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In the best of times, providing world-class senior care and leading-edge health education is a tall order. During a global pandemic, the hurdles to success are even higher. Yet, the Los Angeles Jewish Home continues to rise to the challenge, gaining significant recognition for its outstanding work. Two of its most recent honors acknowledge the Jewish Home's dedication to excellence across multiple fields of endeavor. This month, the California chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) selected the Jewish Home's Brandman Centers for Senior Care (BCSC), a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), as its 2021 Organization of the Year. This prestigious award will be conferred at the NASW-CA's annual conference, to be held virtually in October. "I could not be prouder of our social work team, who more than earned this great honor," says BCSC Executive Director Susie Fishenfeld. "It's a tremendous privilege to work with such dedicated and compassionate professionals. They do an outstanding job making a difference for our participants and their family members every single day." "Our program is community-based, so our approach to COVID had to reflect that," says Carolyn Quinn, BCSC's social work lead. "We kept our doors open throughout the pandemic to ensure participants had access to our clinics and therapies. It required incredible dedication, and a lot of smart and creative thinking, to make it happen, and I feel very fortunate to be surrounded by such amazing colleagues. They're really just the best people." That creative thinking required going above and beyond the normal role of a social worker. "At BCSC, we help make it safe for our seniors to remain in their homes," Susie notes. "During COVID, especially for the first several months, that meant working hard to meet participants' most basic needs—like, for those not able to travel into the center, bringing them food and basic items such as toilet paper so they wouldn't have to leave their homes." The social workers' responsibilities also included initiating challenging conversations. "Fifty percent of our participants have dementia. We reached out to their families and put plans in place for what would happen if their loved ones ended up in the hospital. It broke my team members' hearts to have to have those calls, but people appreciated the frankness, and I was so proud of my team's attitude, which was, "This is hard, but we're going to do whatever it takes for our participants and their families to be well," Carolyn says. The Brandman Centers for Senior Care is not the only Jewish Home organization earning accolades for high achievement. In July, the Annenberg School of Nursing made it onto the list of top three nursing schools in California, as ranked by practicalnursing.com. The ranking reflects data on first-time successful pass rates for the state licensing exam, overall student support services, and program elements more easily streamlining students toward achieving licensure. "Words cannot express my pride and gratitude for having reached this milestone, which is the result of the collective efforts and the continued leadership, drive, and commitment of our entire staff," says Amandeep Kaur, director of the Annenberg School. "I wish all of my colleagues a hearty congratulations." Over the past year, the need for qualified, expert nursing care has skyrocketed. Fortunately, Amandeep says, COVID-19 has not put a damper on the Annenberg School's meteoric rise. "Ensuring we are consistently following all public health guidelines, our LVN class remained full despite the pandemic, and we are thrilled to be in a position to be training new nurses during a time of such critical demand," she says. Among the factors driving such steady student enrollment: a focus on ongoing opportunities for real-world experience. "At this point, many nursing schools have turned to online clinical instruction, but we're still doing hands-on training to ensure our students are prepared for what's waiting out in the field," she says. The Jewish Home salutes the Brandman Centers for Senior Care and the Annenberg School on their impressive accomplishments. May they go from strength to strength!

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.

