On Thursday, August 4th, seniors from the Home’s Eisenberg Village campus gathered in the Zuckerman Boardroom to watch an informative performance from the Stop Senior Scams Acting Program. Before the show began, 88-year-old Eisenberg Village resident and longtime Stop Senior Scams actress, Laurel Shapiro, was asked to take the stage. The Jewish Home senior was honored for seven years of dedication to the education of her peers. Field Deputy Tim Glick presented Laurel with a certificate from the office of Councilmember Bob Blumenfield and applauded her for her commitment. Then, the group of talented performers acted, danced, and sang in a number of skits demonstrate the different ways scammers target seniors. A few of the common scams mentioned in the show were the grandchild, driver’s license, claim your prize, identity theft, online purchases, unpaid taxes, and obituary scams. At the end of each skit, actors shared important tips for avoiding scams like, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is; ignore unsolicited phone calls and emails that report to be the IRS; and memorize important numbers and leave confidential documents at home. Using popular songs like the Rolling Stones’ You Can’t Always Get What You Want, Getting to Know You from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical the “King and I,” Abba’s Money, Money, Money, and the Supremes’ Stop in the Name of Love the troupe brought theatricality, laughter, and excitement to a commonly frightening and frustrating topic. “One of the reasons our show works so well is because of the way we present the information.” longtime Stop Senior Scams actress Beverly Wyles says. “Our show is a memorable way to equip vulnerable seniors with the knowledge they need to protect themselves.” The Stop Senior Scams Acting Program was founded by LAUSD acting instructor Adrienne Omansky in 2008. The one-of-a-kind troupe is comprised of 27 senior actors ranging in age from 60 to 98-years. Several of the group’s members write the skits they perform from experience. Each member of the group has, at some point, been the target or victim of a senior scam. Program founder and director Adrienne has dedicated much of her time to educating Southern California’s seniors. In 2013, Adrienne and the senior scam group worked closely with the Los Angeles City Council to have one Thursday each May recognized as Senior Fraud Awareness Day in the city of Los Angeles. Adrienne explains importance of senior scam awareness. “Our program is here to share a serious message— fraud is everywhere and stopping senior scams begins with all of us.” The group’s oldest actor, 98-year-old Peggy Mollin loves acting. She spends much of her time travelling with the group, visiting Los Angeles churches, temples, libraries, senior centers, and nursing homes, spreading the word about senior scams. “Over the years, I’ve lost a lot of money to insincere people.” Peggy shares, “I wanted to make sure the same thing wouldn’t happen to seniors like me.” Jewish Home resident Joy Bernstein says, “This is a wonderful cause. There are a lot of seniors who aren’t aware of the tricks scammers have up their sleeves. Seniors everywhere should be able to watch this show and learn what to watch for.” Laurel says, “The song at the end of the show gives seniors some wonderful advice. You can avoid a lot of scams when you—” She continues, singing to the tune of the Orlons’ 1962 hit Don’t Hang Up— “JUST HANG UP!”

For the nineteenth consecutive year, the Jewish Home will host its annual Sarnat Symposium on Wednesday, November 2, 2016. This year’s symposium, Creating Caring Connections for an Aging Society, will bring together some of the most progressive experts in the field of geriatrics to share their insight, research findings, and experience with social workers and other professionals who care for seniors. Six CEU credits are offered for those licensed as LCSW, MSW, MFT, BRN, NHAP, and RCFE. Our diverse and dynamic speakers and topics include: Freddi Segal-Gidan, PA, PhDUniversity of Southern CaliforniaWhat’s New in Alzheimer’s Disease and DementiaTim CarpenterEngAGEEngAGE: Transforming Senior CommunitiesDaniella Kaiserman, Esq.Borchard Fellow at Bet Tzedek Legal ServicesLegal Approaches to Elder Abuse: Advanced Planning, Restraining Orders, and Civil RemediesCathy A. Alessi, MDUniversity of California, Los AngelesSleep Interventions for Seniors: What Does the Research Tell Us? In 1998, Rhoda and Bernard (of blessed memory) Sarnat made a generous gift to the Jewish Home to create an endowment to fund, in part, an annual conference on issues related to aging. The Rhoda G. & Bernard G. Sarnat Symposium was established to honor them and to promote the education of professionals in the field of geriatric care. The Sarnat Symposium will be held at the Jewish Home’s Grancell Village campus located at 7150 Tampa Avenue in Reseda. Registration fee is $90 per participant. Senior and student discounts are offered. For more information, please click here.

