Tis the Season ( for hanukkah too)

Tis The Season… (for Hanukkah too)

Tis the season for Christmas. Everywhere we look we see red and green. Christmas carols abound on the radio and can be heard in all places that have a speaker system. We count on seeing beautifully decorated Christmas trees and other holiday ornamentation. Wherever we go, people are wishing us a “merry Christmas.”

Some Jews refer to this time period as the “December Dilemma”, wondering whether they should expand their Hanukkah celebrations and add commercialism to the Festival of Lights. Like most Jews, residents in nursing homes are not looking for “equal treatment.” All they can hope for is that their holiday is acknowledged. Just like the elementary school chorus may  sing one or two Hanukkah songs during their Holiday performances, the residents are looking for a little Hanukkah in their lives.

The Jewish Pavilion fulfills this role in spades. While most large cities have a Jewish Home for the Aged, Orlando does not. Instead the Jewish Pavilion, an outreach organization, ensures that everyone in long term care has the opportunity to celebrate our holiday. At Hanukkah time, 40 parties are planned in independent, assisted and skilled nursing facilities, and residents of all faiths are invited to celebrate.

Everyone has the opportunity to  hear the Hanukkah story and all residents get to enjoy potato latkes, Chanukah cookies, chocolate gelt,  candle lighting and fun songs.  For the Jewish resident, it feels like it is his birthday party and others are celebrating with him. Instead of party balloons, the festive table is decorated with colorful  blue and yellow paper goods donated by Publix supermarkets.  The tables are adorned by blue and white chocolate lollypop centerpieces created by Nancy Layish. Volunteers bring dreidels and gifts for the elderly. Musicians donate their time to make the parties extra special. To learn more about the Jewish Pavilion and/or participate in one of the parties visit www.jewishpavilion.org.

"Party in the Park"

"Party in the Park"

It Has Everything To Do with Heart!

The latest buzz words in residential life for the elderly are “Person Directed Care and Culture Change” These  refer to a residents  rights to determine many aspects of their lives even if they reside in a facility. A resident should be able to choose what he wants to eat, when he wants to eat, what time he wants to get up in the morning, go to bed at night, get bathed etc. A well educated group of baby boomers are now caring for their parents, and they are bucking heads with long term care facilities that have a history of prescribed times for all activities. One reason the baby boomers are so upset with the current state of affairs is that they see themselves in facilities in the future, and they don’t like what they are seeing.

When interviewing an Admissions Director, the right question may be “Do you offer “Person Directed Care?” The challenge is that the Director  will respond affirmatively even if “Person  Directed Care” is not really offered.” The Jewish Pavilion website www.jewishpavilion.org is an incredible resource. Dr.s Bob Kaplan and Luci Belnick put together a comprehensive list of questions that should be asked when considering a long term care facility. What is even more impressive than the questions are the answers you  should look for. There is also an informative article about “Person Directed Care and Culture Change” from the Pioneer network.

Most people walk into a long term care facility and look at the physical surroundings and make  decisions  based on the carpet or wall paper. The best thing a decision maker  can do is print the list of questions and answers listed on the Jewish Pavilion’s website and bring it along when interviewing an Admissions Director in a potential home for a loved one.

Recently a resident in South Orlando complained to a volunteer at the Jewish Pavilion. She told her friend that she was only being bathed twice a week. The person bathing her was male, and she felt very uncomfortable being touched in private areas by a man. Moreover, she waited in a thin sheet for a considerable amount of time prior to each bath, and she was freezing and embarrassed.

While the Jewish Pavilion does not get involved with health care (our role is to provide companionship and community) I did mention the lady’s concerns to the Executive Director. The Executive Director responded that they bathe  residents twice a week and there is an additional  for extra baths. She told me that her staff was largely comprised of males. She did not comment on the resident sitting in a sheet for a long time prior to her bath but told me that she would look into the matter.

Yesterday, I spoke to Joyce Kadziolka, a superb Executive Director at

Savannah Court

in Maitland. Without telling her the location of the complaint, I shared with her the details. Joyce told me that at

Savannah Court

, when a resident asks for additional baths, they receive them free of charge. Joyce explained that there is no need to have men bathing women who do not want to be bathed by men. The schedule should be adapted to meet the resident’s desires. Moreover, Joyce told me that t companies make warm ponchos for residents who wait  for baths and the robes are reasonably priced. A facility can purchase four robes for $64. She went to her office and printed out the information for me.

While “Person Directed Care” is discussed all around town, what matters is the reality of the situation. Joyce cares. She has a good heart. She prides herself in making the residents and family members happy. Life at

Savannah Court

reflects Joyce’s passion for the elderly and her dedication to her work.

The Jewish Pavilion  staff and volunteers visit 350 residents in 50 facilities all around town.  Prior to making a decision, I recommend that you visit the website www.jewishpavilion.org and get as much information as possible about the Executive Director. In many cases, the Executive Director’s personal  devotion to the elderly and to their work is reflected throughout the building.  Look for someone with heart!

Pictured is One Happy Family

Pictured is one happy family…

Pictured is one happy family… a mother, daughter and grand daughter who love each other very much. Visiting with one another is heavenly. It’s a family that talks to one another every day, sometimes calling between television commercials. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Helen Caspan, age 77, at Life Care Center of Altamonte Springs. She lives for these annual family reunions. A picture of her with her daughter, Yoheved, and grand daughter, Sarah Rivkah, is as precious as gold. She will show it to every nurse and health aide that enters her room on a daily basis. She will show it to the maintenance man, the kitchen staff and anyone else who comes by. But who else comes?