There is no such thing as the Ten Commandments. At least our ancestors did not call them the “Ten Commandments.” Why would they? Not all 10 of them are commandments. Take the first one, for example: “I am God.” That is a statement, not a commandment. Our ancestors noticed the difference. In Hebrew, the name of what we in English call the Ten Commandments is “Aseret Hadibrot,” which means the Ten Utterances or the Ten Statements or the Ten Declarations. Here they are in brief just to refresh your memory: I am GodYou shall have no other gods but meDon’t take God’s name in vainRemember the Sabbath (Shabbat)Honor your father and your mother No murderNo adulteryNo stealingNo false testimonyDon't covet Of these ten, which do you think is the most important? I can tell you which I think is the least obvious and also the most insightful. Least obvious because if you assembled a random group of people who did not know of the ten commandments and asked them to write ten, it is unlikely they would come up with this one. And most insightful—because it is this commandment that is the most psychologically astute. It is the tenth one: You shall not covet. The Hebrew, lo tachmod, means “do not be obsessively jealous.” In full it reads: You shall not covet (be obsessively jealous of) your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his servants, nor his cattle, nor anything that is your neighbor’s. This commandment is amazing! It tells us so much about human nature. First of all, consider what a house was like 3500 years ago, when the Torah was written. A shack? A cave? A hut? What could possibly have been so nice about your neighbor’s “house” that you would be jealous? Nicer dirt on his or her floor? There must be something in human nature that makes us envy our neighbors, acquaintances and even strangers, regardless of whether their lives are substantively better. Also noteworthy here is that the Torah rarely dictates how we should feel. Much more commonly the Torah instructs us on behavior. So why is it that in this one commandment we are told how we should not feel? The instruction seems to be precautionary. If you are jealous of the other then that jealousy could lead to regrettable behavior. And if you are jealous of the other then you are missing out on the gifts of your own life. Judaism wants us to count our blessings, to be grateful for what we have. The Talmud instructs: “Who is rich? The one who is grateful for what she/he has.” Shavuot is coming. On that holiday we study and chant the Ten Commandments. Let us rejoice, on that day and every day, in the gifts of our lives! Maybe then, instead of worrying about what our neighbor might have that we lack, we will worry about what others may lack and how we can help them out.

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!”

Following are thoughts from Skirball Director of Spiritual Life at the Los Angeles Jewish Home Rabbi Karen Bender who has been hard at work, along with Rabbi Ron Goldberg, creating another special High Holiday season here at the Home. We know there are many family members and friends of Los Angeles Jewish Health who would like to join us for High Holy Days this year, and doing so would bring us all great joy. Unfortunately, due to ongoing public health regulations still in place, in response to the pandemic and especially since the onset of the Delta variant, we are regrettably unable to offer our normal and well known hospitality. The good news is that at both Eisenberg and Grancell Villages, our communities will be able to safely gather in person for the celebration of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur this year! Residents will enjoy apples and honey, shofar and song. "Lo tov Adam lehiyot levado," proclaims the Torah, "It is not good for the human being to be alone" (Genesis 2:18). No one here will be alone. I pray and wish for everyone in the greater community to join us in having a sweet, good and meaningful new year.

Throughout the pandemic, seniors at the Los Angeles Jewish Home kept busy with a broad range of engaging activities geared toward sparking engagement and joy during a challenging time. As we begin to turn the corner on the coronavirus, that list of activities is growing, the list of restrictions cautiously reducing, and residents are safely and slowly—but surely—preparing to enter a post-COVID-19 world. Many of the new offerings still take place remotely, enabling residents to interact while maintaining social distance to safeguard against risk of transmission of the virus. An example of this is a series of writing classes conducted over the phone and led by Annette Weinberg, the Jewish Home's lifestyle and enrichment director for residential care at Eisenberg Village. "We started with journal writing, which evolved into an eight-week course with an actual syllabus," Annette says. "The residents got so into it, and everyone did something to make it their own. We had someone keep a dream journal, someone else came up with the idea of a prayer/stream of consciousness journal, and yet another resident tracked her daily diet and exercise. One member of the class kept a legacy journal—something she planned to give to her grandchildren. No matter the topic, they were all creative and wonderful." Annette followed this initial effort up with a six-week creative writing course, then rolled out a class focused on more general writing skills. "This latest class doesn't have any homework. We do writing exercises together, whether it's working on poetry, Mad Libs, or humor," she explains. "The first week, I gave everybody the start of a sentence and asked them to finish it off with something unexpected. We had a blast!" In-person activities are also returning to the Jewish Home. "Sandy, our creative lifestyle and enrichment assistant, offers word games in person, as a small group activity (instead of on the phone, as it was offered these last months). And we now have a Spanish class and guitar lessons twice a week. Gloria, one of our talented lifestyle and enrichment employees, teaches both. So far, it's only a few people who are venturing out, but I think it's just the start of a return to normal, and we plan to increase our courses and activities over time," Annette says. "Stimulating our residents in this way helps keeps our brains firing on all cylinders." Residents are delighted with the new offerings. Linda Schomberg is one of those enrolled in the Spanish class. "It's a lot of fun, and what's great is that people are at different levels, so we can learn from each other," she says. Jerry Cohen has loved having a chance to jam on the guitar, and he attributes much of his success to the high level of instruction. "Gloria is an excellent—and patient—teacher," he explains. These classes take place in the Jewish Home's newly reopened arts and crafts room. According to Annette, having the opportunity to utilize the space once again has been a gamechanger. "It's been called ‘our happy place'—a spot where so many of our residents like to go and do their own, self-directed activities. For instance, we have a married couple who come in every day. He's a jewelry maker who creates beaded necklaces, and she knits. It's such a vibrant environment, and so thrilling after all these months of closure," she says. "Thank goodness!" In addition to expanding activities and opening venues, the Jewish Home also continues to bring entertainment directly to residents in the comfort of their own rooms. One example: for her Bat Mitzvah project at Stephen Wise Temple, local student Barbara Cotliar plans to sing for the seniors of the Jewish Home, and Annette will broadcast her performance over the Home's closed-circuit TV station. Barbara says her goal is to "lighten people's moods. This has been a hard year, and I know one of the hardest things my grandparents had to go through over quarantine was not seeing their grandchildren. My hope is the residents of the Jewish Home will feel happy after watching my performance—singing always cheers people up!" "Our residents love beautiful music like Barbara's, and we're so pleased to be able to share it with them," Annette says. "Whether it's through video content, activities on the phone, or in-person learning, we do our best to make sure residents can maximize their enjoyment every day."

