Los Angeles Jewish Home's Blog

How Do We Turn Life Around? — Letter from the Rabbi

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Tue, 14 May 2013 23:32:00 +0000

Sometimes life is hard, desperate even. I am thinking of the times when everything seems to have gone wrong. Whether or not that is literally true, the effect is the same: we feel miserable, hate our lives, and there seems to be no way forward. Have you ever felt like this? It may have been during a prolonged disability, or after a dear person in your life has passed away and you feel terribly alone.

We may try to find a way forward, perhaps by meeting with a psychologist or some other wise listening person, perhaps by prayer, perhaps by throwing ourselves into activity. Over recent weeks, through my teaching in preparation for the festival of Shavuot, I have been inspired by another kind of key to unlock the gates that seem to keep us trapped.

Let’s look at the miserable situation of Naomi, as told in the biblical Book of Ruth (read every year on the second day of Shavuot). She has left Bethlehem in the Land of Israel, together with her husband Elimelech and their two sons Machlon and Chilion, and settled in the Land of Moab. But in the months and years that follow, disaster strikes – again and again and again! First Naomi’s husband dies. Her sons marry Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth, but after some years both sons die, and Naomi is left with only her daughters-in-law.

It is not hard, I think, to imagine just how desolate Naomi is, having lost her husband and both her sons. Naomi feels that life in Moab has nothing to offer her now, and decides to go back to Bethlehem. She tries to persuade her two daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, each to return to her family home, where they might marry Moabite husbands, and find security. At first both young women insist on staying with Naomi, but in the end Orpah gives away and reluctantly returns to her family home.

As for Ruth, her words must be among the most beautiful expressions of love and loyalty in all the Bible, indeed in all literature: Wherever you go I will go and wherever you stay I will stay. Your people shall be my people and your God my God. Wherever you die will I die, and beside you will I be buried. How can Naomi argue against such love and such absolute determination?

Why does Ruth make such an astonishing and moving pledge? She can have no expectation of reward, and must know that Naomi is right: Ruth would have a much better chance of security and happiness if she returns to her family and lives among her own people. What is so beautiful about Ruth’s pledge to Naomi is that it is pure giving, pure love.

So the two women go on to Bethlehem together, where the turns of the story lead Ruth to a good man called Boaz. Ruth and Boaz marry, and Ruth gives birth to a son – the grandchild Naomi never expected to hold. Through that son, two generations later, comes the great King David. How did such misery, as Naomi had experienced in Moab, turn to such nachas (joy)?

Surely it is Ruth’s selfless kindness towards her mother-in-law, with no expectation of reward, which brings about the change in the universe of these two women. Is there a lesson for us? Can our own selfless generosity change the world we live in?

When I raised this in my discussion groups, many residents were absolutely clear: yes we can change our world for the better; we can turn our life around. Some said it is because we change when we are particularly kind to others; others said that our own generosity can make others treat us better. I myself do believe that a selfless act of kindness and giving, without any expectation of reward, changes the universe for both the giver and the person who receives the act of kindness. We are no longer stuck in misery: we are in a new world.

Chag Shavuot Sameach - Happy Shavuot!

Rabbi Anthony Elman is the Skirball Director of Spiritual Life at the Jewish Home and also serves as Rabbi of the Home's Grancell Village campus. His professional background is multifaceted, encompassing the fields of law, social work, and psychotherapy. Rabbi Elman has been with the Home since his ordination and graduation from the Academy for Jewish Religion-California in May 2007

Skirball Hospice Voted One of SFV's Best Places to Work!

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:06:00 +0000

It is official – Skirball Hospice is on the exclusive list of the Top 25 places to work in the greater Los Angeles Area! In a special supplement of the Los Angeles Daily News (and their newsgroup newspapers) published on Sunday, Skirball Hospice is ranked #6 in small companies (under 200 employees) for “making their workers feel appreciated and inspired, or helping them grow as professionals.”

This recognition is powerful since it is based on our staff's opinions of what it is like to work at Skirball Hospice – day in and day out – and the confidence this expresses in how we are functioning together for the benefit of our patients and families.

What Do We Do With Our Hurts — Letter from the Rabbi

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:08:00 +0000

Have you ever been hurt or damaged by what someone has done to you? Do you remember how it felt – and perhaps how the memory still upsets you? Were you treated brutally? Or taken advantage of financially? Were you teased or hurt by cruel things said to you? Were you damaged because someone was prejudiced against your people? Were you ignored or laughed at in conversation?

I think most of us can recall all sorts of ways we've been hurt, in our feelings, our body or our pocketbook. What do we do with these hurts? For some, what comes naturally is to take them out on others – to damage others like we've been damaged. Others may see the best thing to do is put aside our hurts (if not quite forgive and forget), and get on with our lives.

Because of a Torah reading this month that contains that powerful principle, Love your neighbor as yourself (sometimes called the Golden Rule), I have been thinking about a famous variation of it. Some of you may be familiar with the story about Hillel, the great Jewish sage who lived two thousand years ago: a non-Jewish person came before Hillel wanting to be converted, on condition that Hillel would teach him the whole of Torah while the man was standing on one foot. Hillel said to him, "What is hateful to you, do not do to others: that is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary; go and learn it."

What Hillel is doing here is taking the Golden Rule and making it much easier to understand and use. Love your neighbor as yourself is a wonderful principle from which all other moral rules derives, but it is not always easy to know how to apply to our lives. However, if we can hold in our minds the words of Hillel – What is hateful to you, do not do to others – we have a ready guide to behavior. For this principle tells us what to do with our own feelings about how we like, or hate, to be treated, and what to do with all those hurts we have suffered: not to put them aside, not to take them out on others, but instead to use them to guide our life and our actions for the good.

For instance, if I know how horrible it was for me to be teased or subjected to cruel words, I must never do that to others. If I recall the hurt I felt as a child being called a "dirty Jew" (thankfully that was not a frequent happening), then that must guide how I think about other peoples, or religions, or races, or nationalities: not ascribe negative characteristics to those groups, and not treat members of them badly because of those imagined characteristics.

If I have felt ignored when I was in need or distress, or when I had something to say, then I need to be especially careful not to ignore others. If I have found my reputation damaged because people have been gossiping about me, I must guard against gossiping about others. Of course there are many wrongs that I personally haven’t suffered, but I can imagine how much I'd hate the experience, and that should be a warning bell for me not to cause such wrongs to others.

Hillel's demand that we use our own experience and feelings as a guide to action is reflects a teaching found frequently in Torah, about how we should treat the "stranger" – i.e. the immigrant from another land who lives amongst us. The Torah teaches: "When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him. He shall be to you as one of your citizens: you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." We are to use our own bad experiences as strangers (and slaves) in Egypt – or wherever we have lived as a minority community in a country not our own – to ensure that strangers among us are treated much better.

While this is how Torah tells us to treat the stranger, Hillel's teaching, What is hateful to you, do not do to others, is a powerful reminder about all our actions. Our experiences, bad experiences in particular, are to be central to our moral stance in the world; and we cannot claim to be living ethically if we ignore those experiences in how we treat others.

Chai Journal: Life at the Home…in the Residents’ Words

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 00:29:00 +0000

Everyone knows the Jewish Home celebrated its Centennial last year. But did you know the Home’s resident newsletter – the Chai Journal – also celebrated a milestone? That’s right…2012 was the 10th anniversary of the Chai Journal, a quarterly newsletter written by residents of the Home’s Eisenberg Village (EV) campus. The Chai Journal also features original art by artist-in-residence, Suzanne May, whose talent often graces the cover.

