Los Angeles Jewish Home

Each year, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) recognizes projects they categorize as "Design for Aging Knowledge Community." This year, the Jewish Home's Brandman Centers for Senior Care (BCSC), a Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), was honored with the Merit Award for Small Projects by the prestigious group.

Opened in 2013, BCSC was built out of renovated space on the Grancell Village campus of the Jewish Home. Designed by GMPA Architects, Inc., BCSC was designed with the intention of having a unique identity, while remaining integrated with the Home's existing style. Its contemporary design reflects the fact it serves as the first PACE in the Jewish Home's comprehensive senior healthcare system.

BCSC/PACE provides the community's seniors with the comprehensive care they need to continue living safely in their homes. Services include primary medical care, specialty services for vision, dental, hearing, and foot care, laboratory and diagnostic services, medical supplies and equipment, nursing and preventative healthcare, physical, occupational, and speech therapy, a state-of-the-art rehabilitation therapy room, nutritional counseling, a full service pharmacy, recreational activities, reliable transportation, and 24-hour emergency and urgent care.

Because BCSC offers such a large array of medical and social services to participants, one of the biggest challenge the designers faced was to find a way to create a space that would meet the complex requirements of the program. The designers managed to take advantage of the limited space they had to work with and created a beautiful, welcoming environment where seniors can come from their homes and benefit from the various health and social services made available to them at the Brandman Center.

Susie Fishenfeld, executive director of the Brandman Centers for Senior Care, said, "In the conceptualization of the Brandman Center, the designers wanted to create a space that breathes comfort and peace. We are thrilled with the idea that BCSC can be a source of admiration for the design community as well as other senior care centers."

People who are 55 or older, in need of nursing home level of care, are able to safely live in the community, and are living in the BCSC service area are eligible to become participants. To schedule a first meeting with the Brandman Centers for Senior Care, call 818.774.8444, toll free at 855.774.8444 or via TTY at 818.774.3194 between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

In 1965, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) chose March as the month to annually recognize the profession of social work. This year marks the 60^th anniversary of NASW and focuses on how social work paves the way for change.

Passover is a time for families and friends to gather together and share the story of our forefathers seeking and finding freedom. 

"Passover's theme of freedom is a core ethic of Judaism," says Rabbi Karen Bender, the Jewish Home's Jack H. Skirball Director of Spiritual Life. "When we sit down at our Seders, we celebrate our exodus from a dark place of slavery into the freedom of the desert, and, ultimately, the Promised Land. Our story does not stand alone, however.  We must link it to the world in which we live."

Rabbi Bender explains, "The Seder is bittersweet, not only because we remember the bitterness of Egypt, but because there are still slaves and people who are oppressed. Passover is about every individual's right to move from suffering and oppression to a place of safety and freedom."

On the first night of Passover in 1912, five homeless immigrant men sought freedom to worship with their brethren, safe from the ethnic taunts they had to endure at the "poor house" where they lived. They were taken in by caring Angelenos who read the Haggadah with them and served them dinner. The occasion marked a turning point in the life of the Los Angeles Jewish community, and those five seniors were the first residents of what would become the Jewish Home. The Community Seder at the Home has been a continuous tradition since that historic night one-hundred and three years ago. 

Please take this opportunity to join residents and staff of the Jewish Home for a truly heartwarming experience as we celebrate Passover and the freedom it represents. 

This year's Community Seder begins at 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 4th at the Jewish Home's Eisenberg Village campus.  Tickets are $40 per adult ($30 per adult family member of Jewish Home residents) and $15 per child for children under 12. Advance purchase of tickets is required by March 27th.

Call (818) 774-3386 or email EVrsvp@jha.org to reserve your place.

On behalf of the Los Angeles Jewish Home, Chag Sameach!

In a recent gathering, Caryl Geiger, RCFE activities director for Eisenberg Village, lead a discussion of this topic with Jewish Home residents.  Many of the participants have experienced loss and major changes during their lifetime and are familiar with this sad feeling of being apart from others.  Even a move to a warm, welcoming place like the Home can result in feelings of loneliness.  To help deal with this side effect of transition, the Home assigns buddies to show newcomers around, make them aware of all the opportunities for socialization the Home offers, and introduce them to others.

Read a book. Books are great company and can take you to an entirely different world.

ŸListen to music. Music has the power to mesmerize you. It entertains, relaxes and rejuvenates.

ŸDance. Dancing can let your frustrations out and help you forget your loneliness.

Each Friday morning, a group of eager residents gathers in the Eisenberg Village (EV) synagogue, ready to learn Hebrew. As the senior students enter the classroom they excitedly practice what they've learned in the past. One resident greets her peers with a peppy "Shabbat Shalom!" — a greeting used to wish someone a peaceful Shabbat — and another resident replies, "Ech Holech?" which means "How is it going?" in Hebrew.

