic hit our region, limiting access to hospice patients in many nursing homes. Rey sees the grief and loss of families as they mourn the death of their loved ones during a time of social distancing.

As some restrictions have lifted this summer, Rey has returned to several nursing homes to spend time with patients during their end-of-life journey. He strives to go the extra mile in supporting staff and caregivers during this challenging time.

“I try to let everyone see the smile in my eyes since they can’t see it through my mask,” Rey says. “Now, more than ever, we need to connect with one another any way we can.”

Rey looks forward to the days when he can bring his guitar and sing to patients once again.

“Music has the power to brighten everyone’s soul,” Rey adds. “I can’t wait to give that gift to patients.”

Spiritual counseling is a component of Homeland’s holistic approach to health care. Counselors and chaplains respect each individual’s beliefs and offer support and encouragement. In addition, Homeland offers bereavement support to families for a full 13 months following the death of a loved one.

To learn more, please contact Homeland Hospice at (717) 221-7890.

Aging-in-Place – We Got This

test

 

By Barbara Goll, Community Liaison Educator and Nutritionist

Despite 90% of Americans saying they would like to age-in-place, only 20% end up doing so.  Why are our wishes not being fulfilled and what steps can we take to ensure they are? The answer lies in a few lifestyle changes.

The goal of aging-in-place is to live in our home until our very last breath. Having to leave our home means leaving behind a comfortable setting, familiar community and many memories.  Our home provides us with a sense of control and security leading to feelings of quality of life, dignity and independence. Current statistics indicate that life expectancy for women is 86.7 and for men 84.3. We all would like these additional “Golden” years to be enjoyable, not weakened to where we are dependent on others or unable to safely live in our home. Lifestyle choices are an important area of our lives we can tackle now to increase our ability to age-in-place safely.

senior man doing arm exercises to stay healthyWe may not have control over the normal aging process or our genetic make-up, but we do have control over our lifestyles and the environment in which we choose to live. The following four lifestyle choices can greatly increase our chance of a healthy strong body as well as decrease our risk for disease and dementia:

  1. Exercise and movement –All exercise and movement is a positive change that can effect overall health and help keep bones and muscles strong. Create habits and increase movement in your life with hobbies, chores and walking or other exercise programs. Be sure to discuss with your physician first.
  2. Nutrition – Studies suggest a combination of the DASH and Mediterranean diets (called the Mind Diet) leads to a reduction in inflammation and decrease risk for chronic disease and dementia. This diet is largely plant-based with colorful varieties of fruits and vegetables, seafood and lean meats.  Information on this way of eating can be found here at Healthline.com – Nutrition
  3. Social interaction – Quality communication between family and friends and interaction with groups such as senior and community centers, book clubs, hobby clubs, and churches offer a few social interaction suggestions. Studies have shown that social interaction creates meaning and purpose to life leading to healthy lifestyle choices.
  4. Brain and cognitive activity – Keeping your mind active by using it in new and challenging ways helps create new pathways in the brain and improve cognition. Choose activities that you enjoy but will also challenge your brain. Activities like learning a new language or instrument, playing chess, putting together a difficult puzzle, reading an educational book, learning a new hobby or taking an interesting adult education course.

It is never too early or too late to make changes that promote physical, mental and emotional well-being. Having a healthy and strong mind and body will decrease risk for falls, chronic conditions, and dementia as well as give you quality of life and independence to age-in-place gracefully. You got this!


Barbara Goll is a Community Education Liaison and Nutritionist for Homeland at Home. Her passion is educating and helping people attain a higher quality of life while aging in place. Goll is a valued member of Homeland’s community outreach team offering a variety of short talks on nutrition and age-related issues, including her “My Reflections” workshop to help you to think through many end-of-life care decisions. She has presented at 50 Plus Expo’s, civic organizations, community support groups, senior centers, aging forums and more.