Homestead Village Values and Philosphy

"We" statements.  Homestead Village's Values and Philosophy of Care boldly assert eleven "We" statements. Each states what we believe.  The governing leadership expects every stakeholder of Homestead Village to uphold and follow these creeds.  It is not a choice - it is a necessity to fulfill Homestead Village's mission, vision and purpose.  In our modern society, it is frowned upon to demand that people do anything.  Instead we ask, encourage and appeal to people to behave and participate in a certain fashion.  The Homestead Village Values and Philosophy of care are not a choice.   As you read each statement, it is clear that a reasonable person would readily agree with each and every one.  So the real challenge is not in accepting these statements, it is living them:

• Every day, 
• Both the good days and bad, 
• With people who are pleasant, fun and exciting to be around and with those who require a little extra grace.  
• With residents and employee team members and other stakeholders.  
• When we are calm and when we stressed.

Our values and philosophy of care were not written for the good times. They were written to guide us through the challenges, the rough patches in our individual lives and in the collective lives of our community.  As we read each statement, we need to commit ourselves to fulfilling its expectations. When we do, our mission and vision will be fulfilled as well.

Our Values

We value every member of the Homestead Village community.

We practice and expect high ethical standards, applying the principles of trust, honesty, respect, integrity, and commitment.

We strive to provide exceptional service, holding each individual in utmost esteem.

We support an environment that improves quality of life, fulfills individual aspirations, values diversity, and holds our Mission paramount.

We seek to minister to each individual’s body, mind and spirit.

We acknowledge and respect one another’s spiritual beliefs while honoring our Christian heritage.

Our Philosophy of Care

We believe in the dignity, inherent worth and right to self-determination of each individual resident.

We strive to meet the health and wellness needs of residents at all levels along the continuum of care.

We provide an environment that enhances and encourages continued personal growth and life satisfaction.

We make decisions utilizing open and honest communication involving residents, their families, and members of the health team,

We exercise thoughtful stewardship of the resources of the resident, Homestead Village and the greater community.

Whether you are a resident, employee team member, board member, family member or other stakeholder,  these values guide us in our daily tasks and in our interactions with one another.

The Life Enrichment Team at Homestead Village Makes a World of Difference

When you think Life Enrichment at Homestead Village, the first names that comes to mind our Karen Longenecker and her assistant, Maureen Deibert.  Karen, with Maureen's assistance, creates the wonderful programs each month detailed in the Adventures in Life.  Karen has been our Life Enrichment Coordinator since 2006 and came to Homestead Village with 25 years of experience.  In fact she will celebrate her tenth anniversary in August of this year.  Maureen has assisted her for about five years. Karen has a degree in Psychology from Millersville University and is married to our chaplain, David Longenecker.  Karen's passion for life enrichment and her tremendous experience are on display every month as she helps to facilitate outstanding residential living life enrichment.


Numerous other Homestead Village staff contribute to quality life enrichment at Homestead Village.  They include Ben Hayes, Katie Whallon and Virginia Lewis.  Ben Hayes has helped coordinate the life enrichment in the Apostles Center since 2004.

Ben has attended both Alvernia and Imaculatta colleges working toward his Bachelors Degree.
He has participated in all of the major culture change activities in the Apostles Center and continues to actively develop and improve the life enrichment services, especially in Radcliffe House.

This past year, Katie Whallon and Ginny Lewis joined the Life Enrichment team as coordinators for our two memory support programs.  Both have jump started their respective programs.  Katie has revolutionized the programs in Fickes House with the assistance of House Coordinator, Rachelle Rineer.  Ginny has continued the excellent programming in Gelhard House with the help of the nurse leader, Beth Tefsay.

Katie Whallon graduated from Gordon College with a degree in Business and minors in recreation and leisure studies, and non-profit organization management and social entrepreneurship.  Ginny graduated from LaRoche College with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a Gerontology Minor.

This team of dedicated professionals is making a difference in our community and the lives of persons served at Homestead Village.