In the days and months after their patients pass away, the Jewish Home's Skirball Hospice remains in the lives of their patients' families and loved ones. They offer bereavement support in the form of one-on-one counseling, personal letters and phone calls. Since 2014, Skirball Hospice has hosted a memorial service to honor the memory of the patients in their care who have passed away throughout the year. "Families and loved ones can often feel alone because they think no one else is feeling what they're feeling," says Ashley Teal, executive director of Skirball Hospice. "The memorial service provides people with an opportunity to sit and grieve together—to be with people who understand that their worlds have changed and reflect on that." This year's service was held in March at the Skirball Cultural Center. Bereavement Coordinator Alice Lynn, who organized the service, introduced the program: "Today, we gather as a community comprised of families, friends and Hospice team members. Today we celebrate those who have passed. We remember the love, laughter and priceless memories you may have shared." During the program, Skirball staff and volunteers lit candles, performed music and shared readings. A moving ritual of building a matzevah, or altar of stones, to represent the individuals being remembered was also part of the program. As each patient's name was read, a stone was placed in their memory. Family members and loved ones were then encouraged to share their stories and memories. For Mitzi Schwarz, the memorial service was especially poignant. Schwarz is one of Skirball Hospice's spiritual counselors. She works with patients and their families "bearing witness," she says, to what they are going through during the end-of-life stage. In this capacity, Schwarz had attended and performed at three Skirball memorial services. However this year, she was grieving her own father, who had been a Skirball patient. "It was a blessing for me," Schwarz says of her father's time as a Skirball patient. "To be supported by the Skirball Hospice team felt like I was being supported by my family. No one was a stranger." At the memorial, Schwarz says she felt comforted by being in the presence of her fellow mourners. "I was able to just let my emotions flow," she recalls. "Being with other families whom I had helped throughout the year deepened the experience." For more information on the Skirball Hospice program, please call 818-774-3040 or visit skirballhospice.org.

