A Decade of Leadership and Innovation in Memory Support
Ten years have passed since Jennifer Holcomb returned to Cross Keys Village following her maternity leave. Jenn’s impressive leadership skills had already impressed her colleagues at Cross Keys Village, yet she was reluctant to jump back into the heavy responsibilities of Health Care Administrator. Fortuitously, Cross Keys Village was looking for its first-ever Director of Memory Support, a position that would require initiative, enthusiasm, and compassion in equal amounts. Recognizing the potential to grow her career in a new direction, Jenn welcomed the new challenge.
By 2015 it had become increasingly clear that dementia affects many families in our area, and people were becoming more open about the subject. However, practical information about living with the disease was scarce and fragmented. An individual would get a diagnosis from a neurologist… but little guidance about what to do next. Families often felt abandoned.
In a few short months, Jenn coordinated specialized support groups, events, community presentations in churches and other agencies, and corporate training sessions. Within Cross Keys Village, an ambitious program took shape to ensure every single team member received the training they needed to recognize and respond appropriately to signs of cognitive impairment. With two colleagues onboard, Jenn soon opened a Memory Support Resource Center in our Mission Point building, where families could discuss their situation at no cost. At the same time, our Adult Day Services program, Wellbrook, became more focused on serving individuals living with dementia.
Jenn was also deeply involved in Brookside, our specialized Personal Care that opened in 2017, an environment that has become the yardstick against which all dementia residences in our region are measured. The response of the community to all these initiatives was overwhelmingly positive, and Cross Keys Village was instrumental in the creation of the York and Adams Counties chapter of Dementia Friendly America in 2018.
Today, Jennifer Holcomb is the Executive Director of Personal Care and Memory for Cross Keys Village, and is also an adjunct professor at Temple University, teaching Neurocognitive Disorders as part of the Personal Care Administrator curriculum. 2025 will be a banner year for Cross Keys Village and for Jenn, with the imminent opening of Lifespring, a brand-new building that will host both a Day Services program and a Memory Support Resource Center.
“There is a synergy between the two programs, and it will blossom when they are operating under the same roof, right here on Route 94,” shares Jenn. “Greater awareness of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia has led to greater empathy. The disease cannot be cured, but the lives of the men and women who live with the disease – and that of their care partners – can still be rich and meaningful. We have created ‘follow-ups’ to our support groups, so that graduates of the education series have opportunities to socialize regularly and make friends. Education and real-life friendships continue to go hand in hand.”
“We are blessed with a strong partnership with the Adams County Office of Aging, and it is gratifying to see a strong local alignment with the national plan and the state plan to deal compassionately with a condition that affects a third of the aging population.” Jenn concludes: “In 10 short years I have seen with my own eyes the perception of dementia evolve. We have moved away from the disease identifying the person. Much work remains to be done, and I am confident that Cross Keys Village will remain at the forefront of the movement in our region.”