You’re probably wondering how the newsletter came to be…One day, residents Ellis Simon and Jules Berlinsky (of blessed memory) were enjoying a meal in the EV dining room. Ellis wondered aloud why the Home didn’t have a newsletter to let residents know what was going on. He was surprised when Jules responded that, indeed, there had been one in the past, which had unfortunately fallen by the wayside. The two gentlemen decided to try their luck at getting the newsletter started again. Each wrote a few articles, made 50 copies, and circulated them among the residents. The response was so positive, they took the idea to the Home’s administration. It was decided a committee of interested residents would be formed, and a staff person would participate. The residents would write the articles and the Home would print and distribute. The publication would be called the Chai Journal…and, more than 10 years later, it’s still bringing all the latest news from around the EV campus and the Home straight to the residents’ doors. Covering special events, holidays, and other activities, the Chai Journal also includes profiles of residents and Jewish Home staff, plus there’s a little bit of “did you know” in the Around the Village column.

Facilitated by RCFE activity director Jacqui Lewinter, the Chai Journal currently has 7 writers: Helen Bragar, Nettie Freeman, Alice Kulick, Rhoda Levinson, Jeanette Schlesinger, Ellis Simon and Joy Snyder. According to Jacqui, the Chai Journal is a great activity because it provides residents with a responsibility – and a creative outlet - while at the same time being fun. “Basically acting as reporters, our writers do research, which is mentally stimulating, and get to know people they are interviewing at a deeper, more thoughtful level, which is emotionally stimulating,” she explains.

At a recent meeting of the Chai Journal editorial staff, the group talked about their experiences. Here are just a few of their comments:

“I enjoy doing interviews…sometimes people tell me more than I ask them for!” ~ Helen Bragar
“It’s been a great joy working with Jacqui and the group." ~ Nettie Freeman
“I find it very inspirational to be a part of the Chai Journal." ~ Alice Kulick
“Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly….I gotta write! Doing interviews gives me an opportunity to ask questions I would never ask in polite society!" ~ Rhoda Levinson
“It’s a challenge, and it’s good to be challenged as we grow older.” ~ Jeanette Schlesinger
“I love the Home so much that I want everybody to know what a great place this is.” ~ Ellis Simon
“Basically it’s a fun thing, and I’m all for fun at this stage of the game!” ~ Joy Snyder

Each issue of the Chai Journal includes articles that run the gamut from heart-warming and touching to entertaining and just plain funny. Many are reprinted on the Jewish Home’s blog or posted on our Facebook page – They’re just too good to keep to ourselves!

For more information about the Chai Journal, please contact Jacqui Lewinter, RCFE activity aide, at (818) 774-3236 or Jacqui.Lewinter@jha.org.

Nurse Assistant Class Graduates from Annenberg School of Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 19:14:00 +0000

On April 2, 2013, six proud individuals received their Nurse Assistant certificates from the Annenberg School of Nursing (ASN). The class, made up of three women and three men, successfully completed the 20-day program, which also includes Restorative Nurse training in the curriculum. With only a few days to enjoy their accomplishments, the group will take the state exam for their CNA and RNA certificates on April 6th.

With the room full of well-wishers, flowers, and balloons, Marie Fagan, ASN director, welcomed everyone and spoke about the graduates with great admiration. Jewish Home chief operating officer Larissa Stepanians wished everyone the best in their upcoming careers, adding they will always be part of the Home’s family.

Graduate Melanie Halstead gave the student welcome and thanked everyone for their support and encouragement. “As we embark on this life-changing milestone and launch a new career, please know we could not have done this without you.”

The graduates received their diplomas and class pin before the enthusiastic crowd. Graduate Debra Jackson shared a poem by Gail Lindsay, entitled Who Can You Be? “To some you’ll be hope, to others, strength…Just who can you be?...You’re a nurse’s aide, you see.”

Closing remarks were given by nurse assistant program instructor Myrna Ragovin, who spoke about how six strangers came together quickly as a group and as friends. “There’s much love here,” she said. The graduates showed their appreciation to the ASN faculty and staff with flowers and a class photo album.

To view the graduation photo album, please click here.
(And be sure to like the Annenberg School of Nursing on Facebook!)

On behalf of the Los Angeles Jewish Home and the Annenberg School of Nursing, we congratulate:

Juan A. Alfaro ● Melanie S. Halstead ● Debra A. Jackson

Jasmine M. Lopez ● Carlo Robert Z. Miranda ● Daniel J. Sheriff

and wish them the best as they embrace the field of nursing.

For information about the nurse assistant or vocational nurse programs at the Annenberg School of Nursing, please contact Cindy Thomas at (818) 757-4431 or asn@jha.org, or visit the ASN website at www.asn.edu.

Out of Darkness into a Great Light — Letter from the Rabbi

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 17:00:00 +0000

What does the Passover Seder mean to you? Is the special thing having the family gather for the Seder? Do you love the rituals of the Seder and the reading of the Haggada? Maybe for you the highlight is the meal? Perhaps we focus on our ancestors’ departure from slavery to freedom; or on the need to end the slavery that still exists in our modern world.

The Haggada, the book we read from at the Passover Seder, is primarily about the Exodus from Egypt, when we were brought out (“redeemed”) from slavery to freedom. But the Rabbis, who wrote the Haggada at a time of exile from the Land of Israel, were also praying for a future redemption: that the Jews should be gathered from the four corners of the earth and brought to a sovereign Land of Israel. For two thousand years, that prayer sustained our ancestors in so many countries of the world. In a sense, living in exile was like being in slavery.

The Passover Seder takes us a journey from something degrading to something wonderful. Thus we read early on in the Haggada: At present we are here (that means we are in exile); next year may we be in Israel. At present we are slaves; next year may we be free men and women.

At this point, we are still slaves, we are still in exile; but we are hoping and praying that we will be taken to a better place, to freedom, to sovereignty in our own land. By the end of the Seder, we have made the journey, and read the joyful lines: God took us out of slavery into freedom; out of grief into joy; out of mourning into festivity; out of darkness into a great light…

This had led me to think about the journeys from darkness to light we have made in own lives. Haven’t we all at some time gone from misery to joy, or from fear to relief to thanksgiving? For some it might be recovery from a difficult and frightening illness; for others it might be when we have moved beyond grief for the loss of a loved one, to enjoyment in life again – that discovery that there is light at the end of the tunnel. The most powerful stories come from those of our residents who are Holocaust survivors, who talk of moments in the camps that saved their lives, or when they lived the amazing moment of liberation.

I recently heard the story of someone who continued to live at home after her husband had passed away. She was lonely and unhappy; life was going nowhere. Still she fought against her daughter’s wish to bring her to the Jewish Home. (Did that seem like going from freedom to slavery?) Finally she agreed and entered the Home, and her life changed beyond belief. She became very close friends with her room-mate and, with her help, she developed a wider circle of friends. She attended discussion groups and language classes. This intelligent woman discovered that she had much to give, and she was widely liked and appreciated. This story is not unique. Others too have found their lives greatly enriched here. Out of grief into joy, out of mourning into festivity.