Homestead Village purchases The Farmstead

Shortly before Christmas, on Tuesday, December 22, 2015, Homestead Village Enhanced Senior Living, Lime Spring Partners and Marietta Associates met to finalize the agreements reached on October 8, 2015.  Homestead Village purchased the buildings and fifteen lots at The Farmstead which will become the fourth neighborhood of the Life Plan Community located along Marietta Avenue and celebrating its 30th anniversay in 2016.  "This event is the culmination of seven months of negotiations, planning and due diligence on the part of the organizations involved," according to Douglas Motter, President. "It is a great Christmas present for our community."

The Farmstead is part of the first phase of development along the recently completed Noll Drive between Route 741 and Running Pump Road.  Oak Tree Development Group owns the historic Lime Spring Farm and adjacent land and has approvals from East Hempfield Township to create a mixed use, village overlay on the property with a mix of residential retail and commercial.  The Farmstead is ideally located, surrounded by and in walking distance from the village of Rohrerstown, Stauffers of Kissel Hill's flagship store, the centuries old buildings of Lime Spring Farm and a future township park.  It is located just a few steps west of The Mews at Homestead Village, another of Homestead Village's successful neighborhoods.

Headline Reads "Elderly Scams Cost 12 TIMES More Than Previously Thought"

Earlier this year, staff writer Ann Brenoff, wrote the shocking headline above for The Huffington Post [2/5/2015].  Ann, who is in her fifties and "AARP-eligible," goes on to say that about four or five times a day, her home phone rings with people who say she has done business with them before (not true) or who say that she asked them to call (not true).  Increasingly, it is angry-voiced men claiming to be from the IRS or some fraud-investigation division of the government who say she owes them money (not true).  Ms. Brenoff surmises that the scammers play off one of older adults biggest concerns - a hazy memory!

The results of a recent study of financial abuse of older adults is pretty startling.  A U.S. True Link Financial study found that the overall cost of fraud is 12 times previous estimates - more than $36 billion. A Met Life study previously pegged the cost of scamming older adults at $2.9 billion. Many crimes are never reported.  The reason: "Admitting you got confused and gave some guy on the phone your credit card information is one step away from the "what should we do about mom?" conversation, according to Ms. Brenoff.

Here are some of the key points to keep in mind:

1. Sometimes the financial manipulation is perfectly legal including confusing language that commits the buyer to more than they wanted or hiding expensive shipping and handling fees . Often it is repeated phone solicitations from unscrupulous and never-heard-of charities. 
2. The True Link study revealed that financial exploitation is typically progressive, rather than an isolated incident. Once people fall prey to a scam, they are repeatedly targeted.
3. The National Center for Victims of Crime says that Americans age 65 and older are more likely to be targeted by fraudsters and more likely to lose money once targeted.
4. People 60 years and older were 26 percent of all fraud complaints tracked by the Federal Trade Commission in 2012 -- the most of any age group. 
5. One in every five Americans age 65 or older has been abused financially, according to a 2010 survey by the Investor Protection Trust, a financial-education organization. 

While many scams are perpetrated by strangers on the telephone or sitting at a computer anywhere in the world, financial misappropriation often happens in our own homes or at our front door.  Everyone needs to take steps to make themselves safe.  Here are some rules to adopt:

1. Never respond to a phone call.  Ask for the information in writing or just hang up.  Your bank or other financial institution as well as the IRS will always put their request in writing.  Even if the person says they are a neighbor or relative, do not believe them.  Scammers use surprise and urgency to their advantage.  Never give out any information over the phone or in response to an email (and don't click on the links!).
2. Only contribute to charities that you have researched and that you know for a fact are legitimate.
3. Talk over large requests for charity or demands for payment with your family, your financial consultant, your lawyer, your pastor or one of the leaders at Homestead Village.  It is better to get counsel that concurs than pay the money and then regret it later.

Homestead Village does everything it can to keep our community free of scams and fraudulent activity.  If we become aware of any behavior that puts our residents at risk, we take immediate action for the well being of all who call Homestead Village their home.

Homestead Village Enhanced Senior Living: A LIFE PLAN COMMUNITY

Life Plan Community has been chosen, after a multi year effort, to replace Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) as the primary description of communities for older adults.  For most people, their first question would be, "Why change?"  That is a good question.  The best way to answer it is to first look at history and then look at the present.

