Dear friends,
As always, when the weather becomes a challenge, our staff rise to the occasion. No one expected the mess we had yesterday but we didn’t miss a beat across the Jewish Home Family. Here are just a few examples. In the Gallen Center, we closed early and drivers began their routes. In some cases, when they brought participants home, no one was there to receive them so they kept these folks on the bus, completed the other drop offs and then took them home. They were driving for hours but participant safety is always foremost and that’s what they did. Another great example, one of our staff attempted to go home and could not make it so she stopped at a restaurant. She ran into a couple dressed in black tie for a formal event they could not get to and they had nowhere to go. She called JHR and made arrangements to bring the couple here so they could spend the night in safety. Staff slept over, they worked long days, they helped each other and from a care and service perspective it was, as it always is, business as usual. We are always proud of this team and at times like this we are especially proud.
Speaking of pride, we were thrilled to receive a major national award this week. On Monday afternoon, Sunni Herman and I had the privilege of accepting the Archstone Foundation and American Public Health Association 2018 Award for Excellence in Program Innovation for our Parkinson’s Center. It was very exciting to not only receive the recognition but we were also the only award winners who were given the opportunity to speak and to share information about our program. We had so many positive comments and many people spoke to us afterwards wanting more information and help in creating their own program. We celebrated with our staff and residents on both campuses today and are also sharing our story with referral sources and others.
From the APHA conference in San Diego, I headed to Louisville, Kentucky for the annual Green House project conference. As you know, we are moving towards implementation of the Green House philosophy and practices and are calling 2019 “the year of the Green House.” Eric Riguerra, RN, Director of Nursing at the Jewish Home at Rockleigh and our Green House project leader and I represented the Jewish Home Family. On Tuesday afternoon I had the chance to speak at their Innovation Roundtables about our Parkinson’s program. On Wednesday morning I presented one of the plenary sessions, entitled “Get Busy Living” and had a chance to talk about helping residents to fully live their lives and the importance of us understanding our residents as individuals. I used some stories and photos from our recent Israel mission as illustration. Eric presented a great workshop session on eliminating alarms and restraints so we were well represented on the program!
At Jewish Home Assisted Living this week we began on Sunday with volunteers from Temple Shalom in West Essex who came in to play Bingo with our residents. We also baked pumpkin bread with the residents which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. For Monday’s Veteran’s Day events, we had a special lunch prepared by Chef Jean. We honored all of our veterans including members of our staff. Volunteer Gary Lipman joined us and led a discussion on “The Vital Role that American Jewry has played in the United States Armed Forces and Intelligence Services.” We had some Chanukah crafts led by Linking Hearts volunteers, a visit from the Glamour Girls from Pascack Valley High School and rounded out the week with one of our Montclair State University programs. This one was called “U.S. and Saudi Arabia Relations: Frayed to the Point of Breaking.”
The week began with music at the Jewish Home at Rockleigh. BridgeMusik joined us on Sunday for a performance featuring flute, violin, viola, cello and piano performers. This unforgettable concert left the audience speechless. Our Veteran’s Day programs began in the Seiden neighborhood with facts and trivia about Veteran’s Day. We had a patriotic sing-a-long that was a bit hit. Later that day, we saluted the twenty-two veterans who live at the Jewish Home at Rockleigh. Staff made “Proud to be a Veteran” t-shirts that they presented to each veteran. All of our veterans wore their service hats and our program included both photos and a chance for each person to share their story. Rabbi Feld, who was an Army Chaplain, also shared his experiences. It was a moving and memorable afternoon.
Wishing you and your family a happy and healthy Thanksgiving,
All the best,
Carol Silver Elliott
President/CEO
The Jewish Home Family
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Upcoming Events
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Volunteer Opportunity of the Week
· We are looking for a friendly and energetic individual to transport residents to and from the rehabilitation department.
· Mitzvah Day is Sunday, November 18th! Roll up your sleeves with Safely@Home and perform a wonderful mitzvah for the Bergen Volunteer Medical Initiative (BVMI) at 75 Essex Street in Hackensack. Volunteers will be performing a “deep cleaning” for this extraordinary and well deserving organization. Age minimum is 12 years of age and project hours are 9:00 am – 12:30 pm.
Register in advance (a must) and receive further details!
For more info or to sign up, contact Director of Volunteers Stacey Orden at sorden@jewishhomefamily.org or 201-518-1175
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10 Link Drive Rockleigh, NJ 07647 | 685 Westwood Ave. River Vale, NJ 07675