And if we look into the future, what is our dream for ourselves and for our world? One challenge lies in believing things can get better; it is all too easy to get stuck in pessimism that there is no way forward. That was true of the Children of Israel when they faced the Red Sea, which blocked their escape from the Egyptians. But tradition tells us of one man, Nachshon, who walked into the Red Sea and kept going forward step by step until the water rose almost to his nostrils. Firmly believing that there was a way forward to life and freedom, he took one more step – and the Sea parted for the Israelites to cross to safety. The story tells us that change does not just happen; we have to make it happen.

I think of all those people of vision, generosity and hard work who made the Jewish Home what it is today, step by step. I think of the new resident and her room-mate who together turned mourning into joy. When we feel we are stuck in Egypt, let us have the courage to believe that we can, step by step, start on the journey to liberation.

Musical Duo Marks Their 1,000th Performance

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 23:55:00 +0000

In 2007, Blaine Handell and Paul Grossman combined their musical talents – Blaine’s vocal styling and Paul’s keyboard mastery – to form the Blaine and Paul Duo. Their first performance was on August 7th of that year at the Jewish Home. On March 26, 2013, the duo celebrated their 1,000th performance. They currently perform five shows weekly – four at the Home and one at various senior care facilities. “I’m 72 and feel like I’m sitting on top of the world,” says Blaine. “We’re volunteers, but we’re well paid - just seeing the residents smile is all we need!” Paul agrees, adding “It gives us great joy because this is the perfect audience for the songs that we love to perform – from the 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s. It’s rewarding and great fun!”

On behalf of the residents and staff of the Los Angeles Jewish Home, thank you to the Blaine and Paul Duo for sharing your talents and making us smile!

Is Facebook Part of Your Estate? — How to Pass Digital Assets to the Next Generation

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 17:14:00 +0000

When you begin creating or updating your estate plan, you’ll likely spend the bulk of your time on these two points: determining which assets you have and deciding which people and charities will receive these items after your lifetime. But have you given a thought to your online legacy and passing on your digital assets?

Management Tips
Digital assets include files and information stored in online accounts (like e-mail), domain names, online storage accounts and various social network sites. To help you gain some control over these assets, consider these helpful tips:

Identify all of your online assets – email, Facebook, PayPal, bank accounts, etc.
List the usernames, passwords, and security questions and answers, along with the accounts, on a computer spreadsheet that can be easily updated. The list should be stored on a USB flash drive or CD or printed and placed in a safe location such as a fireproof safe or safe-deposit box.
Share the location of your list with a trusted person, such as your spouse or a loyal friend.
Meet with an estate planning attorney to create a plan that will allow for easy transfer of your digital estate to your heirs.

© The Stelter Company
The information in this publication is not intended as legal advice. For legal advice, please consult an attorney. Figures cited in examples are for hypothetical purposes only and are subject to change. References to estate and income taxes include federal taxes only. State income/estate taxes or state law may impact your results.

The Beauty of Art Never Grows Old

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 18:54:00 +0000

The annual Joyce Eisenberg-Keefer Medical Center (JEKMC) art show was held on March 14, featuring beautiful paintings, hand-painted porcelain and ceramics, photography, and jewelry – all created by residents! “The art show is a great opportunity to show how talented our residents are,” says Francine Finkelstein, director of therapeutic activities. Many of the works were created by the residents here at the Home in the various art classes that are offered, such as painting with watercolors, ceramics, beading and arts and crafts.

For many of the Home’s residents, personal time to pursue a hobby was in short supply in their early adult lives – working and caring for family and home were the priorities. Discovering an artistic talent later in life comes as a pleasant surprise! New ceramics class devotee Betty Blum explains, “I worked, I took care of my kids, I never had the opportunity to try this…and I love it!”

Two artists represented at the show - Joyce Halper and Ann Horn - realized their talents when they were younger and are currently in the Friday afternoon watercolors class. When she was 49, Joyce joined her cousin at an art class, and the rest is history. She signed up for lessons at Brentwood Art Center and is still painting to this day. Currently working with watercolors, Joyce says, “I love it! Painting relaxes me.”

In addition to watercolors, Ann also counts painting on porcelain in her artistic repertoire. “It’s very delicate and special,” she recalls. “It had to be fired twice in the kiln.” Two of Ann’s pieces were on display at the show, with many more with family in New York.

The residents of the Jewish Home – where the average age is 90 – have rich histories. The art show was a delightful way to be reminded of their wealth of talent. To view photos, please click here.

On the Road Again: Safe Driving for Seniors

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 23:05:00 +0000

Few things convey as much freedom and self-sufficiency as being able to drive a car. And especially in Southern California, driving can be more of a necessity than a luxury.

As we age, however, our driving abilities may change. To minimize safety risks to ourselves and others, it’s wise to understand how aging affects our driving and learn strategies that can help us continue driving well into our senior years.

Physical Factors
According to the Automobile Association of America (AAA), seniors are safe drivers compared to other age groups because they wear seatbelts, observe speed limits, and tend to avoid drinking and driving.

On the other hand, seniors face physical challenges that can impair driving. “Older drivers may have eyesight or hearing issues that affect their driving,” says John Beringer, Sr., California State Coordinator for the AARP Driver Safety Program. “Also, reflexes and responses are slower – it takes longer to transmit information from the eyes to the brain and from the brain to the muscles.”

Mobility may also be affected. For example, neck pain or stiffness can impair being able to look over your shoulder. Leg pain might make it difficult to move your foot from the gas pedal to the brake pedal.

Medication can also impact driving performance. More than 75% of people over age 65 take at least one medication.

Taking the following steps can help minimize potential physical problems associated with driving:

Get your vision and hearing checked annually
Have regular check-ups and talk to your doctor about how your physical condition and medications might affect your driving ability
Choose a car with automatic transmission, power steering and power brakes
Do exercises to improve your flexibility

Rules of the Road
AAA and AARP both offer driving classes for older adults. “A lot of what we cover involves reviewing and reminding drivers what they knew 30 years ago,” says Beringer. “Also, many older folks learned to drive from their parents, not from a driving instructor. So they may have learned some bad habits.”

Here are some safe driving strategies, many of which apply regardless of age:

Leave enough space between your car and the car in front of you.
Scan far down the road continuously so you can anticipate future problems.
Minimize distractions inside your car, such as music volume.
Plan your route before you get in the car.
Minimize left turns. Drivers age 65 and older are disproportionately involved in crashes involving left-hand turns. Use designated left-hand turn lanes, or make three right turns to avoid making the left.
Try to avoid busy highways and congested traffic.
Consider getting a car with reverse monitoring and back-up cameras, blind-spot warning systems and other crash-avoidance technologies.

Relinquishing the Reins
There may come a time when it’s no longer safe to remain behind the wheel.

“Indications that it’s time to stop driving include getting lost on roads you should know, being told repeatedly by passengers that you missed a stop sign or finding scrapes on your car that you weren’t aware of getting,” says AARP’s Beringer.

He stresses that the age to stop driving can vary greatly. “I had an 89 year-old woman in my class with all of her faculties, and a 57-year-old that I wouldn’t want to be on the road with,” says Beringer. “We don’t age at the same rate.”

If you are concerned about someone else’s driving ability -- for example a parent’s -- join your parent as a passenger for several trips and at different times in order to get a good sense of his or her driving performance.

Encourage your parent to check his or her skills by taking a self-rating program (such as this one from the Automobile Association’s Foundation for Traffic Safety) or getting assessed by a professional such as a doctor, rehab clinic or geriatric care service.