Communities for older adults have been labeled with various terms over the past hundred years that today seem unbelievable.  "Asylum" was probably the most heinous label.  Of course when asylum was the popular term, residents were referred to as inmates; so the terminology was offensive from all aspects.  "Homes for the Aged" was  used regularly replaced by "Convalescent Home" and "Nursing Home."  When these terms were no longer acceptable, new, modern terminology took their place.  The modern terms were cool and very business like.  "Skilled Nursing Facility" and "Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center" are two of the more popular terms that are still in use today.  The term facility is ubiquitous.  It appears in the news and even in regulations. It is often the term used to describe a community by its own residents and employees.  Facility is the opposite of home.  No one calls the home they grew up in a facility.  The most basic definition of facility is space or equipment necessary for doing something.  It is a very functional term; but does not describe the key reason we create communities for elders:  caring, compassion, love and fellowship.  Center has a similar connotation.
Back in the seventies and eighties, as retirement communities began to appear across the country, the term continuing care retirement community became popular and has come to define the type of living arrangement that offers multiple levels of care in one location.  Even the accreditation is named Continuing Care Accreditation (CARF-CCAC).  This terminology has served well for the past three decades or more; but its shortcomings have begun to appear.  As the new generation of elders approach the decision to move to a community, they have expressed displeasure with the term, CCRC.  Two of the four words elicit negative feedback.  Care and Retirement are both unpopular with the boomers.Even continuing is institutional sounding.
Leaders in the"Life Plan Community" field recognized this problem and began a deliberate effort to identify new terminology that best describes what we offer.  After two years of hard work including market testing, the term "Life Plan Community" has been chosen.  It was announced at the annual LeadingAge conference in Boston in November. The public relations information included with the announcement includes the tag line, "It's my life; it's my plan; it's my life plan community!"  Use of the term in place of CCRC is voluntary; but it offers a new and fresh take on what communities such as Homestead Village offer those who choose to make us their home.
Homestead Village will embrace Life Plan Community and do its part to facilitate the transformation in language and thought.

Church of the Apostle's Rader Park

Homestead Village is blessed to be located in an idyllic location, close to every major attraction and thoroughfare, yet tucked into beautiful neighborhoods.  One amenity that we often take for granted is Rader Park.  According to Church of the Apostles’ website,

“Rader Park is an outdoor ministry of Church of the Apostles that encompasses over 20 acres of our campus. Over the years it’s been developed with an eye toward stewardship of the earth and faithful ecological practices. Improvements include:

• Over 100 trees have been planted in the last few years including memorial trees to honor members who have passed away. There are stands of evergreens planted as boundary trees to hide a busy road. The memorial trees have created an aleé of hardwoods leading to a group of evergreens planted to create an enclosed campfire area used for intergenerational campout.
• Other natural features include a pond stocked with fish which is home to frogs and a snapping turtle or two.
• Church members have worked together to build walking trails and gazebos at strategic places for rest and viewing the scenery.
• A large pavilion was completed in 2007 and is used for outdoor worship services and church picnics. Playground equipment for the children is available in this area.
• A butterfly garden was developed to encourage all sorts of beneficial insects.
  
• Bee hives have been added and the church produces its own honey known as Sweet Success.
• In the summer of 2012, an acre and a half was plowed and a vegetable garden was planted. Members planted, weeded, harvested and sold vegetables on the property to clients and employees of our campus partner non-profit organizations. Over two tons of vegetables were donated to local residential missions and some of the produce was frozen for use in homemade soup made and sold in the church during the winter.
• Summer programming in the park is a very active part of our church. Center city school children arrive in May for field trips and benefit from the science and ecology they learn through stream studies, planting vegetables, fishing in the pond, and studying bugs living in the dirt. A Wacky Wednesday literacy program for toddlers and young children is held every summer with adult story readers. Organizations including our own Apostles Preschool, and various other non- profit agencies, use the park for their summer camps that last anywhere from a week to a month. 
• On Sunday evenings in the summer, intergenerational programs focusing on nature and ecology occur every two weeks and bring a large crowd of member families and neighbors alike. The evenings always end with ice cream, sometimes from our own soft ice cream machine.

