Los Angeles Jewish Health: Energizing Senior Life

The holiday of Sukkot—a Hebrew word meaning “booths” or “huts”—follows closely after Yom Kippur and is a joyous celebration of the autumn harvest. This year at Los Angeles Jewish Health, the holiday also marked another very special and happy occasion: the adult confirmation of three residents in their 80s and 90s who displayed their mastery of Jewish scholarship and prayer in front of a rapt audience of family and friends.Confirmation is a way for Jewish students of post-bar or bat mitzvah age to continue engaging with their tradition and confirm their commitment to Jewish life. Inside a gorgeous sukkah erected in the main courtyard of LAJH’s Grancell Village campus, the assembled guests listened to the women—Etta Spiegel, 96; Barbara Fallick, 82; and Linda Zweig, 81—all of whom had previously had adult bat mitzvahs, chant from the Torah and offer astute insights into Jewish history, ritual, and culture. The ceremony was held as a highlight of LAJH’s Friday afternoon Shabbat service, led by Chief Mission Officer Rabbi Karen Bender.“These women wanted to deepen their Jewish knowledge, and they studied with me for about a year in preparation for this day, ultimately becoming experts in an area of specific interest to them,” Rabbi Bender shared during the moving ceremony. “Their passion and determination are incredible to behold, and I am beyond excited for them to share what they’ve learned with you today.”Etta focused on the Passover story, making connections between the Pharoah of ancient Egypt and modern-day tyrants. Linda spoke about Midrash, a genre of Jewish commentary, and discussed the ways in which, when it comes to biblical interpretation, women (whose perspectives were once marginalized) are now empowered to be part of the conversation. Barbara delved into family dynamics in the Book of Genesis, with particular emphasis on the life of Jacob.At the conclusion of the service, Ilana Springer, CEO/administrator of the Joyce Eisenberg- Keefer Medical Center, presented each of the confirmands with a framed photograph of them with the Torah and complimented their dedication and drive. “Through their words and actions, these women demonstrate their faith, courage, and hope for the future of the Jewish people,” Springer said.LA Jewish Health Board Chair Judy Friedman-Rudzki gifted each of the women a sculpture, bearing their names and depicting a woman holding the Torah. “Your example shows us that there’s no limit to what we as women can accomplish!” she said.Also on hand was Dale Surowitz, LAJH’s president and chief executive officer, who congratulated the three residents on their tremendous effort and handed them each a certificate of adult confirmation to mark the occasion.“Thank you for showing all of us that age is only a number,” he said. “What you accomplished here makes clear that we can do anything if we put in the hard work and follow our hearts.”As she ended the service, Rabbi Bender offered Etta, Barbara, and Linda a special blessing and some heartfelt words of praise. “I have so much gratitude and respect for each of you,” she said. “You’ve truly inspired us all.” 

Every year, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur—the holiest days on the Jewish calendar—present Los Angeles Jewish Health residents with multiple opportunities for both celebration and reflection. This year’s holiday events were as wonderful as ever, marked by beautiful music, meaningful prayer, and cherished traditions.Led by Chief Mission Officer Rabbi Karen Bender, as well as Rabbi Ron Goldberg, the spiritual leader for the Eisenberg Village campus, LA Jewish Health’s holiday observances offered something for everyone of the Jewish faith. There were multiple religious services held across both residential campuses. In the main courtyard at Grancell Village, Rabbi Bender—assisted by her son, Holden—was joined by cantorial soloist Benzy Kogen. Services at the Goldenberg Ziman Special Care Center, officiated by Rabbi Ron, included cantorial soloist Joel Stern. At Fountainview at Eisenberg Village, Rabbi Bender and cantorial soloist Aria Gittelson led residents in the holiday liturgy.The Fountainview service had some particularly special and unexpected moments. Professional musician David Clymer, the grandson of resident Audrey Stein, was on hand to blow the shofar. He filled the room with gorgeous, powerful shofar blasts, uplifting the assembled residents. Unfortunately, Audrey was not among those gathered; she was under the weather and resting in her room. Determined to ensure his grandmother was able to hear the shofar during this season of High Holy Days, David, accompanied Rabbi Bender and Aria Gittelson, stood outside Audrey’s room and serenaded her while she stepped outside in the fresh air and lovingly listened from her balcony above.David Clymer, grandson of resident Audrey Stein blows the shofar as she looks on from the balcony“David was a trumpet player from the time he was little; I think that’s why he’s such a good shofar player,” says Audrey, who was delighted by her private concert. “Hearing him together with Rabbi Bender and Aria was so touching; I was crying the whole time.”For his part, David—a freelance musician who performs throughout West Los Angeles in addition to arranging and composing music—felt honored to perform for his grandmother and to participate in High Holy Day celebrations at LA Jewish Health.“My grandmother is such an amazing person. The amount of love she has for people and for travel has meant a lot for me in my life and has taught me to be a good person. It was a joy connecting with her at LA Jewish Health in this way,” he said.Another signature feature of the High Holy Days at LA Jewish Health this year: eating apples and honey to symbolize hopes for a sweet year ahead. Gathered around holiday tables, residents were able to dip apple slices in several different varieties of honey as they visited with peers and engaged in Jewish learning.Thanks to the ingenuity of Rabbi Bender, residents were also able to participate in the tradition of tashlich (“casting off”). Typically taking place on the afternoon of Rosh Hashanah, the tradition is one in which people symbolically cast away their sins by tossing bread crumbs into a flowing body of water. While LA Jewish Health residents could not all travel to the Pacific Ocean to perform the ceremony themselves, they carried out a modified exercise utilizing the crumbs and bowls of water. Then, Rabbi Bender collected bread crumbs from them and drove to the beach herself, casting the crumbs into the water on their behalf, in the last afternoon sun.“At LA Jewish Health, every resident matters, and we will stop at nothing to bring them the joy of the holidays and the joys of life,” Rabbi Bender says.  

