Pumpkin Pie, Thanksgiving Plans, Construction Update, MindfulGarden and More

We’ve had a lot of questions about the Gallen Day Center and whether there are plans for re-opening. At this point, we cannot re-open, we are still under the Governor’s mandate to stay closed. That does not mean that our former Gallen staff are not still in touch with participants. There are daily conversations and a weekly Zoom call and recently they even had a Halloween costume party. These connections are not based on a work obligation, they all come straight from the heart.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and it is going to be a very different holiday for everyone. I know many of us have curtailed family celebrations and that our elders will likely not be going out for the holiday. While we are not prohibiting a Thanksgiving visit for an elder to a family member, the elder will have to be in quarantine for 14 days on return so we expect that, as a result, most of our folks will stay put. We are working to make the holiday a special one with plans for our own “Macy’s Day Parade” at the Jewish Home at Rockleigh, a pumpkin-themed social at Jewish Home Assisted Living and holiday meals and more. One thing we thought would be nice is to make a video of family messages to play on that day, wishing their loved ones a happy holiday. If you would like to participate, email your video to info@jewishhomefamily.org and indicate whether your loved one lives at JHR or JHAL. If you're having trouble emailing the file, get in touch and we can provide you with a number to send to via text/Whatsapp. Please have all videos to us by November 20th at the latest. Also, if you have a talent and would like to share it, we would love to have you do that with us virtually as well. Please reach out to Ezra HaLevi, our Director of Communications and Technology, and he will make that happen. You may reach him via email at ehalevi@jewishhomefamily.org.

This week at Jewish Home Assisted Living we began with a Sunday lecture by Rabbi Korenblit on H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds” and impact of the 1938 radio broadcast of that play. In the evening we screened the film “Hidden Figures,” which we’d mentioned when discussing “The Only Woman in the Room” with our virtual Book Club. Everyone was thrilled on Monday to see volunteer Beth Shiffman return, via Zoom, to do her current events program. We also had an interesting tours of the Vault Museum and its 250 cars. On Tuesday we watched “The Real Aliya Story,” which is a conversation between two leading rabbis. We had fun with “Cerebral Gymnastics” and also enjoyed a program on travel focused on the top 100 places to visit in Europe. The Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey began their film festival on Wednesday and we enjoyed the first film, “Breaking Bread,” which we coupled with Israeli snacks and beverages. Thursday’s November birthday party was highlighted by musician Randy Accardi via Zoom along with pumpkin pie and Moscow mules! We also had Tai Chi with Hasmig on the back patio. Friday included a virtual lecture by Professor Ian Drake of Montclair State University. His topic was “How Do New Justices Affect the Supreme Court?”

At the Jewish Home at Rockleigh we began Monday on the Rubin unit with a program on Abraham Lincoln. On the Kaplen 2 unit we had fun with bowling and Jewish traditions while Seiden elders enjoyed, music, dancing and Chair Fitness. In the afternoon we had a “voting party,” with red, white and blue decorations, snacks and lively discussion about the upcoming election. Election Day began with “Your Vote Counts” on Rubin along with patriotic tunes. Our elders on Kaplen 1 enjoyed Trivial Pursuit as well as Dancercise and our Seiden elders enjoyed Music and Movement. Wednesday was King Tut’s Tomb Day (November 4, 1922) and we had a wonderful tour with the archeologists who talked about the discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb. We also began to use a new system called MindfulGarden, that we are involved in testing. It’s a system from a Canadian organization and we have it through our partnership with the Center for Aging and Brain Health. Mindful Garden uses a large video screen and camera and the images respond to the individuals who are watching. It’s been tested in hospitals and found to have a positive impact on agitation and stress and we are thrilled to be the first long term care facility to participate in this test. Other Wednesday programs included Young at Heart and Getting to Know You. Celebrating Family Stories Month, Seiden elders enjoyed a reminiscence session and Kaplen 2 elders had “Something to Talk About,” “Guitar Strings and More.” On Thursday or elders on Rubin were introduced to a new program called “Theater Group 101.” The elders were introduced to mime and had a great time using their imaginations. Next session will feature monologues! Seiden unit elders enjoyed Rhythm Band while Kaplen 2 elders participated in a number of table games. In the afternoon, we had “Painting with a Twist” on Kaplen 2, visits from the book cart and a fitness program on Kaplen 1 and Karaoke Fun for our Seiden elders. Rubin elders also enjoyed Women’s Club and had fun playing Family Feud on our In2L (It’s Never 2 Late) unit. Friday included Wake Up Music on Kaplen 1, School Days on Seiden and Comedy Central on the Rubin unit. In the afternoon, Music and Manicures was a highlight for our Seiden unit elders and on Rubin we had Game Hour while Kaplen 2 elders enjoyed November trivia.

This was a LeadingAge blog week for me and here is the link: https://leadingage.org/members/being-nowhere. As always, your feedback is welcome.

Be well,

Carol Silver Elliott
President/CEO
The Jewish Home Family