On a crisp, sunny October morning, a record crowd of more than 400 walkers and runners laced up their sneakers for the Homeland Hospice 11^th Annual 5K and Memory Walk. This special Homeland tradition provides an opportunity for families to honor and celebrate a loved one they have lost surrounded by a community who understands the impact of grief. With every step taken, participants were welcomed with friendly smiles and words of encouragement. On this special day, no one walked alone.

Many runners and walkers wore blue event t-shirts with the names of loved ones remembered. Many participants walked in groups with their furry family members in tow wearing colorful bandanas provided by Homeland. Among the crowd adorned in the Welsh flag, Johanna Cook and her family proudly walked in honor of her father Bill Williams who passed away in 2020.

“My dad loved his Welsh heritage,” Johanna says. “We proudly wear our favorite Welsh gear in his honor.”

Johanna and her family have participated in Homeland’s 5K and Memory Walk since her father’s passing. This year’s walkers included Bill’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. As the group crossed the finish line, they held one another’s hands and cheered, “We miss you Pop-Pop.”

“Homeland provided significant support for both of my parents,” Johanna adds. “We love participating in this event.”

For Kay Carmines, the walk was her first in honor of her late husband Jim, who was a competitive racewalker in his 50s and a walking coach for the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training. Taking each step alongside her was friend and avid walker Carlyn Chulick. Carlyn is the past chair of Homeland’s Board of Trustees.

“Jim had a wonderful sense of humor,” Kay says. “Today is about sharing the good memories.”

While many attendees enjoyed a leisurely walk, others came to run. Bryce Hampton was the first to cross the finish line with a time of 15:33. He intended to race last year, but had to cancel at the last minute because of an injury. Bryce, an active runner, chose this race to honor the memory of his grandmother who died two years ago and received hospice services from an organization close to her home.

“I wanted to support this race for my grandmother,” Bryce says. “I am happy to run this year.”

A unique aspect of the event included activity stations to help families deal with their grief. At one station, participants could write personal messages to their loved ones on a special piece of paper which dissolved when placed in water. Another station featured a rainbow arch where families could write the name of their loved ones. All attendees were given Rosemary-scented lip balm. Rosemary is a symbol of love and remembrance and has been used for thousands of years for aromatherapy.

Over $80,000 was raised in support of Homeland Hospice’s supportive services like massage, music therapy and additional in-home relief hours as well as residents of Homeland Center whose financial resources have been exhausted. Homeland Hospice is a nonprofit hospice program that serves communities throughout Central Pennsylvania.

For more information about Homeland Hospice, call (717) 221-7890.

The life we lead can be reinvented by taking chances and following our heart. Nearly 15 years ago, Elizabeth Terekh took a chance and moved to the United States to explore our great country and pursue her love of medicine. Today, Elizabeth is a registered nurse with Homeland HomeHealth and treats every day as an adventure and gift.

Elizabeth grew up in Kharkiv, Ukraine two hours from the Russian border. After high school she attended college, earning a degree in business administration. She soon realized a life in the business world did not feed her soul or bring her happiness. When a family friend invited her to Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, she jumped at the opportunity. She bravely boarded the plane with hope and determination to start a new life focused on serving others in need.

“I always loved medicine,” Elizabeth says. “I wanted my days to be filled with helping others.”

Elizabeth was fluent in English and quickly excelled in her courses at Harrisburg Area Community College where she became a registered nurse. She went on to work in a hospital setting for several years before joining the team at Homeland HomeHealth four years ago.

“Every day is filled with purpose,” Elizabeth adds. “I know someone needs my care and compassion.”

As a registered nurse, Elizabeth treats patients in the comfort of their homes after they have been discharged from the hospital or short-term rehab. Homeland’s HomeHealth program provides physician-ordered treatment to meet each patient’s unique needs in areas such as wound care, cardiac care, intravenous therapy, fall prevention and rehabilitation services.

Elizabeth works directly with each patient’s medical provider to determine the appropriate plan of care. This includes an initial assessment of the patient’s health. Elizabeth and the Homeland team then determine the frequency of visits to help the patient meet his/her goals of comfort and independence. In addition to nurses like Elizabeth, the Homeland HomeHealth team can include physical, occupational and speech therapists; a nutritional counselor and social workers.

For Elizabeth, spending time with patients and their families makes this a labor of love. She looks forward to learning about her patient’s lives and seeing them progress in their healing.

“Every patient is someone special,” Elizabeth says. “I treat everyone like family.”

Elizabeth is one to quickly admit she loves adventure and mental challenges. She recently earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing and hopes to pursue additional certifications in areas such as wound care in the near future. She strives to live her best professional life in service of Homeland and her patients.

“I love this work,” Elizabeth adds. “Serving others lifts my heart.”

For more information on home health services, contact Homeland HomeHealth or call (717) 412-0166.

Bygone days of elegance and refinement made a return at Homeland Center, as residents filled the main dining room for a spring tea.

Kettle-shaped cards printed with flowers invited residents, and a pianist playing “Tea for Two” and other standards set the right tone, as did the tables adorned in white linens, flowers, and embroidered handkerchiefs.

Residents embraced the mood, with the ladies wearing cheerful fascinators or headpieces and the gents boasting boutonnieres.

The tea was one of the quarterly events hosted by Homeland’s Board of Managers, the unique, all-women volunteer board is responsible for maintaining Homeland’s renowned home-like feel. Always presented with flair and creativity, events have included a casino night, a “Sound of Music” party, and a sock hop featuring an Elvis Presley impersonator.

Residents Ellen and Bill Wismer eagerly anticipated the tea.

“For our 45^th anniversary, we had the good fortune to have high tea at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, and I was really looking forward to this because I said it’s going to be just as nice,” said Ellen Wismer. “And it is. Everything’s to perfection.”

“[The Board of Managers] really put a lot of work into this,” she said. “Everything the board does is absolutely to perfection. They make you feel so special.”

Bill Wismer agreed: “It’s wonderful to be here with my beautiful wife.”

Board of Managers members freely devote their time and talents to plan and stage their events, said Chair Nancy Hull. For the tea, they organized a party of their own to create the boutonnieres and flower-bedecked fascinators, which gave the residents a sophisticated air.

Board members often have creative ideas about their future events, she said.

“That’s the neat thing about the women on our board,” Hull said. “Everybody has ideas. Everybody is willing to express their opinions.”

On the afternoon of the tea, Board of Managers members circulated, serving cookies, a choice of finger sandwiches – cucumber, egg salad, and pimento – and scones with jam and clotted cream. Wearing white shirts and black pants, just like restaurant servers, they carried colorful teapots they had brought from their own collections. One depicted – what else? – the Mad Hatter’s tea party from “Alice in Wonderland.”

Offered a choice of Earl Grey or raspberry tea, resident Joyce Muniz chose the raspberry.

“They make everything lovely,’’ Muniz said of the Board of Manager-planned events. “They go over the top for the residents.”

Resident Shirley Winfield is one of several Winfield family members living in or working at Homeland, including Director of Nursing Jennifer Tate-DeFreitas, who upholds Homeland’s standards of excellence in health care; Jennifer’s daughter Malani Tate-DeFreitas; and Kristen Tate, one of Homeland’s cheerful receptionists.

“They do an excellent job here,” Winfield said. “I love the many, many activities. It’s wonderful. It really is.”

Among all the activities – from musicians to bingo — the spring tea stood out, she said.

Residents Robert Zimmerman and Lynda Vinton, agreed the spring tea was a particular treat.

“It’s fun,” Vinton said. “It’s a nice thing to be out and about.”

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.