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Homeland HomeHealth Nurse Treats Every Patient Like Family

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Employee Spotlight: Meet Kerstie Keebaugh

Kerstie Keebaugh, RN Case Manager for Homeland HomeHealth, likes life in a small town. Growing up and living in Middletown, Kerstie has a close network of family and friends as well as extended links to acquaintances of her family. When visiting patients, Kerstie often hears remarks like “I remember your grandparents,” which brings her immeasurable joy, as her grandparents have passed away. Kerstie treats her patients with the same care she would her own family members and welcomes each day as a new adventure.

For Kerstie, the calling to be a nurse came early in life. By the time she was in middle school, she knew she wanted to be a nurse.

“There was no other career for me,” Kerstie says. “I wanted to help others and knew nursing was the best way I could make a difference.”

Prior to working at Homeland, Kerstie had other professional experiences which allowed her to practice nursing but did not provide time for Kerstie to get to know her patients and provide them with the best personalized care. She joined the Homeland HomeHealth team three years ago and it has been a perfect fit.

In her role as a case manager, Kerstie sees about six patients a day and often spends an hour with each one. She often works with patients for months, providing time to form strong bonds and provide optimal care.

“I love seeing patients in their homes instead of an institutional setting,” Kerstie says. “I often feel like I’m part of their families.”

Kerstie works with patients in the Middletown and Steelton areas, which provides unique experiences and connections which can only be found in a close-knit community. During one patient visit, Kerstie was connected with a gentleman who had worked with her grandfather and went on family vacations with Kerstie’s grandparents. During her time with the patient, she heard stories about her grandfather that she had never heard before. In some small way, Kerstie felt like she was caring for her grandfather during her time with her patient.

“I was young when my grandparents died,” Kerstie adds. “I often feel like I’m caring for them now when I work with my senior patients.”

As a HomeHealth nurse, Kerstie is part of a highly trained medical team that includes nurses; physical, occupational and speech therapists; nutritional counselors; social workers; and Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) who provide specialized care for patients wishing to remain in their homes instead of a nursing home, rehabilitation center or other care facility.

As Americans in the Baby Boomer generation age, more and more people want the independence and freedom of staying in their homes to live their best possible lives. Homeland HomeHealth helps patients achieve this goal. Home medical care is convenient and is as effective as care received in a hospital or skilled nursing facility.

Kerstie encourages anyone considering a career in nursing to pursue the profession and try different work settings to find the best fit.

“Follow your heart,” Kerstie encourages. “I took a chance with HomeHealth and it has been more rewarding than I ever imagined.”

Homeland HomeHealth serves five counties throughout Central Pennsylvania, providing care in a person’s home.

For more information, call Homeland HomeHealth at (717) 412-0166.

Homeland Creates a Culture of Teamwork and Fun

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homeland staff playing cornholeOver the years, Homeland has learned that bringing together a talented group of professionals working toward a shared mission results in a successful workplace. Providing opportunities for employees to get to know each other outside of their job duties builds a team and creates a culture of compassion and friendship. The staff at Homeland strives to create an engaging culture where employees have fun through volunteering and spending time together.

In April 2021, the directors and assistant directors of Homeland Hospice, Homeland HomeCare and Homeland HomeHealth formed the FUN Committee as a way for employees to take a break from the stress and demands of their jobs, which has dramatically increased since COVID-19 hit the region. The concept was to provide staff opportunities to participate in activities on a monthly basis.

“Many staff members work entirely in the field,” Laurie Murry, volunteer coordinator for Homeland Hospice says. “These activities have given us a chance to get to know our coworkers we rarely see during the workday.”

