Landis Homes serves people of all ages and extends its services to the surrounding community.

Nestled between rolling hills and rich agricultural farmland, Landis Homes Retirement Community is home to 650 residents living in cottages, apartments, suites, assisted living and health care. People may describe the 110-acre campus in Lititz, Pa., as quaint, homey, peaceful or beautiful. Each adjective is accurate, but LH is also recognized for its five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and has been selected as one of the best places to work in Pennsylvania.

Recently, LH decided to extend its mission into the surrounding community. Programs such as the Children’s Learning Center, Adult Day Services, Landis at Homes and various support groups offer services to community people of all ages.

“A Mennonite retirement community holds values that are like those of a Mennonite congregation—an emphasis on serving others, sharing the peace of Christ and compassion for those in need,” says Faith Hoover, director of Home and Community Services. “As Landis at Home and Adult Day Services extend the ministry of Landis Homes into the surrounding community, we take the same desire to serve others with the compassion and peace of Christ.”

By reaching beyond the limits of campus, the ministry of LH is extended to people on the waiting list, those not ready to move to a retirement community and those who intentionally choose to remain at home.

Meet the Wolbach family: Dr. Albert “Bud” Wolbach received his pre-med degree from the University of Pennsylvania and graduated from Jefferson Medical College in 1958. Afterward, he interned at Lancaster General Hospital for one year. Shirley graduated from the Lancaster General School of Nursing—now Lancaster General College of Nursing and Health Sciences—in 1956. They were married in December 1957.

As newlyweds, they moved to Lexington, Ky., where Bud served with the U.S. Public Health Service. He worked with imprisoned drug addicts. When the year-long term ended, the Wolbachs settled in Ephrata, Pa., where Bud designed their home with an attached medical office. He opened his family practice in 1961 and retired at the same place in November 1997.

The Wolbachs raised three daughters, who live in Erie, Pa., Chicago and England. They have three granddaughters, three great-granddaughters and, finally, a great-grandson.

A few years ago, Bud and Shirley asked LH to walk alongside them on a new journey.

“It’s satisfying to be on a journey with people,” Hoover says. “We have a professional relationship, but much is shared. We also become friends.”

Adult Day Services: The Wolbachs were introduced to Landis Homes through Adult Day Ser­vices. “Bud needed something to do, and so we thought we would go through the interview process,” Shirley says. “The first day he walked in for an interview, Christy Carpenter knew him right away. Bud was the physician who delivered her. A lot of his former patients are guests there.”

After meeting Carpenter, manager of Eden West, Bud felt welcomed and comfortable almost immediately.

LH offers two centers. Eden West is for older adults in need of some daytime support. Eden East is specifically for people with memory loss.

“Because we have a center designed specifically for people with memory loss, we can support people almost to the end of the disease process,” Hoover says. “A big part of meeting their needs is managing the amount of stimulation they receive from the environment. This is easier to do when people with similar needs are separate from the group, and we can focus on their unique needs.”

Both centers offer an array of large and small group activities, including games, trivia, embroidery, sewing, singing, baking, crafts and bus trips. The Annual Benefit Golf Outing is a highlight for all. Adult Day Services also offers services such as health screenings, personal care, hair salons, speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy. A hot noon meal and ample snacks are also part of the daily schedule.

“It is important that the activities are meaningful,” Hoover says.

Eden West serves 66 people and Eden East serves 38, but the waiting list is much longer.

Landis at Home: At the end of two years, Bud’s health needed extra attention, and he spent time at the health-care center at LH, which offers short-term nursing care and lets patients return to their place of residence after care is completed.

Bud and Shirley found they needed more support at home. The evening hours were especially challenging for Shirley to handle alone. They agreed to home-care support from a local agency.

“We switched when I knew about Landis at Home,” Shirley says.

Landis at Home offers nonmedical support to residents living on campus and community members living within a 15-mile radius of campus. Homecare aides can assist in light housekeeping, laundry, meal preparation, transportation and errands and offer care in bathing, dressing and medication reminders.

“We actively support people to ‘age in place,’ ” Hoover says. “Sometimes people can be supported in their current accommodations with just a little bit of help.”

This program is not age restricted and is available to anyone over the age of 18. Currently, 35 staff serve 250 people.

Though Landis at Home began only three years ago, clients have nothing but praise for the program. Homecare aides often serve beyond expectation, allowing people to live independently for a longer period of time. In many cases, the staff becomes an honorary member of the family.

Donna Hess became a homecare aide in her last year of school for a registered nurse degree. She played a large role in assisting Bud this past fall, helping Shirley with his evening care.

“Landis at Home never felt like a job to me,” Hess says. “I never felt like I was working. Landis Homes has confidence in its employees and is trusting. It was an independent way of working, and I loved it. I felt I was making a difference in lives—it may be little, but it’s something.”

Support groups: Shirley chose to participate in another community program LH offers.

Though she does not need the same kind of nursing care her husband receives, she appreciates confirmation and encouragement as a caregiver. This is what support groups offer.

The Memory Loss Support Group at LH is cosponsored with the Alzheimer’s Association and offers a monthly meeting of education and fellowship. A speaker shares with the group at each meeting. An attorney may share about the financial aspect of memory loss care, or a representative from hospice may share about their services.

A homey place “among”: This sense of kinship in support groups is uncommon in most communities yet common at LH.

“About 70 percent of LH residents are Anabaptist-Mennonite, and the value placed on service is evidenced by the volunteer service on our campus,” Hoover says.

“It’s amazing how young people take care of old people,” Shirley says. “There are girls that have been here five, six, seven years. … Absolutely everyone is so happy, nice and friendly.”

“I love to work with people with memory impairment,” Hoover says. “I like that we have a center that specifically serves people with memory loss and their families.”

Hoover also takes pleasure in extending their services to the surrounding community. “I like that we can service the people in the community we live in,” she says.

LH plans to extend this level of service with more community-based programs. Soon this quaint, homey, peaceful and beautiful retirement community will not only be nestled between but among the community in which they live.

Heidi Martin attends West End Mennonite Fellowship in Lancaster, Pa.