 Leading foundation supports Southern California’s premier senior healthcare provider(LOS ANGELES, CA – October 2, 2024)  Los Angeles Jewish Health has received a $1 million donation from the Alfred E. Mann Charities Inc., a prominent Los Angeles-based charitable foundation that supports scientific advancement, education, community development, and cultural initiatives. The gift will support the newest location of LAJH’s Brandman Centers for Senior Care, a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).Situated in the heart of L.A.’s Pico-Robertson neighborhood, the new Westside BCSC is a full-service adult day care center offering head-to-toe medical assistance, social activities, transportation, and home care services to eligible seniors. Through its 5,000-square-foot Wellness Center, the Westside BCSC’s coordinated team orchestrates comprehensive health services including medical and specialty care, behavioral health services, social work services, physical and occupational therapy services, home care services, prescription medications, and delicious meals. The Wellness Center is being named in the Alfred E. Mann Charities’ honor in recognition of its landmark gift, which will help advance the Westside BCSC’s work and play an important role in enabling the facility to serve more than 400 area seniors.“We are tremendously grateful to the Alfred E. Mann Charities for helping to further LAJH’s mission to provide excellence in senior care reflective of Jewish values for all,” said Dale Surowitz, LAJH’s president and chief executive officer. “Thanks to this gift, our newest Brandman Center will have critical resources to make a meaningful difference in seniors’ lives.”Each day, BCSC PACE offers a vital lifeline for frail, elderly adults still living in the community (more than 95% of program participants live outside of a nursing home). Most participants are dually eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. Once they enroll, the BCSC becomes their exclusive provider for all medical needs—coordinating their appointments and care and eliminating the need for them to pay medical bills.For the Alfred E. Mann Charities, investing in the vision of the BCSC continues a longstanding partnership with Los Angeles Jewish Health.“We are proud supporters of LAJH, a community where every individual is valued and treated with kindness,” said Michael Dreyer, president of the Alfred E. Mann Charities, and Anoosheh Bostani, the organization’s chief financial officer. “The team is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for seniors by providing exceptional medical care rooted in compassion, respect, and dignity.” The Alfred E. Mann Wellness Center in the Brandman Centers for Senior Care West Los Angeles LocationExam room at the Mann Wellness CenterTreatment room at the Mann Wellness CenterDental Exam room at the Mann Wellness Center