Laurie has taken the lead in organizing and implementing the activities. The first step was to survey staff to hear what types of activities piqued their interest as well as what the activities should be named. The staff voted to give back to help others as well as connect in different geographic areas throughout Homeland’s vast footprint. As for the winning name; “Staffivities!” won the day.

homeland staff volunteering at the food bankThis summer, staff held a corn hole tournament with food trucks. Staff members who didn’t know one another were paired together to play in the tournament. Since then, Homeland staff members have volunteered at the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and collected coats for children in need living in Cumberland and Perry counties through the Warm the Children program.

To celebrate the holiday season, the staff held a cookie exchange and an office door-decorating contest. The team also helped make the holidays brighter for local children by providing gifts for children in need through a program led by Silence of Mary. This has been a Homeland tradition for many years. This year, the program expanded to include all of Homeland’s outreach programs.

Most recently, Homeland staff participated in a deeply personal and heartfelt project in honor of their coworker and beloved friend Chaplain Mark Harris who passed away this fall. The staff purchased 11 wreaths through the Wreaths Across America program, which were placed at the Dauphin County Cemetery on December 17. To know Mark was to love and respect him for his deep well of compassion. Mark served Homeland Hospice as a spiritual counselor. As a former navy corpsman, Mark was involved in Homeland’s We Honor Veterans program, which recognizes the bravery and sacrifice of veterans during their time in hospice.

homeland participates in wreaths across america“Our staff members have big hearts,” Kris Crockett, RN, BSN, CHPN, and Director of of Homeland Hospice said. “Working together to give back to the community has helped us create stronger bonds as coworkers.”

Homeland Hospice, Homeland HomeCare and Homeland HomeHealth are outreach programs of Homeland Center to provide a continuum of care for patients and families in need.

For more information about Homeland at Home services, contact us at (717) 857-7400.

Homeland HomeHealth and HomeCare: Five Years of Excellence and Counting

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five years of caring with homeland homehealth and homecareSince 1867, Homeland Center has been committed to meeting the ever-changing needs of the community. In keeping with this tradition, Homeland HomeHealth and Homeland HomeCare were established five years ago to provide a continuum of services for patients and their families using a team-approach, which places patients at the center of care. Since the launch of these services, thousands of patients have received exemplary care by a team who treats them like family.

As the director of Homeland HomeHealth with more than two decades of experience in the field, Lora Bierce, RN, WCC, COS-C, has seen the program expand to meet the growing demand of patients who want the independence of staying in their homes as they age. The HomeHealth team includes physical, occupational and speech therapists; nurses, nutritional counselors, social workers and Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) who are dedicated to compassionate care and medical excellence.

Since its formation, Homeland HomeHealth has expanded its scope of services to better serve patients. In 2017, HomeHealth added telehealth.

“Telehealth gave us the ability to reduce re-hospitalization by more than 20%,” Lori adds. “It has also been an essential tool to our care during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Lora takes great pride in working with a staff that provides compassionate care to patients and their families.

Recently, Lora’s team had the pleasure of working with a gentleman with congestive heart failure. The HomeHealth team worked diligently to follow his wishes to remain in his home as long as possible. As his illness progressed, Lora and her team helped him transition to hospice care with Homeland for the final days of his end-of-life journey.

“We were with him every step of the way,” Lora says. “His final days were filled with comfort and peace, which is all he ever wanted.

Like Lora, Tanya Custer, LPN, Director of Homeland HomeCare, is driven by her love of helping others. Homeland HomeCare specializes in the non-medical aspects of care to include meal preparation, light housekeeping, running errands, monitoring diet and medication reminders, bathing and dressing. Personal home care can be administered anyplace an individual calls home.

In 2017, the Pennsylvania Department of Health issued a new regulation allowing home care aides to be trained to do additional tasks in the home setting. Homeland HomeCare was ahead of the game“As soon as we received word about this option we started educating our CNAs to become Direct Care Workers,” Tonya says. “We trained our CNAs on peg tube care, ostomy care, assistance with medication administration and simple wound care.”