Get a sense of your parent’s transportation needs and come up with options such as:

Using local public and private transportation options. Try out these services with your parent in order to determine which are convenient and easy to use.
Offering to do the driving yourself.
Hiring a trusted friend or neighbor who needs a little extra cash.

When possible, broach the subject before the need arises. Try to come up with a “game plan” you and your parent can agree on ahead of time.

And be empathetic: You wouldn’t want to lose your ability to drive, and neither does your parent. Keep the focus on your parent remaining safe while still getting where he or she needs to go.

Nancy Sokoler Steiner is a freelance writer and author based in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles and Lifestyles Magazine, among other publications.

Now You’re Talking: How to Communicate with Seniors

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 23:00:00 +0000

We all want to be heard – to be acknowledged and understood. This is true for people regardless of age, and certainly applies to seniors. Yet when it comes to speaking with older people, we sometimes go about it the wrong way.

“Part of the problem stems from the loss of the communal society of our grandparents and great-grandparents, where old adults were part of the matrix of life ... All this has left us unfamiliar and unschooled in how older adults think and communicate,” says David Solie, MS, in an article entitled, “The 7 Common Mistakes Professionals Make Communicating with Seniors.”

However, there are ways to improve our communication with elders. They include recognizing physical needs, modifying our communication style and gaining an understanding of psychological issues.

Physical Factors
Devorah Small-Teyer, M.S.W., Director of Social Services for the Los Angeles Jewish Home’s Joyce Eisenberg-Keifer Medical Center, notes that simply accommodating hearing or sight issues can enhance conversation.

“Sometimes a hearing aide battery needs to replaced or amplified ear phones need to be provided,” she says. “It’s important to approach someone with hearing or vision problems from the front, speak to them face-to-face, and use hand gestures when appropriate. Make eye contact, put on a smile and address them respectfully by name to get their attention.”

Small-Teyer offers several more helpful strategies:

Be patient. Don’t rush or force the conversation.
Try not to finish others’ sentences. Give people time to form their responses
Speak slowly, clearly and at a reasonable volume. Don’t mumble, but don’t shout, either.
Try to minimize distractions, such as a television playing in the room, while conversing.

We may also make the false assumption that a slow response indicates a slow mind, but that is not necessarily the case. Increased processing time does not reflect a decline in reasoning skills or verbal ability.

Common Courtesies
In the age of multi-tasking, many of us may be tempted to check our phones for text messages or emails during a conversation. But this can feel disrespectful to the person we’re talking to. Seniors who don’t use this technology are especially likely to infer that we aren’t really interested in what they have to say.

Good communicators go beyond just understanding the information being conveyed. They also understand how the speaker feels about what he or she is saying. Try to repeat what the speaker has said, using your own words. And when it’s your turn to speak, communicate in a way the listener can understand.

Avoid “elderspeak,” the patronizing way of talking to seniors that sounds like baby talk. While it may seem like a way to show affection and encouragement, it feels condescending and infantilizing to the recipient. In fact, research shows that elderspeak can actually interfere with communication and foster contention rather than cooperation.

What’s Really Going On
David Solie, who wrote the article on seven communication mistakes, is also the author of How to Say It to Seniors, Closing the Communication Gap with Our Elders. He posits that seniors have unique developmental agendas. Just as toddlers and teens must work to develop identity and independence, Solie argues, seniors also have developmental needs. The mission of older adults, he says, is to maintain control over their lives in the face of loss and to discover their legacy – what will live on after them.

Solie believes this explains some of the communication styles we tend to negatively associate with the elderly, such as wandering from subject to subject, repeating stories, postponing decisions, or going on tangents.

“Such verbal behavior can be frustrating to us, because we haven’t learned to appreciate the tasks on their agendas,” he writes. “After all, we’re at the top of our game. We need to … cross off as many items as possible every single day. That process makes the middle aged feel powerful and in control… But elderly people have different motivators.”

We always run the risk of miscommunicating. But using patience, courtesy and clarity – regardless of the age of our audience -- will greatly increase the chance for success.

A Recipe for Happiness

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 22:54:00 +0000

Frank Sinatra made it sound easy when he crooned, “Forget your troubles c’mon get happy/ You better chase all your cares away.”

Yet happiness can seem quite elusive. Can we make ourselves happy? And is happiness really such a worthy goal?

Positive psychology is the field of psychology that looks at the science behind what makes people thrive. It has yielded research suggesting we can, indeed, boost our levels of happiness. At the same time, there’s no single key to achieving it.

Rather than a key to happiness, a better analogy would be a recipe, Ed Diener, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois, explains on his website. “Most good recipes call for quite a few ingredients. Some are absolutely essential, and others are merely helpful,” he writes. “You need to have multiple ingredients put together in the right way.”

Psychologists are quick to point out that no one can expect to be happy all the time, and different things make different people happy. Nevertheless, most people’s recipes for happiness include the following crucial ingredients:

Connecting With Others
“If I wanted to predict your happiness, and I could know only one thing about you, I wouldn’t want to know your gender, religion, health, or income,” says Harvard Professor of Psychology Daniel Gilbert in an interview in The Harvard Business Review. “I’d want to know about your social network --- about your friends and family and the strength of your bonds with them.”

These bonds with friends and family improve our sense of wellbeing and help us weather difficult times. They also confer physical benefits. Having a network of social connections appears to increase our immunity to infection, lower our risk of heart disease and reduce mental decline as we get older.

Pursuing Meaningful Activities
Having challenging -- but achievable – goals can give our lives direction, purpose and a sense of satisfaction. In fact, working towards the goal may be as important to our happiness as reaching the goal itself.

Professor Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, suggests that we also pay more attention to what our minds are doing. “When you wake up on a Saturday morning and ask, ‘What am I going to do today?’ the answer is usually about where you’ll take your body – to the beach to the kids’ soccer practice, for a run. You ought to ask, ‘What am I going to do with my mind today?’”

Cultivating Gratitude
Many researchers note the importance of gratitude – noticing and appreciating the good things in our lives. Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at U.C. Riverside and author of The How of Happiness, found that students who spent 15 minutes a week for eight weeks writing letters about experiences they were grateful for showed increased levels of happiness immediately after the eight week period. The effect persisted six months later.

U.C. Davis Professor of Psychology Robert Emmons found similar results: Subjects who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded problems or neutral life events. Emmons details his research in the book Thanks: How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier.

Lending a Hand
Helping others boosts happiness, provides a sense of meaning and increases our feelings of competence. Social connection is a key ingredient to happiness, and helping others is one way to create that connection. A study published in the Journal of Health Psychology found that regular volunteerism decreased mortality rates by 40 percent, although it is not clear whether those who volunteered were in better health to start with.

Taking Care of Your Body
Being active is important for both physical and mental health. Regular physical activity helps maintain thinking and judgment skills. When we exercise, our brain releases chemicals -- including endorphins, adrenaline, serotonin and dopamine – that help reduce anxiety and improve mood. Exercise may also help us sleep better, which positively affects our mood. Meditation is another means of reducing stress and improving moods. And of course, a healthy diet keeps the body fueled and keeps sugar levels constant.

Although it may take some work to be happy, it appears to be worth the effort. Dr. Diener lists a host of benefits that seem to be associated with happy people, including stronger immune systems, longer lives, greater success and better coping skills. And perhaps achieving happiness may not be as elusive a goal as we might think. As Dr. Lyubomirsky says, “It just takes commitment and effort -- as with any meaningful goal in life.”