After the seniors have settled in, 73-year-old EV resident and volunteer Hebrew teacher Michal Robins calls the class' attention to the board where she has written the words "Shabbat Shalom — Hayom yom shishi." She asks her students, "Do any of you know what this means?" One brave resident raises her hand and says proudly, "Today is Friday." "Excellent!" Michal exclaims. Michal went on to break down the meaning of each word in the sentence, "Hayom means today. Yom means day. Shishi means the sixth day, which is Friday. Put it together and what have you got?" The class answered with enthusiasm, "Today is Friday!"

As the lesson continues, Michal passes out the week's handwritten handouts, sheets of Hebrew words listed next to their meanings. Then Michal explains the meaning of each Hebrew word and helps students create and practice simple, conversational phrases. The seniors excitedly practice their newly learned Hebrew phrases while Michal watches and kindly corrects the students' pronunciation as they practice their phrases.

The Friday morning Hebrew class is one of many engaging activities and programs available to the residents of the Los Angeles Jewish Home. Each activity offered is designed to stimulate the mind, body, and spirit of the seniors. Michal's Hebrew class is an excellent way to facilitate new skills, new interests, and new friendships — all while encouraging learning throughout all of life's stages.

Social worker Thelma Mata considers learning a new language to be one of the best ways to mentally exercise. She explains, "Getting to know a new language is an excellent way for seniors to increase their brainpower. It enhances their ability to juggle tasks and stay sharp. It's also an exercise in memory and engagement."

Myrtle Feenberg, a 99-year-old EV resident, agrees. "I've learned quite a few words and phrases in Hebrew from Michal. I think the class is wonderful! I love coming each week because it stimulates my brain and gives me the chance to learn something new."

The proud teacher is pleased with the progress Myrtle and her other students are making. "Like all languages, it takes people a while to absorb all the new information," says Michal. "It takes time, practice, and repetition — that's why we review at the beginning of each class. Hebrew is a complicated language, but with our weekly exercises the participants are becoming real experts."

Prior to 1816, it was common practice for doctors to place their ears to the chests of patients to detect the workings of hearts, lungs, and other organs. That year, French physician Dr. Rene Laennec, who was uncomfortable placing his ear against the chest of a young female patient, invented the first stethoscope. Laennec's stethoscope was around 12 inches long, but over time, the instrument's tubing grew in length. In the 1830's the flexible monaural stethoscope was introduced. It was around 16 inches long. Then in 1852, George Camman introduced the first binaural (for two ears) stethoscope, which was around 20 inches. Today's stethoscopes are up to 30 inches long. Born of one physician's modesty, the most widely-used medical instrument has become symbolic of the increasing distance between patients and their doctors.

In the 20th century, many other tools were created to help clinicians assess the workings of their patients' internal organs without having to be near them — cardiac rhythm monitors, echocardiograms, CT, and MRI machines, to name a few. Now, in the 21st century, doctors and nurses routinely obtain data on their patients via the Internet, and can do so from virtually anywhere in the world.  

The words medical professionals use also reflect the diminishing connection between patients and their caregivers. The comedian George Carlin made this issue the focus of a popular routine. He noted that, in WWI, we used the words "Shell Shock" to describe traumatic reaction to the experience of battle. In WWII, the condition came to be called "Combat Fatigue." In the Korean Conflict, it was known as "Operational Exhaustion." Most recently, as a result of the war in Vietnam, the same phenomenon is called "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." Each of the phrases described the same condition. With time, however, they grew longer and more clinical, eventually becoming utterly devoid of emotional content. The increase in syllables had the effect of insulating caregivers and other civilians from the unpleasant reality of our soliders' suffering, but the result has been to put more distance between clinicians and the people who need their help.

The gap between patients' expectations and the care they receive is also growing, as is the difference between the ideals of health care professionals and the reality of day-to-day practice.

One remedy for the disturbing trend we've identified is for clinicians and their patients to take every opportunity in their interactions to close the space that's grown between them.

We can all reduce that space — physically, verbally and figuratively. Figuratively speaking, we can bring our ears closer to each other's chests so that we may hear each other's "hearts." Doctors can do that by taking the time to listen to patients' concerns and personal stories, any one of which may contribute significantly to their current condition. Listening to patients and their families can help guide clinicians to more successful decisions and long-term outcomes. Therefore, it is important for patients and their families to share their stories and what is important to them with their doctors and nurses.

Sometimes the origin of a word or a literal translation can lead us to surprising insights and metaphorical wisdom. The word stethoscope comes from the Greek "stethos" or breast, and "scope," to look at or see, which taken together can be interpreted as, "I see your heart." This simple phrase is the core of all successful medicine and a wonderful prescription for wise care amid the rapidly evolving world of medical science and caregiving. 

In the months ahead, I look forward to sharing some of the remarkable stories I've heard from the community that is the Los Angeles Jewish Home. In doing so, I hope to make it easier for you to see the hearts of the dedicated professionals who have been entrusted with the care of a remarkable group of people who are the residents of the Home.

Noah Marco, M.D.
CMO
Los Angeles Jewish Home