Rader Park is an important part of our church mission of Sharing Christ’s Love with All People. Many people say they feel closer to God in nature and Rader Park fills that spiritual need for many. Come see our park and enjoy everything it has to offer.”

Church of the Apostles has graciously made Rader Park available for the enjoyment and well being of the Homestead Community.  We are indebted to them for enhancing our environment and surroundings with beauty and opportunities for exercise, picnicking, gardening and public service.  Over forty years ago, Nevin Shellenberger had a vision for his church to be surrounded by ministries that the church could support and lead.  With the help of like-minded individuals such as Glen Rader, Bob Williams, Richard Geiger, Al Alspach and others, Nevin's dream has become a reality.  Rader Park is an important part of that incredible legacy.

How Does Charitable Care Work at Homestead Village?

Many residents have asked the question, "How does Homestead Village provides charitable care?"  It is a key part of our mission and our non-profit, charitable status.  Charitable care starts with the generosity of others.  Homestead Village is able to provide charitable care because our generous and caring stakeholders have contributed to our endowment.  That endowment provides the additional revenue needed to cover the cost of the charitable care.  Another key to  providing charitable care is careful budgeting and operations.  Knowing that we have a commitment to provide charitable care, we are careful with our resources.  The final piece of the charitable puzzle is ensuring that the need for charity does not exceed our ability to provide it. That means appropriate screen of new residents in all levels of care to ensure that they can pay for their services most of their life.

 Most residents of Homestead Village (and most other retirement communities) pay for their services with their own funds.  Other non-charitable sources of payment are long-term care insurance and Medicare.  Medicare has many forms and primarily pays for the first 30-100 days of care in a nursing home as well as for medications, therapy, physician services and other ancillary services.  Long-term care insurance pays in most licensed areas of care, including nursing care, personal care and home care when a recipient meets the medical requirements of the plan.

For most of us, if we live long enough, we might outlast our assets.  It doesn't help that as we get older, we require additional assistance which costs more money.  The end result for many people is the inability to pay their full bill.  When this occurs, we ask the resident to write a letter detailing the situation and provide a full accounting of their financial situation, including all assets, income, expenses and debts. Homestead Village's CFO, Brent Messner, then makes a determination as to the amount of charitable financial assistance necessary to meet the full bill.  The resident continues to pay as much as they can afford.  That is how charitable care is provided in residential living and personal care.  

In the nursing home, charitable care is governed by the Medicaid program.  Medicaid requires in most cases, a recipient to spend down most of their assets.  Exceptions are made for the spouse in the community and residents can often keep their homes; but the Department of Human Services is likely to put a lean on the home to recoup Medicaid payments.  Residents applying for Medicaid must provide their financial information to the county assistance office, which makes the determination as to how much of the nursing home bill will be paid by the Commonwealth and how much will be the responsibility of the resident.

 There are a number of challenging scenarios related to planning for health care later in life.  One of the first is Long Term Care Insurance.  Long Term Care Insurance is a complicated purchase and it is difficult to know when to purchase it and how much coverage to buy.  A financial planner can help determine the specific policy and values to purchase, depending on your age and physical condition when you apply.  The second difficult decision is whether to listen to the many schemes about shielding assets.  The temptation is great but there are two problems.  One is the five year look back that the Department of Human Services employs and second is the ethical question.  Any money that is transferred within five years of application for Medicaid will be disqualified and that money will be required to be spent toward care prior to approval for Medicaid.  The ethical issue is simple. Why should the rest of society, and in the case of the Apostles Center, the rest of Homestead Village pay for your care if you have the financial resources to pay for it yourself.  The Federal Government is nearly $19 trillion dollars in debt.  Every state is struggling to balance its budget and Homestead Village loses money on each resident on Medicaid.  Thus all other residents have to pay more money each time a resident qualifies for Medicaid.  Lawyers offer many other schemes to shield money and help individuals with means qualify for Medicaid sooner.  While these schemes are usually legal, each elicits many ethical issues.