Getting to Know You

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:16:00 +0000

Community Service Brings Jewish Home Residents and Crespi High Students Together

Recently residents of the Los Angeles Jewish Home shared music, card games, and conversation with over 60 students from Crespi Carmelite High School, a 4-year college preparatory school located in Encino. The school offers young men a Christian education in a Catholic environment. The students – all sophomores – spent time with residents of the Goldenberg●Ziman Special Care Unit and the Factor Skilled Nursing Building at Eisenberg Village as part of the school’s community service program, known as IMPACT week. “We take this time to give back to the community, which also provides great experience and an opportunity for growth for our students,” said vice principal Brian Banducci. “We enjoy seeing our boys rise to the occasion.”

Ann Sayre, a parent volunteer, accompanied one of the groups to the Home. “Unless they have elderly grandparents, it’s hard for the students to know what’s going on in this community,” she said. “Now they can see how helpful they can be and how much it means to the residents. With very little effort, they can make a difference in someone’s day!”

The students gave their visit with the Home’s residents a rave review. “We talked about our families, we sang together…it was a lot of fun!” said one student. When another student was asked what he learned from the experience, his answer was simple: “Patience” - a virtue we should all aspire to.

Resident Dorothy Marquis played Monopoly with some of the students. “They are so darling!” she exclaimed. “Spending time together gives them insight into the lives of seniors, and it made me feel young!”

Thank you to the students, faculty and parents of Crespi Carmelite High School including the residents of the Jewish Home as part of their inspiring IMPACT week.

To learn more about volunteering at the Jewish Home, please contact Stacy Orbach, director of volunteer services, at (818) 757-4442 or Stacy.Orbach@jha.org.

La Opinión Article — Offering Seniors “Dignity”

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 00:02:00 +0000

The Brandman Centers for Senior Care was featured in today's issue of the Spanish language paper, La Opinión, in an article by Yurina Melara Valiulis. We thought the story was so great, it had to be translated for our English readers!

A new comprehensive care program allows Alice and Miguel Reyes both 84 years of age, to remain in their home in Canoga Park despite various health problems.

This program for the elderly is located in the complex called Los Angeles Jewish Home. Brandman Centers for Senior Care/PACE started on February 1 and although it has capacity for 150 people, so far only eight have signed up.

Alicia has diabetes and takes many pills for different ailments. Miguel has constant pain in one leg and acute pain which hinders him every time he moves, also suffers from high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Because of their age, they could be candidates to be transferred to a nursing home, but thanks to the Brandman Centers for Senior Care program called PACE (Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly), this couple may live longer independently.

PACE is a model of care for the elderly, which provides a full range of medical services - including primary care, specialists, testing laboratory, podiatry, dental, psychiatry, psychology, therapy, nutritional counseling, social workers, food planning services and transportation to the Center.

"We come to the Center twice a week. Here they treat us well, they give us therapy to keep us active and they also worry about our food,” said Miguel.

Gretchen Brickson, Executive Director of the Center, explained that this program is open to all adults over 55 years of age that start having problems and can’t take care of them, but that can be kept at home with help.

Nationwide there are 90 PACE programs, six of them in California. There are two in Los Angeles County; Altamed and now Brandman.

Victoria Solórzano, specialist in connection with the community of Brandman, said that Latinos should provide the opportunity to their parents or their grandparents to enroll in a program that helps them control their diseases and to feel better.

For seniors with Medicare and Medi-Cal, PACE is free of charge and to be accepted they must pass an inspection that evaluates fitness and mobility, as well as live in the service area of Brandman. Communities that qualify are: Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Encino, Granada Hills, Mission Hills, North Hills, Northridge, Panorama City, Porter Ranch, Reseda, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Tarzana, Valley Village, Van Nuys, West Hills, Winnetka and Woodland Hills.

(Click here to view the original story in Spanish)
Photo Credit: J. Emilio Flores, La Opinión

Meaning and Transformation — Letter from the Rabbi

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 20:21:00 +0000

It’s funny how many people are quite sure their first meeting with their future husband or wife was beshert (it was “meant to be”), even though many of those same people insist that God plays no part of their lives. Most of our residents look back on 60 or more years of wonderful marriage, and it is hard to believe the way they met their husband- or wife-to-be could have been chance.

I’ve noticed how residents talk with delight about the way that first meeting came about, while their wedding itself hardly gets a mention. That’s true for me too. Just a few days ago my wife and I celebrated the tenth anniversary of the day we met (in Jerusalem). A day like that fundamentally changes the course of one’s life, while a wedding perhaps only confirms a course one has already decided on.

When we say “it was meant to be” or “God intended it” we are expressing our sense that life has meaning that is hidden beneath ordinary circumstances, in coincidences, even in silly mistakes. But why do we think a wonderful happening, like the one that led to a good marriage, is beshert, while we find it harder to say that about a tragedy? When something terrible happens, we are more likely to say God was absent, or God didn’t care, or God doesn’t exist. It would challenge our idea of a good God to suggest that God intended, or wanted, us to suffer hardship or pain.

I would never say to someone suffering loss or illness that God intended this to happen to them. That would be cruel and insensitive, and how can I know, anyway? And yet as we reflect on challenges in our own lives, we may experience trust that there is rightness to what happens, and out of that trust can come positive developments. Is that trust fanciful? That I can’t answer for sure. But my own faith, that there is meaning to the events in my life, has helped me grow from negative happenings, such as illness, so that I bring new changes to my life for the good.

In a few days we will be celebrating the Jewish festival of Purim, which is based on the Book of Esther. Now we all know that the Bible is largely about God, but in this strange biblical book, God doesn’t get a mention. The characters go through their events with the most human mix of silliness, chance, ambition, revenge, fear and courage. Yes, just like we tend to see our own lives.

But the name “Esther”, even though it is derived from a Persian name, connects to the Hebrew word for hidden. It is a hint that even in that very human Purim story, there may be meanings (and God) hidden under the everyday events. This is certainly what our Sages taught. In the Yiddish word we are used to, maybe the events – like the young Jewish girl Esther marrying the Persian King – are beshert.

I think this is what her cousin Mordechai believes. When he learns that the Jewish people face destruction at the hand of the wicked Haman, he seeks to persuade Esther not to be cowardly but to risk her life to get the king to save the Jews. Mordechai says, "Who knows if it is not for this purpose that you are here?"

I think it is that question that prompts Esther to overcome her fear, to wonder if perhaps it was beshert that the king divorced his previous wife and chose Esther to be his new wife. Out of those events grew the opportunity for Esther to save her people. She rose to the occasion, transforming both the situation and herself. Instead of being someone who things happened to, she became a person who made things happen. If we look at the events in our lives as beshert, that we are here at this moment for a purpose, how might we too transform ourselves so that we bring good to ourselves and the world about us?

When we are not making a noise to drown out the name of Haman (who stands for negativity and destructiveness) let’s ponder how Esther can inspire us to new creativity.

Caption Contest!

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 00:57:00 +0000

It's time to participate in the Jewish Home's first caption contest!

Every other month, we'll be posting a meme of our residents in action (a total of 6 times). Your mission—should you choose to accept it—is to think of the funniest, most creative caption you can think of, and post it as a comment. Then, get as many of our friends to like you caption as you can.