For Tanya and her team, it’s taking a walk for ice cream or hearing family stories from their clients that make their work rewarding. Tanya recalls a gentleman who was staying with his wife in a hotel while their house was undergoing construction. The fresh paint in this home was compounding his health issues making it difficult for him to breath. The HomeCare team cared for him in his hotel so his wife could continue working.

“I’m proud to work with a creative team who goes above and beyond to provide excellent care,” Tanya says. “This work is far more than a job; it's a calling.”

Both Lora and Tanya foresee significant growth in their services over the coming five years as the baby boomer generation ages and Americans live longer than ever before. Today, 46 million adults living in the United States (15 percent of the population) are 65 or older. By 2060, that number is expected to climb to about 98 million, or 24 percent of the population (Population Reference Bureau).

“We are prepared for whatever the future brings,” Lora and Tanya say. “It’s a privilege to serve individuals and families in our community.

For more information on Homeland HomeHealth call 717-412-0166. For information on Homeland HomeCare call 717-221-7892.

Aging-in-Place – We Got This

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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.

Combating Loneliness in Seniors

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By Barbara Goll, Community Liaison Educator and Nutritionist

speaking with loved ones on the phoneLoneliness affects more than 42 million older Americans according to the American Psychological Association.  While living alone does not inevitably lead to loneliness, it can be a contributing factor.  Social contact typically decreases with age due to retirement, spouse and friends dying or moving away, lack of mobility and physical limitations.  When an entire peer group is experiencing these naturally occurring changes it is easy to see why there is a decline in the number and quality of relationships as we age.

Loneliness is a very personal experience.

Loneliness comes with different causes and implications for every individual. This makes addressing the problem complex.  Loneliness is a negative emotion defined by the quality and quantity of relationships that we have versus those we long to have.  It is based on an individual’s values, needs, wishes and feelings. Loneliness can create a persistent loop of negative thoughts and feelings that can wear us down and push others away.  “Loneliness is tricky because someone has to tell you their negative emotions,” says Kerstin Gerst Emerson from the Institute of Gerontology. “Diagnosis depends on asking questions, not a blood test or MRI.” It is a subjective feeling of social separation.  When one does not feel they have value, self-worth or a purpose to their lives, it can lead to loneliness and depression.   Loneliness can be defining and devastating to the lives of the elderly.

I realized the devastation of loneliness when my mother made a comment after a holiday family gathering stating that she felt alone and not a part of conversations.  She also felt that what she might have to say was not important and that the conversations she had with others were just small talk.  At the nursing home where I worked, I saw the pain on residents faces as they told me how lonely they were feeling, even though they were participating in a group activity at the time.  Loneliness is personal and these feelings are all valid.

Loneliness has a harmful impact on mental and physical health.

When loneliness becomes a lifestyle, research shows it can cause depression, risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, weakened immune system, anxiety and dementia.  These are not issues to be ignored. The Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience suggests that the connections with loneliness and health risks lie in harmful lifestyle choices such as eating poorly, inactivity and smoking.

What can be done to combat loneliness in seniors?

As family, caregivers and community members we can help our seniors become less lonely, more engaged. Here are some helpful suggestions:

  • Encourage seniors to express themselves while being a good listener. Ask them to tell you more about past interests and activities.  Try to rekindle and adapt past interests and hobbies to fit their current abilities.
  • Use information learned from inquiring conversations to create an individual plan to decrease loneliness. Be creative with ideas, things offered in your community, clubs, and groups.  Be prepared to nudge a little bit outside of their comfort zone.
  • Foster relationships between generations through visits and technology such as email and Facetime or Skype. Help grandchildren learn wisdom, childhood stories and family history from grandparents.  Have them show grandparents how to use their cell phone or computer more easily or help them correspond with friends and distant family.
  • Visit as often as possible and engage in meaningful conversation. Give your full attention and really listen and hear what they have to say. Take a walk, read, sing or listen to favorite songs or play a board game. If unable to visit often you can write, call or use technology.
  • Seek out and attend activities of interest with the senior, especially for the first few times. Local senior centers and Area Agency on Aging are a good place to start.
  • Let seniors teach you something. When a former art professor moved into the nursing home where I was working, I empowered him to teach a basic sketch class to the residents.  This brought worth and value to his life as well as the other residents lives who learned how to draw.  Older individuals love to pass on knowledge.
  • Take seniors out to restaurants, Sunday church service, a movie, to visit with a friend, shopping or a drive around the neighborhood or out into the country. Fresh air and a change of scenery can do wonders.
  • Help facilitate connections with old friends that may not be able to visit anymore through letters, in-person visits, or emails.
  • Encourage seniors to volunteer. Volunteering can be very rewarding and seniors have a lot of skills and wisdom to contribute to their community.  This is a great social connection and adds purpose, worth and fulfillment to their lives. Volunteer search sites include:  volunteermatch.org, rsvpcapreg.org and createthegood.aarp.org
  • Take a class such as exercise, computer or other educational topic of interest. Many community colleges offer free lifetime learning classes for seniors.  It is a great way to create new connections.
  • Community planners and local authorities must take action and create policy that places emphasis on healthy aging. Allow communities to support our older adults and the aging process as well as those living with dementia. Dementia Friendly America and Age Friendly Cities are initiatives that focus on communities working together to support our older Americans.

Reducing loneliness in all generations is derived from strong and loving relationships we have with others.  Let’s try to help our seniors create and preserve these relationships throughout their lives and show them how valuable they truly are.

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. Homeland at Home offers Hospice, HomeHealth and HomeCare.

Blood Pressure Check: First Step for Every HomeHealth Visit

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nurse measuring a resident's blood pressureIn the United States, nearly 68 million people have hypertension, which is commonly called high blood pressure. If not treated, high blood pressure can lead to heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure and kidney disease. With one in three people impacted by this disease, understanding its causes and treatment is critical to personal wellness.

May is designated as high blood pressure education month to bring awareness to this treatable illness, which can be controlled through diet, exercise and reduction in alcohol consumption.

For the team at Homeland HomeHealth, monitoring and treating high blood pressure is an important part of their work. Homeland HomeHealth includes medical professionals who provide knowledge and expertise in wound care, cardiac care, palliative care, fall prevention, rehabilitation services, intravenous therapy and more.

“Checking a patient’s blood pressure is the first step of every visit,” says Debra L. Weigel, BSN, RN, CHHCM for Homeland HomeHealth. “Each reading reveals critical information about an individual’s wellness.”

For those struggling with high blood pressure, regular readings show if the patient is taking medications as prescribed, adhering to a healthy diet and exercising. Timely alterations can be made to ensure an individual’s blood pressure doesn’t get out of control and cause further illness.

digital health services available at homelandHomeland also offers telehealth. Patients are educated to take their own vitals to include their weight, blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen levels in their blood using a pulse oximeter. The information is transmitted to Homeland for daily review. This step provides current information about a patient’s wellness in-between visits.

For most of us, understanding how to manage a healthy lifestyle regardless of age can prevent high blood pressure or reverse the effects of it in our lives.

“Diet and exercise are critical to managing blood pressure,” Debra says. “Even small changes can make a big difference.”

Homeland’s dietician helps educate high blood pressure patients about the importance of a healthy diet through meal plans and important tips to empower individuals to make smart choices.

For Debra, sharing the message of healthy eating and exercise is more than a part of her job; it’s personal. Debra’s brother battled high blood pressure for many years and was on several medications to treat the disease. Her brother took control of his diet and is now off all medications.

“My brother is proof that change is possible,” Debra adds, “I’m proud of his progress and believe the same transformation is achievable for many of our patients.”

Homeland HomeHealth is certified by Medicare and accredited by Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP). To learn more about Homeland HomeHealth, call (717) 412-0166.

For more information on the treatment of high blood pressure, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.