December has always been a time when the community expresses their support for the Los Angeles Jewish Home. As the holiday season begins and the year draws to a close, people demonstrate their love and appreciation for the Home and its residents. Despite the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, that tradition of community support for the Jewish Home remained strong all season long. From across Los Angeles and beyond, men, women, and children expressed admiration and appreciation for the seniors at the Home in a broad range of heartfelt and creative ways. Our #NotesofLove campaign, which encourages people of all ages to send notes, greeting cards, and artwork to the residents, continued with a focus on delivering holiday cheer and wishes for the New Year. The warm greetings brightened the days of our seniors, who have been required to curtail social interactions for months now due to the pandemic. We also received thoughtful thank you notes expressing appreciation to Jewish Home caregivers for their hard work. In addition to sending notes, many community members have increased their charitable giving to the Home at a time when funding continues to be in critical need. While there is a light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel now that vaccines have been approved, and immunizations have started, the need to follow all of the protective measures we have in place will continue for many months. This means the continuation of added costs for items including personal protective equipment (PPE) and other essential safety signage and supplies as well as increased staffing. Commenting on the community's generosity, Andy Berman, chairman of the Jewish Home Board of Directors, says, "We want to sincerely thank all of those supporters who have been so kind and generous and let them know that their donations have played an essential role in helping to keep our residents and staff safe and healthy which is first and foremost our main priority." Jewish Home donors have always given in many different, creative, and unexpected ways, and this year was no exception. We were particularly gratified to learn that a legend from the entertainment industry would be bringing extra cheer to our residents this holiday season. The family of late actor, director, comedian, and author Carl Reiner reached out to the Home to express interest in donating thousands of books (written by Reiner) as gifts to each Jewish Home resident. With titles including I Remember Radio; Approaching Ninety-Six, the Films I Love Viewing and Loved Doing; How to Live Forever; and Scrunched Photos of Celebrities (which, as advertised, includes photos of scrunched up celebrity faces), the books were a huge hit with the residents, who have had to manage through months of being isolated from their routine group activities. "The level of generosity and support the Jewish Home has received from donors—whether they made gifts on Giving Tuesday, contributed through online appeals, or responded to our direct mail outreach—during these extraordinary circumstances has been deeply appreciated by all of us here at the Home," says Steven Klappholz, vice president of the Jewish Home Foundation. "As we enter 2021, we are filled with gratitude and hope for a bright future for all the cherished seniors entrusted to our care."

At the Los Angeles Jewish Home, our residents are accustomed to enjoying a wide range of engaging activities on a daily basis. Shabbat services, sing-a-longs and games of Bingo, are all integral parts of the Jewish Home experience. Now with social distancing in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), our staff are coming up with creative ways to engage with our residents to help combat the feelings of isolation. To "pierce that isolation" and serve the spiritual needs of our residents, Rabbi Karen Bender, the Home's Skirball Director of Spiritual Life, teamed up with Eisenberg Village's Rabbi Ron Goldberg to bring Shabbat services directly to the residents (while keeping a safe six-foot distance apart). Rabbi Bender led what she calls a "Shabbat serenade" through the hallways at both Joyce Eisenberg-Keefer Medical Center (JEKMC) and the Mark Taper Skilled Nursing Building on Grancell Village. With guitar in hand, Bender appeared on every floor and at the entrance of every room, singing Shabbat songs and wishing residents "Shabbat Shalom!" "People laughed and smiled and clapped along to the music," Bender said. It took her nearly two hours, but she wanted each resident to know that despite the mandate to remain isolated, none of them is forgotten. Rabbi Goldberg toured the hallways at Eisenberg Village, accompanied by Volunteer Services Director Stacy Orbach and Lifestyle and Enrichment Director Annette Weinberg, singing songs. "Residents opened their doors as they heard the music," Orbach said. "We sang together, we danced together and we cried together (of course exercising social distancing). I witnessed joy, happiness and gratitude from our residents like never before." And at Fountainview at Eisenberg Village, Activities Coordinator Lauri Kamiel and Lifestyle and Enrichment Director Carolyn Clark took their "Welcoming Shabbat" show "on the road" to their residents. "From their doorways, we sang Shabbat songs, and said the blessings for the candles, wine and Challah," Kamiel said. Earlier in the week, Kamiel and Clark toured the hallways with a cart full of board games. They knocked on residents doors and shared some jokes and songs. The duo agreed that one of the highlights came when everyone sang "Tomorrow," from the musical "Annie." "Many residents are familiar with this song and joined us in an uplifting, feel-good moment," Kamiel said. Staying in Touch While the Home's Brandman Centers for Senior Care (BCSC), recently closed its day center, in compliance with guidance from California and the City of Los Angeles, the BCSC Clinic and Therapy services will continue to remain open to meet essential healthcare needs. In the meantime, even though most of the participants, who reside in the local community, are not physically in the BCSC Day Center, BCSC staff are doing everything they can to keep them healthy and well. Staff are calling to check in with participants, sending health care providers out into the community, delivering both meals and supplies to those who need them, and sending care packages to keep participants engaged. Dial-A-Bingo If you've spent time at the Eisenberg Village campus, then you know how passionate residents are about their Bingo games. To help fill that void, Weinberg, came up with a solution: Dial-A-Bingo. Weinberg distributed a flyer detailing the rules with a phone number for interested residents to use if they wanted to play. Then she handed out Bingo cards and colored paper squares to cover the called numbers. Weinberg, along with Orbach and Sandy Schipper, Lifestyle and Enrichment Assistant, phoned the residents and connected them into a conference call. They called the out the numbers, told jokes and kept track of the winners. "All the residents who have played say it's a lot of fun," according to Weinberg. "They appreciate the effort. Residents are having so much fun that the word is getting out and more and more want to play. We plan to offer this daily during the week." For resident Audrey Barger, who in normal times, volunteers as one of the Bingo callers on the EV campus, the activity is a welcome break from the daily routine. "Everybody looks forward to Dial-A-Bingo," she says. "It's a great way for us to connect with each other." Putting Out the Word To brighten the hours of our residents' days, we've put out the word that they would love to receive cards, pictures or letters! And, families have already responded to the call. If you would like to join the effort, please direct your cards and letters to our Director of Volunteer Services, Stacy Orbach, at our Eisenberg Village Campus at 18855 Victory Blvd, Reseda, CA 91335.