The commenters with the top three most liked captions will be announced the following Friday.

At the end of the year, the top comments from each of the six caption contests throughout the year will be entered into a drawing, and three of you will away with some amazing prizes! Seriously, we're not kidding. There'll be prizes!!!

1st Prize: iPad Mini
2nd Prize: $50 gift card to Amazon
3rd Prize: $25 gift card to Amazon

And now for the rules and details:

All winners must live in the United States.
The Jewish Home will notify prize winners by Facebook post and private Facebook message after the drawing takes place in December.
Jewish Home fan page administrators reserve the right to delete/remove any caption or comment it determines to be inappropriate.
Jewish Home employees can participate in the caption contest, but their participation cannot interfere with normal operations at the Home. Should participation in the contest lead to an employee's inability to complete normal job duties—as determined by his or her supervisor—the employee will be disqualified from that month's contest.
When the drawing for prize winners takes place, if a winner's account has been removed from Facebook, if a winner chooses not to reply within a reasonable amount of time to requests for contact information, or if the winner is unable to redeem the prize, the award will be nullified and given to the next runner up. In the event the aforementioned circumstances apply to the 3rd prize winner, a new winner will be chosen by drawing from the remaining finalists.

Good luck!

Helping the Spirit to Soar

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 23:59:00 +0000

As we begin the New Year and consider how to boost our physical and mental health, we need to include another important component of wellbeing: our spiritual health. Just as there are steps we can take to boost the health of our bodies and our brains, there are ways to enhance our spiritual fitness, regardless of our age.

In fact, Rabbi Rita Hertzberg, the Los Angeles Jewish Home’s Campus Rabbi for Eisenberg Village, believes our spirituality has the potential to expand as the years go by.

"As the body ages and the mind ages, the spirit grows," she says. "It’s the only part of us that doesn’t decline."

Scientists disagree on how and whether spirituality and religion influence health. Some studies have concluded that religious faith increases our ability to cope with illness, disability, loss, and mortality. Others have reported lower blood pressure and depression levels and longer lifespans among individuals with a strong personal faith who regularly attend religious services.

At the same time, some researchers believe there is not enough scientific evidence to conclude that spirituality is associated with health.

But perhaps it doesn’t matter whether the scientific evidence is conclusive. Experiences of residents at the Los Angeles Jewish Home clearly demonstrate that spirituality affects emotional health and quality of life.

"If we can get [spirituality] to kick in and to grow brighter, this becomes a light that can ease the darkness we feel that is natural in the aging process," says Rabbi Hertzberg.

Working with residents, Rabbi Hertzberg and her colleague Rabbi Anthony Elman, the Home’s Jack H. Skirball Director of Spiritual Life and the Campus Rabbi for Grancell Village, have both seen tremendous changes in individuals who have discovered or enhanced their sense of spirituality.

Rabbi Elman recounted the story of one resident who had lost her eyesight quite abruptly. Despite her loss, he said, "She is full of thanks to God for God’s help and to the Home for giving her a place to thrive and for gifts such as having the ability to dress and do other things for herself."

Another resident who was 85 years old and declining rapidly went through the process of having a Bat Mitzvah. She learned verses of the Torah and read them in Hebrew. "It was very meaningful for her and for her family," says Rabbi Elman.

Rabbis Elman and Hertzberg say that there are multiple avenues to spirituality. Certainly religion can be one path. "There's a statement in the Talmud which says that when two or more people study Torah, God is present. I believe that," says Rabbi Elman. "I [also] believe that prayer and a feeling that somehow I'm not alone – that God is with me – can help."

At the same time, he stresses that religion is not the only path to spirituality. "I try to introduce a sense of awe – which I take to mean opening oneself to something greater," says Rabbi Elman. While that may take the form of thanking God for our blessings, says Rabbi Elman, it can also involve marking occasions, such as Veteran’s Day or Martin Luther King’s birthday, where "people can be lifted to feeling and recognizing something greater than themselves."

Music can also be a source of spiritual enhancement. Rabbi Hertzberg says she sings a lot with residents, and that songs can be "a spiritual connection to the past" for them. "I've found music to be an amazingly powerful and spiritual vehicle," she says.

In addition, she believes many residents feel spirituality in their sense of community and connectedness. They may not know anyone when they arrive at the Home, but they soon establish relationships with staff members and other residents.

Whether through prayer, study, music, community, meditation, or other means, humans have the ability to enhance their spirituality at any stage in life.

As Rabbi Hertzberg puts it, "We don’t stop being a spiritual being until we take our last breath."

Strengthening the Body

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 23:50:00 +0000

When it comes to aging well, we’re all looking for the magical fountain of youth that will keep us healthy and vigorous well into our senior years.

It turns out there really is a tried-and-true method for aging well physically, mentally and spiritually. It’s not magic, and it takes effort, but it can add years to your life, help keep your brain fit, and boost your mood.

The secret formula: regular exercise and a healthy diet.

“Only thirty percent of how you age is determined by your genes,” says David Heber, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition. “The other seventy percent is in your hands.”

For example, he notes, Asians who live in China and Japan typically have low rates of cancer and diabetes. However, once they come to the U.S. and adopt our dietary habits, their rates dramatically increase.

Physical Activity

Active people are half as likely to develop heart disease than those who are inactive. They are less likely to develop diabetes and osteoporosis; make fewer visits to the doctor and the hospital; and take fewer medications. Unfortunately, more than half of Americans age 65 and over are inactive.

“Exercise of the right types can maintain muscle mass … which improves overall metabolism, puts less stress on your pancreas, and helps you achieve a healthier body,” says Dr. Heber.

Here’s the catch: You need to do physical activity regularly in order for it to work. By scheduling time for physical activity and making it part of your regular day, you are more likely to stick to a routine. You don’t need to join a gym: Lift two-pound weights while you watch TV or walk the entire mall when you go shopping.

Be sure to include these different types of exercise, each of which provides unique benefits:

Endurance activities are those that make you breathe hard, like dancing, swimming, biking, or running. Build up to at least 30 minutes of endurance activity most days of the week. You can break the 30 minutes into shorter sessions.
Strength exercises involve lifting weights. This helps build muscles and strengthens bones.
Balance activities help improve balance and prevent falls. Your doctor can show you some exercises to do on one foot to improve balance. Here are some examples: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/balance-exercises/SM00049
Flexibility activities generally refer to stretching, which can improve your freedom of movement.

Diet

The other part of the equation is diet. Studies show that following a healthy diet can reduce the risk of osteoporosis, high blood pressure, heart diseases, and certain cancers. What does a healthy diet look like? At least half of your plate should consist of fruits and vegetables. Eat a variety of colors of produce in order to take full advantage of what Dr. Heber refers to as “nature’s pharmacy.”

In ancient times, Dr. Heber notes, our diets were filled with fruits and vegetables. These foods contain chemical compounds that protect us against cell damage and disease. However, modern food processing has removed many of these compounds from our diets.

The part of our plate not filled with fruits and vegetables should include a combination of low-fat dairy products, grains – at least half of them whole grains – and lean protein such as fish or chicken. Nuts and beans also count as protein.

We need some fat in our diets, but not all fats are created equal. Red meat and full-fat dairy products -- such as cheese, milk, ice cream and butter – contain trans and saturated fats, which increase the risk for certain diseases. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, on the other hand, are good for the body. They are found in such foods as salmon, nuts and seeds, plant oils, and avocadoes.