While Helen sees her daughter from New York annually, she sees her Jewish Pavilion volunteers a few times a week. When Jackie Levitt is in town, she stops by on a daily basis. Nancy and Evan Ludin come every Saturday. Phil Brown visits semi weekly on Fridays and conducts Shabbat services. These visits sustain Helen for an entire  year.

Many Jewish residents in skilled nursing facilities are alone in the world. Helen is one of the lucky ones. It is expensive and challenging for her daughter to visit from New York. Yoheved is an Orthodox Jew who keeps glatt kosher. She travels with all of the food she needs. Even when in Orlando for five days, she cannot visit her mother on Shabbat, because there is no hotel in walking distance of her mother’s facility. When visiting, the threesome is “stuck” in a semi-private room in the nursing home and space is very tight. Helen sits in her wheel chair while her daughter is propped up on the bed. Her  granddaughter crayons in a coloring book while standing bedside.  There are no chairs.

For many elderly adults in long term care, The Jewish Pavilion has truly become a second family. Coordinating volunteers and events is a labor of love. The support of the community is needed for these services to continue. Visit www.jewishpavilion.org to enrich the lives of  Helen and others in her situation.

What is Your Name... Residents with Dementia Deserve Optimal Care

When Gloria Newberger visited Eastbrooke Gardens in Casselberry for a Jewish Pavilion Ice cream Social, one of the residents asked her “What is your name? Gloria responded “My name is Gloria, what is your name?” The resident responded “Honestly,I have no idea!” While this sounds like a punch line to a joke, Alzheimer’s  Disease is real. It isn’t funny and it affects 10% of our elderly population. Some of the symptoms include

·           Forgetting details about current events

·           Forgetting events in your own life history, losing awareness of who you are

·           Change in sleep patterns, often waking up at night

·           Difficulty reading or writing

·           Poor judgment and loss of ability to recognize danger

·           Using the wrong word, mispronouncing words, speaking in confusing sentences

·           Withdrawing from social contact

·           Having hallucinations, arguments, striking out, and violent behavior

·           Having delusions, depression, agitation

While many of these symptoms exist amongst the residents of Eastbrooke Gardens, the residents are still people who deserve kindness and excellent care. Jewish Pavilion staff and volunteers ensure that our seniors are not forgotten. When Gloria Newberger arrived she was not expecting the resident to react so positively to the ice cream social.  Newberger was amazed at how well the residents responded to conversation. When the music, lead by Marge Dreayer began, they belted out the words to the songs. Our rabbis explain that we are all created in God’s image. Surely everyone I entitled to compassion and companionship. To volunteer call 407-678-9363 or www.jewishpavilion.org.

Shabbat Takes a Back Seat to Friendship

What do you get when you put four Jewish women in a room for the purpose of conducting Shabbat Services??? You get friendship, of course! Pat Rubenstein and Debbie Meitin have been visiting residents at Horizon Bay on

Montgomery Road

for close to ten years under the auspices of the Jewish Pavilion. They have developed life long friendships with residents Alice Schnur and Etta Goldstein. Recently, Nancy Ludin, Executive Director of the Jewish Pavilion, joined the group for services and made an interesting observation that Shabbat services did not start on time. Why??? Because, these ladies have become close friends thorough the Jewish Pavilion and services sometimes take a back seat to other life cycle events.

Together, the ladies celebrated the recent engagement of Debbie Meitin to Larry Gutter. Cake was served to honor this momentous occasion. Shabbat services could not begin until the ladies heard all the details of the engagement. While the Jewish Pavilion prides itself in bringing Shabbat and holidays to residents in long term care, Ludin feels that the greatest gift the Pavilion brings is friendship. The Pavilion has a wonderful staff and core of volunteers who genuinely care about the elderly and enhance their lives through camaraderie. Visit www.jewishpavilion.org to be a friend to our elders in long term care communities. An added benefit is that you will also develop life 1long  friendships with our incredible volunteers.

Who is Present for Life Cycle events?

By Nancy Ludin

Often one defines life by examining life cycle events. When you look back on your life, you think about the friends and family that were with you as you experienced life cycle events such as births and deaths, holiday celebrations and birthday parties. During your younger years, it  is easy to recall celebrations with parents, siblings and friends. For many older adults, the calendar is not their friend. Many Mother’s and Father’s Days are spent alone, birthdays are ignored and Jewish holiday celebrations are absent.

Fortunately, this is not true for the elderly in long term care in Orlando, Florida where the Jewish Pavilion, an outreach organization, serves as a surrogate family. Birthdays and  holidays are special occasions shared by volunteers and residents.

Today, I went to a funeral service for a resident of Horizon Bay. Who was there? He was lucky enough to have a loving daughter and son-in law and a terrific care giver. He also had many friends in the building, staff who loved him and several friends from the Jewish Pavilion who were there to say goodbye to a very special man. A chaplain from VITAS Hospice conducted the service and everyone had the opportunity to share memories. It was a beautiful tribute to an incredible man.

I wish I could tell you that this was a typical goodbye to a resident in long term care, but it wasn’t. Far more often, a staff member or volunteer arrives for his or her weekly visit and finds a name missing from the door. Since we are not family, HIPPA Laws prevent us from learning about the last couple days of life. There is no closure for the staff person or volunteer who was often the resident’s only friend.

Other times, Jewish Pavilion volunteers are called by the facility when a resident passes away, because there is no one else to call. I recall a funeral where there were three people in attendance- two nurses from Life Care and one Pavilion volunteer.

Those of us who are involved with the Jewish Pavilion are honored to play a significant role in the lives of our elders. We are their friends, their family and their link to the Jewish community.

Visit http://www.jewishpavilion.org/ to learn more about this special charity.