On September 25th pharmacists all over the world will be celebrated in honor of World Pharmacists Day. This year’s theme is Pharmacists: Caring for You. The theme reflects the important role of pharmacists in providing care to the public and to highlight the emotional connection they have with their patients. Among the unique and innovative services offered at the Los Angeles Jewish Home is an in-house pharmacy. Located in the Joyce Eisenberg-Keefer Medical Center (JEKMC) at Grancell Village, the Erwin Rautenberg Foundation Pharmacy plays a critical role in the lives of our seniors and the exceptional care they receive. “It’s uncommon to have a pharmacy located in a nursing home,” says Bob Shmaeff, director of pharmacy services. “Proximity to our patients is a big advantage. We can deliver medications on a moment’s notice. It’s a full-service pharmacy geared to the needs of our seniors.” The in-house pharmacy provides its staff the opportunity to review orders, confirm dosages, make sure medications are having the intended effects, and check for drug interactions and adverse drug reactions. “Because our pharmacy is located within JEKMC, our staff can visit with residents and establish one-to-one relationships. This helps create a connection and build trust. Our seniors know they can approach us at any time to share how they are feeling and ask any question they may have about their medications.” “Bob and his team have been the recipients of several awards,” says Dr. Noah Marco, chief medical officer of the Jewish Home. “They participate in quality improvements efforts and mentor pharmacists that are completing their training. More importantly, our pharmacists make a difference in the lives of our residents by making sure each and every one receives the correct medication at the correct dose. They also ensure the resident’s doctor is aware of any potential safety issues regarding the prescriptions they write. Our residents love living at the Home, and our skilled pharmacists are a big part of the reason.” Jerry Wahagheghe, director of nursing at JEKMC, shares Dr. Marco’s enthusiasm about the in-house pharmacy and its team. “It’s wonderful because there is no need to order medications from an outside pharmacy, which saves a great deal of time. Bob and his staff are amazing.” “What I love most about my job at the Erwin Rautenberg Foundation Pharmacy is the ability to help our seniors live long, purposeful lives,” says Bob. “My staff and I have one goal: to deliver high quality pharmaceutical care to our residents. The end result is an average life span of 91 years at the Jewish Home, which is truly an accomplishment and a measure of success.” We honor our amazing pharmacy staff who play a major role in providing high quality care to our seniors: Robert Shmaeff, MPA Director of Pharmacy ServicesSean Boucher, PharmD Staff PharmacistJanice Hoffman, Pharmacist, PharmD Faculty in Residence Western UniversityMariam Khachatryan, PharmD Pharmacist ResidentAni Aramyan, PharmD, BCPS, CGP, Pharmacist for the Brandman CenterApril Gonzalez, TechnicianHenry Camas, TechnicianKathy Cardona, TechnicianJae Crawford, Biller/Technician

With the High Holy Days coming soon, Jewish Home e-Connections sat down with Rabbi Karen Bender, director of spiritual life for the Los Angeles Jewish Home, to discuss a central theme of the holidays: growth and change. One of my favorite Jewish stories is attributed to the Chafetz Chaim, an influential Eastern European rabbi, 1839-1933. When asked how he had such an impact as a great sage and leader in the 20th century Jewish world, the Chafetz Chaim answered, “I set out to change the world but I failed. So I decided to scale back my efforts and only try to influence the Jewish community of Poland, but I failed there too. So I targeted the community in my home town of Radin, but achieved no greater success. Then I gave all of my effort to changing my own family, and failed at that as well. Finally, I decided to change myself, and that’s how I had such an impact on the Jewish world.” The High Holy Days are about changing ourselves. As 21st century American Jews, we tend to focus our efforts upon repairing what is wrong around us. Some are active on issues of social justice. This year some are active in the elections. Some are active in helping the Jewish community, including the Los Angeles Jewish Home. And, of course, this is so important as it constitutes Tikkun Olam, world repair. I, myself, hope to look back on my own life as a citizen of Los Angeles, an American citizen and as a Jew someday and be able to proudly say I made a difference in important causes and institutions. We also need to heal and change our souls. The ten day period between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is the ideal time to jump start that practice. During the High Holy Days we call it “Tshuva,” or “Repentance,” but I prefer to call it, “growing.” This work is never done. It is a lifelong process and opportunity. And for our residents this is extremely important. While most of them are past the point of truly being able to be activists with their time or resources, they can always improve as human beings and they do. They are my inspiration. As Alan Morinis recounts in his book, Everyday Holiness, Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz guides his students along these lines in the following way. One beautiful Spring day, when a group of boys gathered in his house to study, the rabbi rushed into the room and had a very agitated look on his face. He cried out, “I just came from the street and I saw that all around me everything was growing. Why are you not growing!?” Change is possible. Growth is imperative. You are like a garden. Shana Tova!

Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with serious or life-limiting illness. It is both a philosophy of care and a process for delivering care, and focuses on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of illness and improved quality of life for the patient and their family. The primary objective is comfort for the individual or patient while they receive treatment consistent with their personal goals of care. Goals for care is the structure to which an individual’s palliative care plan is devised and thus very important. What exactly is palliative care, or palliative medicine? How did it come to be? Who can benefit from it? “Palliative” means to relieve or lessen without curing. Palliative medicine is often thought of as only a part of hospice care provided to someone who has been diagnosed with a fatal disease or illness. While palliative medicine is a crucial component and indeed grew out of hospice care, palliative medicine is a much broader specialty and can treat patients in various trajectories of their illness including alongside curative treatment. In 2006, palliative medicine became a board certified sub-specialty of internal medicine with specialized fellowships for physicians who are interested in the field. Today, palliative care may be provided in a hospital, cancer center, nursing home, outpatient clinic, hospices, or in the patient’s home. Focusing on the symptoms of both the disease and the treatment, palliative care helps with a wide range of issues. These may include pain, depression, anxiety, fatigue, shortness of breath, constipation, nausea, loss of appetite, and difficulty sleeping. It also helps an individual to gain the strength to carry on with daily life and can help improve the ability to tolerate medical treatments. Palliative care also gives an individual more control over their care by improving their understanding of treatment options. Palliative care is provided by a multi-disciplinary team made up of physicians, nurses, social workers, and other healthcare professionals who work together with an individual’s primary care physician and specialists. Treatment plans can include medication, massage therapy or relaxation techniques. Since palliative care treats the entire person, team members address social, psychological, emotional or spiritual needs the individual may have. Anyone who is experiencing uncontrolled symptoms related to surgery or illness may benefit from palliative care. These illnesses include multiple sclerosis, cancer, congestive heart failure, kidney illness, stroke, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), emphysema or COPD, and Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. If there is a sudden change in health due to heart attack, stroke, hip or spinal fracture, or a subtle onset, such as weight loss, pain, recurring infections, fatigue, avoiding food or medications, a palliative medicine consultation should be considered. The Jewish Home Center for Palliative Medicine strives to provide comfort care to benefit the individual and support for their family. The team is led by Medical Director David Wallenstein, MD, who is board certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and is the lead member of the Palliative Medicine Service at UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Wallenstein is also an Associate Professor at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. Anne Moore, MSN, FNP-c, serves as the Center’s palliative service program manager. She is a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner, ELNEC trained and has over 30 years of experience in geriatrics and palliative medicine. Palliative medicine services are covered under Medicare Part B, Medi-Cal, and most private insurance companies. For more information about palliative medicine and the Jewish Home Center for Palliative Medicine, please call (818) 578-7427 or visit us online at www.skirballhospice.org/services/palliative-care.