Dr. Heber says that most of us consume more sugar than we realize because many of the processed foods we eat contain high fructose corn syrup. Soft drinks are a major source of “empty” calories. Thirty-three percent of the sugar consumed in the average American diet comes from soft drinks.

The secret’s out: For a healthy body, exercise regularly and choose foods wisely.

- - -

Here’s one more powerhouse tip for aging healthfully: Get preventive health screenings and appropriate vaccinations. Here are guidelines for women and men:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007463.htm
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007466.htm.

Always check with your physician before beginning a diet or exercise program.

Enriching the Mind

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 23:42:00 +0000

We know there are concrete steps we can take to improve our physical health and prevent or decrease the chances of developing certain illnesses. This is true for our mental health as well.

To keep our minds fit, we need to follow the same key strategies for keeping our bodies healthy: get regular physical exercise and eat a healthy diet. In addition, we need to engage in activities designed to ‘exercise’ and ‘nourish’ our brains.

Get Physical

“Of all the lifestyle habits that may protect your brain health, the scientific evidence is most compelling for the effects of regular physical conditioning,” says Gary Small, M.D., Director of the UCLA Longevity Center in his book The Alzheimer’s Prevention Program. “Recent research shows that people who engage in moderate physical activity have a 40 percent lower risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease.”

Small cites a Harvard study of more than 18,000 women which found that walking briskly for a total of 90 minutes a week – about 15 minutes per day – was enough to delay cognitive decline and reduce possible risk for future Alzheimer’s disease.

Physical activity causes the heart to pump more blood, which reaches all the body’s muscles and organs — including the brain. Increased blood flow in the brain appears to reverse cellular deterioration associated with aging.

Aerobic activity isn’t the only type of physical activity to positively affect the brain. Strength training also seems to promote brain function by increasing the heart’s efficiency in supplying blood to the brain and boosting specific brain functions involving complex reasoning and attention skills. Balance training also shows benefits to memory and other cognitive abilities.

Choose Food Wisely

“What we eat affects our mental function and may be critical to maintaining brain health,” says Dr. Small.

A healthy diet benefits both the body and the brain by helping to keep inflammation in check. Although inflammation is usually a health-promoting process, chronic inflammation fuels many age-related illnesses, including cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Health-promoting foods such as fruits, vegetables, fish, whole grains, and legumes fight inflammation, as do many herbs and spices.

Lawrence C. Katz, Ph.D., a professor of neurobiology at Duke University, says “brain exercise” can help develop new connections in the brain. “The mental decline most people experience is not due to the steady death of nerve cells,” he says in an American Psychological Association publication article. Rather, the cause is atrophy of connections between nerve cells in the brain. Routine behaviors can contribute to this atrophy, while novel experiences can help strengthen neural connections.

Train Your Brain

Just as the body needs exercise, so does the brain. Learning stimulates the growth of new brain cells. By challenging the brain, we can increase the number of brain cells and grow the number of connections between those cells. The key is to keep the stimulation varied. So while it’s good to exercise your brain by doing crossword puzzles, for example, you should combine that with different types of mental challenges such as Sudoku or other brain teasers. Taking classes and learning new skills are also ways to “exercise” the brain.

“Practicing basic memory methods sharpens memory capacity, slows age-related decline and helps maintain peak memory function,” says Small. His research at UCLA has found that using simple memory techniques can activate and strengthen specific neural circuits in the area of the brain involved with memory processing.

“As we learn memory enhancement skills, neural activity increases as the brain recruits neighboring circuits to solve tasks,” says Small. “With practice, the brain develops more efficient strategies for both learning and recall.”

Reduce Stress

Constant stress releases cortisol in the brain, which weakens memory. Meditation can reduce harmful stress hormones by shifting the focus of our attention. Lack of sleep can cause stress, while getting adequate sleep reduces chronic inflammation, improves memory and helps us to be more resilient in dealing with stressful events.

Reach Out to Others

Establishing and maintaining relationships with others is another way to help the brain. “Social interactions boost cognitive ability,” says Dr. Small. “Becoming and staying socially engaged may reduce your risk for dementia by as much as 60 percent.”

Having or finding a purpose can also help us stay sharp. A Rush University Medical Center study of more than 950 older adults found that those who had clear intentions and goals were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s over the subsequent seven years.

Research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that engaging in volunteer activities may boost brain function. Researchers found that after six months of volunteering, the participants demonstrated significant increases in brain activity in regions important to cognitive function.

Keeping the mind fit should be a lifelong priority, and is a pursuit that can greatly influence the quality of our lives in our later years. The Healthy Brain Initiative, a project sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and the Alzheimer’s Association to promote cognitive health, makes a great argument for maintaining good mental health: “Having a clear, active mind at any age is important, but as we get older it can mean the difference between dependent and independent living.”

Light increases — Letter from the Rabbi

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 21:51:00 +0000

Talking with residents throughout the beautiful festival of Chanukah this year gave me a lot to think about. Remember how we light the lights on the menorah: one the first night, two the second, and so on till all eight lights are burning on the eighth night. What starts out as single point of light ends as a glorious display. Night by night, light increases.

So one of the questions I have been raising with residents is whether our light – the light that shines within us – increases as time goes on. I focused particularly on wisdom. As every resident knows, our memory certainly doesn’t improve with passing years, but wisdom is something that may live on within us quite independently of memory.

Some people said that experience made them wiser. As the years pass, we live through so many experiences, for good and for bad; and of course we all make mistakes, which – in theory – we learn from. One resident joked that she is allowed to make the same mistake twice, but twice is the limit! Another said that she always tries to ask herself: what did I learn from that mistake?

I think she’s right. Experience teaches us to make better decisions in how we live our lives only if we can reflect on what we have been through. For that, we need to know ourselves and what is really important for us. If we don’t, we can re-live patterns that don’t help us at all. We grow in wisdom when experience teaches us to understand ourselves and the world around us; that way, we are more able to make judgments that are good and healthy.

When we see our own goodness and also our own failings, and recognize these in others too, we are better able to face life’s challenges without being filled with negativity. It is my belief that love and compassion for ourselves and for all humanity are major elements in wisdom; indeed they are a basis for the biblical injunction to "Love your neighbor as yourself".

As we talked of the increase in light with the passing years, many residents felt that they were more compassionate than they used to be. Surely that compassion arises out of the knowledge that we human beings all share a certain frailty, all are struggling to do the best we can, and none of us can get it right all the time. Isn’t it true that a wise person recognizes and appreciates that shared humanity?

A growing wisdom many bring a deeper sense of what is important to us. It is interesting that, for many of us, our priorities change during our lifetimes. It is not, I think, just because circumstances change: it is also because we change. When residents talk of what is important to them now, they focus frequently on relationships and, most of all, family.

I was fascinated when one resident talked about the importance of compromise. What she meant was that we can’t always have things just as we want. That is true throughout our lives, but comes to the fore particularly as we encounter new situations, such as aging and disability. If you stick to your old view of how things ought to be, you get nowhere. In the words of one person, a lady who had spent years in Auschwitz: "You have to live life as it is, and thank God every day for your life and blessings". This was a theme for several people, and some noted that not every resident is able to adjust to life as it is.

