Seniors Create a Night to Remember and Lifelong Connections at Los Angeles Jewish Health’s Senior-Senior Dance

Home / News & Events / Newsletter

Seniors Create a Night to Remember and Lifelong Connections at Senior-Senior Dance

Jun 5, 2024

Spring is prom season—that fun-filled, special rite of passage marking a last chance for high school seniors to forge enduring memories of young adulthood before heading out into the wider world. This year, Los Angeles Jewish Health held a dance for both seniors in high school and seniors who are older adults, bringing them together for a special shared celebration. On a beautiful evening, residents of the Newman Building on the Eisenberg Village campus joined graduating seniors from de Toledo High School to create lasting connections and a night to remember.

The idea—hosting an annual evening that would enable people on both sides of the generational divide to learn how much they have in common and bond—was born a handful of years ago. The inaugural Senior-Senior Dance, held before the tightening up of health regulations during COVID-19, was a tremendous success.

“Following the pandemic, we started to think about bringing the Senior-Senior Dance back. It’s such a wonderful program, and I remember our residents couldn’t stop talking about how much they enjoyed it for weeks after it happened,” says Stacy Orbach, Los Angeles Jewish Health’s director of volunteer services. “We knew it would be so invigorating for our seniors to move and schmooze on the dance floor!”

High School Seniors and Senior Residents Dance — High School Seniors and Senior residents dance together

Students and administrators at de Toledo, a private Jewish day school located in West Hills, were equally thrilled by the prospect of making this special event a tradition, and a group of de Toledo seniors began planning in earnest with Los Angeles Jewish Health staff. On the day of the event, students arrived at Los Angeles Jewish Health early to help set up, transforming the venue with decorations including colored lights and festive crepe paper.

All of the excitement created a buzz on campus and brought Los Angeles Jewish Health residents out in droves. Stacy shares, “We had a packed house including parents of students and de Toledo’s head of school. The de Toledo jazz band came, along with their amazing teacher Jared Stein. Once they started playing, students and residents flocked to the dance floor. We couldn’t get them off!”

LAJH Special Projects Coordinator Julie Lockman-Gold says the event was rejuvenating for the Newman residents, most of whom are in their 80s and 90s and who love connecting with younger people.

“We literally watched our residents get younger during the night. If they had arthritis or other pain, they forgot it all. They showed such spunk, and all their old dance moves came back. There was one resident who didn’t sit down the entire night—and she’s 94!” she says. “Seeing such big smiles and so much joy on residents’ faces was really something to behold.”

The residents were deeply appreciative of the de Toledo students’ presence at the event. “That these kids wanted to be with us was such a mitzvah,” one of the participants says. “It meant a lot for them to come here and do this for us.”

The benefit and appreciation went both ways. “The students got so much out of this event,” says Annette Weinberg, Los Angeles Jewish Health’s campus lifestyle and enrichment director for Eisenberg Village. “At school, they learn the concept of l’dor v’dor (from generation to generation), which is all about passing down wisdom and traditions. The Senior-Senior Dance gave them an opportunity to put it into action, and I think they realized how meaningful it was for our residents to spend time with them, listen to them, and laugh with them.”

Perhaps one of the participating de Toledo seniors put it best: “We formed real soul-to-soul connections. It’s not just what we did for them, but also the impact they had on us,” he says. “The simple conversations we had with them taught us life lessons that we’ll carry with us through our next chapters.”

Music was provided by the De Toledo High School Jazz Band

Both groups enjoyed talking to each other — Both groups enjoyed visiting throughout the event.

Prev Page Next Page

Share

Sign up for the Los Angeles Jewish Health newsletter, Connections.

First Name

Last Name

Email

Recent Articles

Oct 2

Los Angeles Jewish Health Receives $1 Million Gift from Alfred E. Mann Charities

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 Receives $1 Million Gift from Alfred E. Mann Charities

Helping seniors stay in their own homes for as long as possible—while remaining as independent as possible—is a central goal of Los Angeles Jewish Health’s (LAJH) Brandman Centers for Senior Care (BCSC), a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). This fall, the Alfred E. Mann Charities Inc., a charitable foundation dedicated to improving healthcare and accelerating medical innovation, demonstrated its support for the program with an extraordinary $1 million donation to benefit LAJH’s newest PACE facility on L.A.’s Westside.Located in the heart of the Pico-Robertson neighborhood, the 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,” says 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.”Brandman Centers for Senior CARE PACE in West Los Angeles (left) and the Alfred E. Mann Charities Wellness Center Each day, BCSC PACE offers a vital lifeline for frail, elderly adults still living in the community. Most participants are dually eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. Once they enroll, 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,” says 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.” Treatment room in the Alfred E. Mann Charities Wellness CenterDental Exam room in the Alfred E. Mann Charities Wellness Center

Seniors and the Benefits of Social Connections

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.