Vaccines are Coming, Holiday Cheer and More

Dear friends,

While it has been a great week at the Jewish Home Family, our eyes are focused on Monday, December 28. That’s the day that we will receive our first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at the Jewish Home at Rockleigh. It is a moment that we have been waiting for and praying for, a huge step towards the light at the end of this very long tunnel. As you may know, long term care facilities are receiving the vaccines through a pharmacy provider. We are working with CVS/Omnicare and are thrilled that we are in the first group of long term care facilities in New Jersey to receive the vaccine. We were notified on Monday night that our likely date was December 28, received the forms that we are required to use for informed consent on Tuesday and the clinic was confirmed on Wednesday. Needless to say, we have been working intensely to educate our staff, elders and families and to have these lengthy forms completed. We are required to turn in a spreadsheet with complete information on those who are going to be vaccinated and that has to be to CVS at least 48 hours ahead of time. They will not accept anyone who is not on that list so no one can change their mind and decide they want the vaccine at the last minute. And we want anyone who is willing to get the vaccine to get it.

We had a very well attended Zoom meeting with families on Wednesday and had Community Council, via closed circuit TV, with our elders on Monday. On Wednesday and Thursday we worked hard to make sure all of our staff, on all shifts, had the opportunity to learn about the vaccine, ask questions and get their consent forms. CVS Omnicare will be here from 10 am- 4 pm on Monday. One of their team will walk all of the units with a member of our nursing staff and administer vaccine to each elder in their rooms. Of course only those people for whom there are signed consent forms will receive the vaccine. Elders who have the ability to sign their own forms (and the desire to receive the vaccine) have done so and we have contacted all families to ask them for consent as well. Staff will also be observing the elders for 15-30 minutes after the injection. The staff will be vaccinated in a clinic area on our first floor and then they, too, will be observed for at least 15 minutes following immunization.

Our second vaccine clinic will be held on Monday, January 18 and we have been told that there is a third date but have not been notified of that yet. We do not have any dates for Jewish Home Assisted Living at this time. The pharmacy partners in New Jersey have been told not to begin at the assisted living facilities until the nursing homes are complete so our best guess is that we will have a February date but, again, we just don’t know. Sooner is clearly our strong preference. As I have said to the staff, over and over, we have seen first-hand what this virus can do, we have spent 10 months in the fight of our lives against COVID and this vaccine is the only weapon we have to fight back and bring this pandemic to an end. One of our nurses took her forms from me yesterday and said “I just want to be able to hug our elders again.” It’s a simple thing and yet such a powerful symbol of what this year has been for all of us. We hope, as well, that the vaccine will soon become available to everyone, really enabling us to turn the tide and move forward.

At the Jewish Home at Rockleigh we began our week on Sunday with “Holiday Guitar Strings” and a celebration of National Caroling Day! Traveling holiday music was heard throughout the halls around the Jewish Home. Our Monday activities included inspirational visits, “Chair One Fitness,” and our Community Council meeting. On Tuesday we had our staff holiday party and annual “ugly sweater” competition. Many of our staff strutted down the “runway” on Main Street and then we paraded around the units to share some holiday cheer and laughter. One of the highlights of the holiday celebration was the grand opening of the newly renovated Carl’s Place. We opened the wall from Carl’s Place into the hallway, creating a brighter space that (when we are fully open again) will really feel like a beautiful sidewalk café. Wednesday included unit-based programs including the traveling bakery on the Kaplen 1 unit, arts and crafts on Kaplen 2, adaptive sports on Rubin and a Spelling Bee on the Seiden unit. Our elders on Kaplen 2 began Tuesday with table games, while those on Rubin played “You be the Judge,” and the rhythm band brought smiles on Seiden. Today we showed some fun Christmas movies and also had holiday music throughout the building.

A tour of the Petrified Forest national park began Sunday at Jewish Home Assisted Living followed by the article of the week with Rabbi Korenblit. In the afternoon our opera was “Samson and Delilah” and Rabbi Korenblit gave an interesting talk entitled “The Making of Santa Claus.” Monday included current events facilitated by volunteer Beth Shiffman on Zoom. We had a lecture on Tennessee Williams and also screened a documentary on Irving Berlin followed by trivia games. We traveled to the canals of Venice on Tuesday and then headed to Las Vegas to see Frank Sinatra “Live at Caesar’s Palace.” We got another dose of Sinatra as we watched part II of “Sinatra: All or Nothing.” Both of the Sinatra programs were by elder request and they were delighted to watch them. We wrapped up Tuesday with yoga. Paul Revere was our Wednesday morning topic and in the afternoon we took a trip to France via travelogue. We also had our December birthday party with entertainment, via Zoom, by Randy Accardi. And our evening movie, in keeping with the season, was “A Christmas Carol.” We began Thursday with a documentary on Vivien Leigh followed by exercise with Patrick, via Zoom. In the afternoon we continued watching “The Crown,” which is a real favorite with the elders and we followed that with some Tai Chi. Our evening movie was “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Friday featured Yiddish Club, a program on Vincent Van Gogh and a performance of Israel’s legendary Yehoram Gaon in concert at The Hampton Synagogue. Our evening movie was “White Christmas.”

This was a Times of Israel blog week for me and here is the link: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/to-begin-again/ As always, your feedback is welcome.

Be well,

Carol Silver Elliott
President/CEO
The Jewish Home Family