Located on the first floor of the Joyce Eisenberg Keefer-Medical Center (JEKMC), the Maxine Dunitz Family Learning Center is a place where residents are able to go to read books, use computers to play games or check email, and challenge their minds with cognitive fitness games and programs. Maxine Dunitz, who donated the Dunitz Family Learning Center along with Max’s Beauty Salon and Gerald’s Deli (also located at JEKMC), recently made a generous donation to upgrade the Learning Center. New computers were purchased and installed along with a color printer for the residents’ use. Additionally, the Center has new artwork and many new books for the residents to enjoy. Maxine and her grandson came out to visit the residents and tour the Center. “I am pleased to have helped enhance the Dunitz Family Learning Center,” said Maxine. “My hope is that residents will continue to benefit from reading, using the computers, and just having a place for solace.”Resident Sylvia Gladstein enjoys reading. She always looks forward to the new books that are added to the library. Sylvia thanks Maxine for her generosity and for donating so many large print books. “I am reading three books a week and the gift has given me so many more choices and so much enjoyment,” said Sylvia.

On Thursday, July 14th, 2016, the Jewish Home’s Annenberg School of Nursing (ASN) celebrated its eighth graduating class of vocational nursing students. The Class of 2016 proudly took the stage in the Grancell Village Activities Center as their families, friends, and co-workers cheered them on. Graduate Laura Faridi welcomed the audience. “This day seemed so far away when we began. Quiz by quiz, test by test, and final by final (and there were many), the conclusion of our journey is finally here. We’ve built friendships, supported each other through the trials, tribulations and triumphs, and made it to graduation together.” She also extended thanks to the ASN faculty and staff, donors who support the school, and, of course, all the families and friends who helped make the students’ success possible. Monien Ibarra, Class President, spoke on behalf of the students. “We will continue to be strong advocates for those we will care for and whose lives will be entrusted to us.” She also shared a quote from one of her favorite doctors, Dr. Seuss: “To the world you may be one person; but to that one person you may be the world.” Valedictorian Lizbeth Lopez expressed thanks to her mother for her support. “While going to school full-time, I also worked a few days each week at the Home. My mother, who worked two jobs, helped out with my four-year-old daughter so I could have the time I needed to study.” Her mother’s support helped Lizbeth earn a gold cord for having the highest grade point average in the class. Laura Faridi and Cassandra Candia received blue cords signifying perfect attendance throughout the 12-month program. Laura also earned a red cord for the prestigious Florence Nightingale award. The recipient of this award is selected by the class and honors the individual who best exemplified the ideals of nursing: knowledge, integrity, flexibility, strong work ethic, leadership, honesty, and humor. “It’s an honor to be recognized by my classmates,” said Laura. “This says a lot about the relationships we built and how well we worked together as a team.” After receiving their certificates, the graduates received their class pins and took part in the lamp lighting ceremony in honor of Florence Nightingale. The lamps signify providing comfort and light in a place of darkness and passing the light of knowledge to others; represent the light and enlightenment that comes with knowledge; and affirm the student’s decision to pursue a career in nursing. Thank you to the dedicated ASN faculty and staff for their commitment to providing excellence in education for their students: Marie Cordeiro, director; Dr. David Cooper, instructor; Barbara Bridges, clinical instructor; Myrna clinical instructor; Barbara Noblet, financial aid coordinator; and Cindy Thomas, admissions coordinator. The Annenberg School of Nursing will welcome the vocational nurse Class of 2017 with classes beginning this month. Nurse assistant and home health aide programs are ongoing. For more information, please contact Cindy Thomas at (818) 757-4460 or visit the ASN website at www.asn.edu.