Photographic images can tell a compelling story. But if a picture is worth 1,000 words, it is only because of the talent of the person behind the camera. The Jewish Home's Photography Club is a case in point. Led by volunteer instructor Ron Cooper, a retired dentist and lifelong photography buff, the club enables residents of the Home to tap into their creativity and strengthen their powers of self-expression. The club meets weekly at Eisenberg Village and is open to residents of all skill levels. L.A. native Ron began taking pictures in grammar school; by the time he was a teenager, he was catching a bus from Westwood to a storefront on Western Avenue run by Otto Rothschild, a prominent performing arts photographer. "I would hang around the dark room and learn how to print photos," Ron remembers. "Ever since I was little, photography has helped shape my view of the world. The fact is that once you develop the skill, you see things better even when you're not taking pictures." Once he stopped practicing dentistry, Ron began looking for ways to get involved in the community. Sharing his passion for photography seemed like a good way to give back. He had heard about the Home from board chair Andrew Berman, and from the moment he walked on campus to teach, he knew it was a perfect fit. "I walked into the Pepp Center and immediately felt comfortable," Ron recalls. "Gertrude and Ray Pepp were among my parents' closest friends." Ron has been delighted by the interest and excitement of Photography Club members like Marilyn Weiner and Ray Joseph. "Based on the ideas they have and the questions they ask, I'm learning a lot myself," he notes. "And, through my interactions with them, I can tell the Home offers such a healthy and nurturing environment." For Ray, who moved into the Home three years ago, the Photography Club has been a wonderful way to continue a hobby that stretches back decades. "I took pictures semi-professionally for years—submitting them to magazines and selling them to newspapers," he says. "At the Home, I'm using an iPhone to shoot the statues situated all across campus." Marilyn is focused on photo editing—a particular expertise of Cooper's. "We sit together at the computer, and I teach her different editing techniques," he says. "She's getting good and can now do some of it on her own."Eventually, club members hope to showcase their work in an exhibit at the Home. "I'm eager for people to see what we're producing," Ray says. "Once they take a look at how good iPhone cameras are, and how easy they are to use, they might decide to take up photography, as well!"