Los Angeles Jewish Home

On April 2, 2013, six proud individuals received their Nurse Assistant certificates from the Annenberg School of Nursing (ASN). The class, made up of three women and three men, successfully completed the 20-day program, which also includes Restorative Nurse training in the curriculum. With only a few days to enjoy their accomplishments, the group will take the state exam for their CNA and RNA certificates on April 6th.

With the room full of well-wishers, flowers, and balloons, Marie Fagan, ASN director, welcomed everyone and spoke about the graduates with great admiration. Jewish Home chief operating officer Larissa Stepanians wished everyone the best in their upcoming careers, adding they will always be part of the Home’s family.

Graduate Melanie Halstead gave the student welcome and thanked everyone for their support and encouragement. “As we embark on this life-changing milestone and launch a new career, please know we could not have done this without you.”

The graduates received their diplomas and class pin before the enthusiastic crowd. Graduate Debra Jackson shared a poem by Gail Lindsay, entitled Who Can You Be? “To some you’ll be hope, to others, strength…Just who can you be?...You’re a nurse’s aide, you see.”

Closing remarks were given by nurse assistant program instructor Myrna Ragovin, who spoke about how six strangers came together quickly as a group and as friends. “There’s much love here,” she said. The graduates showed their appreciation to the ASN faculty and staff with flowers and a class photo album.

To view the graduation photo album, please click here.
(And be sure to like the Annenberg School of Nursing on Facebook!)

On behalf of the Los Angeles Jewish Home and the Annenberg School of Nursing, we congratulate:


and wish them the best as they embrace the field of nursing.

For information about the nurse assistant or vocational nurse programs at the Annenberg School of Nursing, please contact Cindy Thomas at (818) 757-4431 or asn@jha.org, or visit the ASN website at www.asn.edu.

Labels: Annenberg School of Nursing, CNA, Graduation, NA, Nurse Assistant, RNA

by Shelly Ryan

Ok! So many of you can relate to your alarm clock going off and wanting to hit the snooze button a few times! Although I'm not a morning person, I got to work earlier than usual, not knowing what I would face! As luck would have it, I went to JEK 4 to speak to an employee and got off the elevator to find an amazing sight! One of our sweet CNAs was talking to a resident about the resident's son, and this was how the conversation went!

"My son doesn't get to visit me that often because he's always working". The response from our CNA was "That's what's fun about my job, because when I'm working I get to see you"!

The resident welled up with tears and said, "But with your job you HAVE to see me."

And our CNA responded, "That's the beauty of my job! I don't HAVE to see you, I GET to see you!"

The resident then hugged our CNA and said, "You're like my daughter."

The CNA said "You're like my Grandmother—sorry, but I'm younger than your daughter," and they both laughed! And then hugged!

These are the kind of sweet moments I get to see every day! The interaction between our staff and our residents is why I've been here for almost 30 years. Our staff treat our precious residents like family. And the feeling is mutual! Our residents feel the love and care from our staff and it's a bond that is hard to break. At the Home, our staff go beyond "work" and care for our residents as they would a member of their own family. It's truly remarkable! Every consultant and surveyor that comes here, whose job it is to find what we're doing "wrong" versus what we're doing "right", ends up remarking about the relationship between our staff and our residents! To say we're a Jewish Home family is not just "words" here.

There is a strong bond that will forever be imprinted on the hearts of both our staff and residents. If you want to experience the love, come and visit us at any of our buildings. We truly have a unique environment where our staff and residents are equally supportive and protective of each other. It's a heart-warming experience—one I would encourage all of you to experience. Are we perfect? No! But our hearts are in the right place!! There is truly no place like "HOME" and I'm blessed to see it day after day!!

I often joke that we're "chosen", and when I walk the floors I believe it's true!! Each staff member has been "chosen" to care for their residents in a unique and amazing way. When I've had an especially challenging day all I have to do is walk the floors and see what the Home has created. We are truly blessed, and I don't want to take it for granted!!

Thank you to our incredible staff, our families, our volunteers and our supporters for letting the Home be the special place that it is!!:)

Labels: Around the Home, CNA, Family, Grandmother, Mother, Residents, Shelly Ryan, Staff, Sweet Moments, Visiting