Los Angeles Jewish Health is dedicated to ensuring the wellbeing of thousands of seniors each year. Physical health is just one indicator of how older adults are faring; mental and social health are also critical markers. This was the focus of a recent event held at LAJH’s Fountainview at Eisenberg Village featuring noted scholar Lené Levy-Storms, PhD.An associate professor of social welfare and medicine/geriatrics at UCLA, Dr. Levy-Storms addressed a near capacity crowd in the Fountainview Theatre about the importance of nurturing and maintaining social connections. It’s a topic that is drawing more attention as researchers deepen their understanding of the ways in which social health impacts human lives.“It’s programmed in our DNA to be social,” Dr. Levy-Storms said. “In fact, scientific literature shows that not having adequate social connections can yield the same adverse health effects as obesity and smoking.”Dr. Levy-Storms addresses the crowd at the Fountainview TheatreThis year, the U.S. Surgeon General released a report detailing what he called the country’s current “epidemic of loneliness.” According to the report, too many Americans feel an acute sense of social isolation. Dr. Levy-Storms noted that shining a light on the problem is essential to fixing it, since lack of awareness has prevented the development of vital resources.“We don’t have a healthcare system designed to give us remedies when we’re ailing from social health issues,” she said. “Beyond the healthcare arena, there’s also a big emphasis in our society on building up financial capital, and especially saving for retirement and older age. But where’s our social capital? What’s going to sustain us to feel connected as we get older and start to lose some of the people in our lives?”Dr. Levy-Storms’ talk was part of LAJH’s larger efforts around assessing urgent community needs. “Part of being a licensed nonprofit hospital means continually gauging how best to serve the people who rely on our care,” says Ilana Springer, the CEO and administrator of LAJH’s Joyce Eisenberg Keefer Medical Center. “Our most recent assessment revealed that seniors are particularly susceptible to isolation and loneliness, with 20%-40% reporting feeling lonely at any given point in time.”The solution, in Dr. Levy-Storms’ view, is not just building new relationships throughout our lives—it’s also making sure they are meaningful ones.“What is a meaningful relationship? The key is to establish emotional connections,” she said. “This requires us to get into a mindset of finding common ground with other people. It’s easy to say, ‘I don’t have anything in common with this person,’ but we can change that through listening and connecting with them. Then, hopefully, we experience reciprocity, where the listening goes both ways.”At the conclusion of Dr. Levy-Storm’s talk, the audience moved outside to chat over brownies and lemonade, giving them a chance to forge new connections and put her advice into practice.

Meaningful social connections are essential to our well-being, especially as we age. In this lecture, we will discuss the importance of maintaining strong relationships with friends, family, and community members. We will also explore the challenges and opportunities that come with aging and how social connections can help us navigate these changes. Cost: Free Refreshments and Parking Available RSVP to [email protected] or call 818.758.5045   

During a summer filled with exciting coverage of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, there was another, event right here in Los Angeles that brought talented athletes out to shine. This August, Los Angeles Jewish Health hosted its own Senior Olympics, engaging dozens of residents of the Joyce Eisenberg-Keefer Medical Center in an afternoon of fun and stimulating activities, enabling them to join in the celebratory spirit inspired by the Paris games.Critical to the success of the Senior Olympics was the outstanding participation of nearly 20  staff members from Bank of America, including Larry Schnaid, past president of Los Angeles Jewish Health’s support group, The Guardians. Led by Judy Friedman-Rudzki, director and senior treasury officer at Bank of America and LAJH’s current board chair, the energetic group were active participants as part of the bank’s long-time dedication to volunteerism and civic engagement. Bank of America encourages its more than 200,000 employees to be active in their local communities, to support the organizations that revitalize their communities. Collectively, bank employees log millions of volunteer hours each year.“Bank of America believes its employees should give back because we are part of the tapestry of the community,” notes Judy Friedman-Rudzki, director and senior treasury officer at the bank and LAJH’s new board chair. “I am thrilled that, through events like the Senior Olympics, I can help bring two fantastic organizations—LAJH and Bank of America— together to make a critical difference for seniors in Los Angeles and beyond.”These types of collaborations help LAJH improve the health and well-being of thousands of seniors each year. “Judy and her dedicated colleagues at Bank of America are wonderful partners with us,” says Dale Surowitz, LAJH’s president and chief executive officer. “The generosity of groups like theirs helps extend our reach into the community and bolsters our impact as a key health resource for so many seniors citywide.”The Senior Olympics event was classic LAJH—finding creative ways to engage and challenge seniors as they enjoyed the company of fellow residents, staff and especially the new friendships made with the outstanding Bank of America volunteers. LAJH’s staff lead for planning and orchestrating the event was Susan Leitch, director of therapeutic activities. “Programs like this promote socialization, friendly competition, and feelings of self-worth and satisfaction among our residents. They also instill a sense of camaraderie between residents and their peers,” she says. “This Senior Olympics event was fantastically successful: The day after, residents kept asking when we’d be having the next one. We have already started to plan a version of the games for next year!”  Participating residents had six games to test their skills: Tic-Tac-Toe, Giant Dartboard (using cloth balls instead of darts), Basketball, Badminton, Cornhole, and Bowl Chipper, a variation on golf. All games were held indoors, keeping residents nice and cool from the late summer San Fernando Valley heat. The lobby and multipurpose room were decorated in the spirit of the Olympics, including flags from around the world and banners hanging from the ceiling, lending the space an international air.Participants included 101-year-old LAJH resident Sadie Migden and Suzanne Blum, an 86-year-old resident who stopped by to check out the event, which she says was indicative of the level of care LAJH puts into everything it does. “LAJH does so many things well,” she says. “This is the best place in the city for skilled nursing care; you can rest assured that if you need help with something, you can find that help here.”Click here for a full gallery of images from the Resident Olympics with Bank of AmericaFor More Images from the Resident Olympics with Bank of America Click Here