In honor of National Friendship Day, which falls on Sunday, August 7th this year, we celebrate the friendships that enhance the lives of seniors everywhere. The intimacy of a relationship with a good friend is wonderful enough to bring pleasure to people of all ages. Seniors who maintain close friendships, however, enjoy a world of benefits to their health, happiness and overall well-being. “For seniors the health benefits of friendships are invaluable,” says Jewish Home Chief Medical Officer Dr. Noah Marco. “When aging adults maintain strong social connections they tend to get more mental and physical stimulation— both are essential for healthy aging. Other physical benefits include lower blood pressure, a boosted immune system, and reduced risk of depression, cognitive decline, and Alzheimer’s disease.” The Jewish Home's Eisenberg Village residential care social worker Thelma Mata says, “Friendships can improve one’s attitude, behavior, and outlook on life. This type of special connection can also help seniors prevent isolation and depression.” Seniors in residential care at the Eisenberg Village campus have endless opportunities to gather, interact, and engage with others. Throughout the campus’ living spaces, they can be seen in pairs and groups, enjoying each other’s company. From enjoying a delicious meal in the dining room to playing an exciting game of Bingo, joining the Book Club to attending a Shabbat service, making jewelry in Arts and Crafts to volunteering in the post office— every moment is a chance to find and foster friendship. “The Home is the perfect environment for seniors to stay socially engaged,” says residential care activities aide Anna Kocis. “With so many programs, activities and events for our residents to take part in, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved. Once seniors start becoming active in the community, they realize they share common experiences and interests and begin to form lasting friendships. These relationships form the basis of a life-enhancing experience.” Jewish Home residents Grace Peshkin and Myrtle Feenberg are a perfect example of this. When Grace and Myrtle first moved to Eisenberg Village seven years ago, they knew they were meant to become good friends. “I remember it all so clearly,” says Myrtle. “We moved in around the same time and Grace was one of the first people I ever spoke to.” “From the very beginning we started spending a lot of time together,” Grace recalls. “It all started when we realized we had so much in common. We both love shopping, sharing, and conversation.” “It’s been wonderful! We confide in each other, and give one another advice. Sometimes our opinions differ and we argue, but we’re still friends,” says Myrtle. “It’s funny, we’re just like sisters!” This National Friendship Day, remember the importance of senior friendships. Make the decision to foster the strong, long-lasting relationships that lead to a happier, healthier, and more fulfilling life.

From left to right: Kathy, Ernesto, Lourdes, and Francine You never know where you’ll find a friend. Short-term rehabilitation patients Kathy, 73; Ernesto, 67; and Francine, 67 experienced the joy and surprise of an unexpected friendship when they stayed at the Ida Kayne Transitional Care Unit (TCU) at the Los Angeles Jewish Home. Kathy was recovering from a patellofemoral surgery performed on her right knee, Ernesto was recuperating from a ruptured quadriceps tendon, and Francine was on the road to recovery after falling and breaking her hip. When faced with the challenge of making a fully recovery after an illness, injury, or medical procedure, all three seniors trusted the expert rehabilitative staff and state-of-the-art facilities of the Jewish Home’s TCU program would help to get them back on their feet. The trio became fast friends when they were assigned to sit at the same table in the dining room of the Taper Building. The threesome's budding friendship blossomed when Ernesto enlisted the help of his wife, Lourdes, to teach Kathleen and Francine a popular card game. The group now spends their afternoons deep in conversation over a few competitive games of Continental Rummy. The Ida Kayne Transitional Care Unit at the Los Angeles Jewish Home is designed to help seniors successfully transition back home after an illness, injury, medical procedure, or hospital stay. For more information, please call Connections to Care, our toll-free hotline, at (855) 227-3745 or visit our website at https://lajhealth.org/.