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The Los Angeles Jewish Home has long been an innovator at the forefront of emerging trends in senior care. This spring, that tradition of trailblazing continues with the rollout of new telehealth technology designed to transform the patient experience. With the acquisition of nearly 20 state-of-the-art mobile telehealth carts, many Jewish Home residents can now access high-quality care without leaving the comfort of a Jewish Home campus. The carts enable residents, supported by their Jewish Home care team, to connect directly with physicians via video; during each visit, doctors can utilize the sophisticated technology to monitor pulse, heart and lung sounds – essentially, conducting a comprehensive visit virtually. "Thanks to this remarkable tool, doctors can look closely at a resident's skin, ears, nose, and mouth, and listen to their heart and lung sounds in a way that is much more patient-centered," says Noah Marco, MD, the Jewish Home's Chief Medical Officer. "With in-person physician visits, residents have to disrupt their daily routines to do what's convenient for the doctor. Our telehealth option streamlines things considerably and eliminates the stress for residents of arranging transportation and finding someone to accompany them to a medical office. It's also wonderful because it allows authorized family members to participate in the visits live, from anywhere in the world: All they need is a smart phone to join. Since family members can be such important members of the care team, this is a fantastic development." At the Jewish Home, the telehealth carts are being used for several types of routine and scheduled appointments, as well as for more pressing visits when a resident experiences a change of health condition. In all cases, use of the carts is optional and requires resident consent. It is also HIPAA compliant, providing a safe, secure, and private line of communication for residents and their physicians. "There are so many benefits to telehealth, the way we're doing it at the Jewish Home," Dr. Marco says. "Often, when a resident has a change of condition, I'll get a phone call from one of our excellent nurses, who will explain to me what's going on. However, the challenge is that over the phone, I don't have a visual. I can't listen to the patient's heart or lungs, and I can't ask them questions. With telehealth, I'm able to hear directly from the resident, and I see live video. I can even do an examination with my digital stethoscope. These things all increase my confidence that I'm making the right diagnosis and ultimately reduces the need to send our residents to the hospital." There is also, notes Dr. Marco, another significant benefit of supplementing care with telehealth. "In addition to meeting patients' needs in a better, more efficient, and convenient way, telehealth helps reduce our nurses' stress and increase job satisfaction," he says. "Given the challenges nurses face today, with all the demands from COVID and so many other factors, it's vital we invest in technology that minimizes strain on them while improving overall clinical care." The embrace of telehealth technology accelerated nationwide during the pandemic, when stay-at-home orders and quarantines made venturing out in public more difficult, especially for seniors, whose less robust immune systems increase their vulnerability to illness. Bringing the technology to the Jewish Home was made possible by generous grant support from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and numerous nonprofit foundations including the Ahmanson Foundation, the Max Factor Foundation, and the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles. Currently, the telehealth carts are deployed across the Jewish Home's Grancell Village campus: on the two main floors of the Mark Taper Building, in the Joyce Eisenberg-Keefer Medical Center, and in the Brandman Centers for Senior Care, a Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). Ultimately, plans call for expanded distribution across all Jewish Home facilities. "This is a pilot program, so it's still new, but we saw the value in it immediately. The first time we used the cart, the doctor and nurse made a treatment plan for the resident being seen, based on data captured by the technology. Both caregivers felt that, without this technology, the resident would have needed to be transferred to an ER," Dr. Marco says. "Every time we're able to help keep our residents safe and comfortable where they are, it's a big win."

The Los Angeles Jewish Home sparkles on every level, but one of its crown jewels is the Dietary Department, a collection of remarkable staff members who work tirelessly to keep Jewish Home residents happy, healthy, and able to enjoy some of life's finer pleasures. During holidays and every day, the approximately 60 employees based on the Grancell Village campus and 45 at Eisenberg Village are on their feet—and on their toes—making sure they deliver our seniors the very best cuisine possible. It is, notes department director Cindy Cordon, a massive and ambitious enterprise. "We serve nearly 500 residents in 12 different locations on two campuses, plus we have Gerald's Deli and Café Rendezvous (the on-campus, to-go locations at Grancell Village and Eisenberg Village, respectively), and everything—except for blintzes and pies—are made from scratch," she says. "We have cooks and sous chefs and bakers who make fresh desserts for residents on both campuses, as well as challah every Friday. We have food preparers, dessert preparers, platers, and even someone dedicated to making purees for the seniors. It takes a lot of love and care to keep it all going!" That love, says Chief Mission Officer Rabbi Karen Bender, is always on full display. "You just have to taste the food and look at the presentation to know the dietary staff does everything with such wonderful intention. The kitchen is the heart of any Jewish home, and that's also true at our Jewish Home. The people who cook and serve food to our residents are so loving in their preparation. As a rabbi, their sincerity, conscientiousness, and care are beautiful to watch." Cindy, a certified specialist in gerontological nutrition, has been at the Jewish Home for 15 years. As she tells it, success on the job has meant mastering the art of menu planning. "Menu is the center of everything," she says. "It dictates what's required, from food and equipment to quantity and labor. It's also key for resident satisfaction. We have monthly food committees so we can get feedback from residents, and we incorporate as many of their requests as possible. We're honored they've placed their trust in us, and we want to make sure they feel listened to." Under Cindy's direction, the Jewish Home menu is built on a five-week cycle that rotates seasonally. "We want residents to enjoy a wide variety of tastes, and we are constantly evaluating whether something worked or not," she says. To that end, she is frequently revising meals on the fly. "Out of 14 lunches and dinners, I may end up changing half, based on how people respond. We also send menus to the families of some of our residents, who help us customize meals according to their loved ones' individual needs. In total, we have about 56 customized menus!" It's a lot to keep track of and gets even more complicated during Jewish holidays like Passover. Although the Jewish Home's kitchens are fully kosher for year-round food preparation, they must undergo a special process to make them kosher l'Pesach (kosher for Passover). "We kasher the kitchen two days before the first seder. Everything is removed. Then we do a deep clean, from floor to ceiling. At Grancell Village this year, we spent approximately 20 hours on the floor alone! We turn on all the stoves and put everything that holds water on high until it's boiling, and then let it boil for two hours. Then we dip all the silverware in boiling water. After that, we scoop, splash, and pour water on every working surface throughout the kitchen, as well as the deli," Cindy says. The entire process is supervised by a mashgiach—an authority on maintaining the kashrut status of a kosher establishment. "Our mashgiach says the Jewish Home has the most expert staff at kashering for Passover he's ever worked with, which is high praise," Rabbi Bender says. "They really do an extraordinary job." It's a job Cindy and her staff are thrilled to do. "The Jewish Home is such a special place," she says. "The residents are so amazing. I've created a lot of meaningful relationships here. And I love serving them! Walking around in the dining room, getting a chance to talk to them, to find out how they are and to hear about their lives—it's a real privilege."