I asked one person, whom I have known since the time she was still walking with ease, how she had managed her transition to having to use a wheelchair. I knew she would give me a thoughtful response; in fact what she said brought tears to my eyes. She said: "I had to face the truth – the truth of my situation. Once I could do that, the rest was easy." She was putting into words what so many residents know, reminding us that wisdom also involves courage – the courage to shine light on our lives and our situations, and face truths we might prefer to ignore.

Luck

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 18:00:00 +0000

By Ellis Simon, 88
Jewish Home Resident

I don't know why, but I am sitting here thinking how lucky I am. I have a family that loves me, I have reached the age of 87 years old. Sure I have my aches and pains now and then, and sure I worry once and a while, but G-d has been good to me. I have many friends, I keep very active, I am very upbeat, and I love life.

I get up every morning and look forward to another day. I know I am going to eat three meals each day, and I know I have a place to lay my head every night. There are people here that are paid just to figure out how to keep me healthy and happy. There are people here that are paid just to figure out how to keep me active. There are people here that are paid just to see that I get three meals a day. There are people here that are paid just to listen to my concerns, and to help me get rid of those concerns. There are people here that are paid just to keep me healthy, and there are people here that are paid just to take care of any problems with maintenance and housekeeping of my living quarters. Also there are people here that are paid, and even some who volunteer, to provide transportation just so that I may shop, go to my doctor's office, or go out for some enjoyment.

So next time someone accidentally bumps you with their walker, or blocks your way, or disagrees with something you said, take it with a grain of salt. Just smile and remember how lucky you really are.

Tapping the Power of Music — Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 21:04:00 +0000

By Nancy Sokoler Steiner

Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.
~Victor Hugo

One of music's most striking powers can be seen in its impact on individuals with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. A dramatic example of this effect is found on a viral YouTube video featuring an elderly Alzheimer's patient named Henry. At first, Henry is slumped over in his chair, his head bent forward, his speech condensed. Then an aide gives him an iPod. The moment Henry starts listening, he becomes instantly animated: his face lights up and he begins to move his arms and legs. After his headphones are removed, he talks about his love of jazz, and sings lyrics from a favorite song.

Later in the same video, neurologist and author Oliver Sacks comments on Henry's response. "In some sense, Henry is restored to himself," says Sacks. "He remembered who he is and has reacquired his identity for a while through the power of music."

While music doesn't always evoke reactions as extreme as Henry's, it does seem to engage even the most unresponsive of individuals. That is one reason music plays a major role in the Los Angeles Jewish Home's skilled nursing and dementia care.

Susan Leitch, community manager of the Goldenberg·Ziman Special Care Center and Max Factor Family Foundation Building, notes that music is played throughout the day, and carefully chosen to set the tone and help cue residents. For example, calm, relaxing music is played in the evening to signal winding down of the day.

Music is also used more formally in music therapy sessions for skilled nursing and dementia care residents. Music therapist Cindy McGee facilitates sessions twice a week. These sessions, she says, are not sing-alongs; they are therapeutic interventions with specific goals.

One goal, called reality orientation, aims to bring participants who may not be aware of their surroundings into the present moment. Another is to aid recall and reminiscence by evoking thoughts and memories associated with the music.

During music therapy, says McGee, "participants will mention the name of a relative or tell a story they normally can't remember. It allows them to connect to something outside themselves."

As a recent session, McGee played Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and residents sang along. She asked them who sang the song, and passed around a photo of the Wizard of Oz cast. After several of them pointed to Dorothy, McGee asked them to name the movie.

"What would you ask the Wizard for?" she later queried the group.

"Good health," answered one.

"A good looking guy," said another.

Whether in the background or in a formal setting, music evokes a response. That response may be as subtle as the tapping of a foot, as dramatic as the transformation of YouTube's Henry, or as familiar as the desire for romance.

The beauty of music, it seems, is it's universal appeal. As Susan Leitch says, "Music involves everyone. It doesn't matter what level of function you're at."

What makes a community? — Letter from the Rabbi

noreply@blogger.com (Rabbi Anthony Elman) — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 20:47:00 +0000

There are moments when I see something so simple, so everyday – but yet so beautiful it brings tears to my eyes. Like noticing a nursing assistant gently combing a resident’s hair; or an activities person stroking an anxious resident’s arm; or a physical therapist walking with someone who is uncertain of her steps, gently encouraging her, while chatting away to keep her calm. At our regular memorial services for residents who have passed away, one of the staff may talk of a resident we have lost with such tenderness that her voice breaks.

And then there are those times when residents express wholehearted appreciation for staff, like when someone at a residents’ council meeting says that, say, Housekeeping or Maintenance or Activities are “wonderful” – and lots of other people agree. Around Thanksgiving, I asked in various groups what residents were thankful for. Top of the list for so many people was the Jewish Home!

It’s interesting to think what this means. We could look at the Home as distinct groups of people, each with their own separate role: those who live here (or receive the Home’s services in other ways); and those who are employed here; those who volunteer their time and energy and skills, and those who donate financially. Yes that’s one way of looking at the Home, but in fact it is much richer than that.

I have been asking myself the question: what makes a community? I believe it is much more than, say, a group of people who live in the same place; or a group of people who work in the same place. A community (just like a family) is held together by invisible bonds – they may be bonds of love and caring; or, just as important, bonds of obligation.

Then we may look at the common purpose that brings a group of people together. The purpose of the Home is to bring the highest standards of care to seniors, in keeping with Jewish values. All efforts are aimed at giving the best to residents and to others who receive the Home’s services. In this way, the Jewish Home is an organization with a purpose. It meets that purpose to a pretty high standard – which is a prime reason residents are so thankful for it.

But the Home is not just an organization; it is also a community. Certainly it is there for the residents, but it also plays an important role in the lives of staff and volunteers and donors (and let’s include those who give their time to serve on the Home’s governing bodies).

All have the potential to give to others, and all have the potential to have their lives enriched by the web of relationships, the obligations and the caring, the warmth and the friendship, the sense of belonging that membership of a community like this can bring.

Some of the employees have been with the Home for 20 or 30 or more years. Some stay in the same jobs over the years, while others take advantage of the opportunity the Home offers to move up to more satisfying or senior roles. Those who work here enjoy their relationships with each other and with the residents; and many experience a fulfillment that comes from being able to contribute to the life and wellbeing of others. And I know how much most of our residents enjoy their connections with the staff and appreciate what they do.

I have just had the privilege of participating in events that gave me a new sense of this Jewish Home family. On the days before Thanksgiving, Rabbi Rita and I co-hosted interfaith services on both campuses for employees of the Home, alongside a Catholic Priest and a Protestant Pastor. I found this coming together of staff members and clergy from different backgrounds very moving.

Here at the Home, people fill different roles – residents, nurses, dietary or maintenance staff, administrators, and many more – and come from many backgrounds and traditions. What I have come to see more clearly than ever before, is that there is so much more that unites us than divides us. Together, we are a community, and I am thankful to be part of it.

Saturday Evenings with Bea & Jack

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 23:18:00 +0000

By Ellis Simon, 88
Jewish Home resident

During the summer months until the end of September, a lot of us residents looked forward to our Saturday Night Socials in Bagno Park hosted by the gracious Bea and Jack Kriger. The entertainment was great as was the camaraderie. Among the many diversified acts they provided were violinist Ellona Geller, vocalist Bernie Fisher, clarinetist Sam Glenn, comedian/singer Shalom Sherman, entertainers Larry & Brenda Shaw, and chanteuse Laurie Kamiel. The music ran the gamut from classical, semi-classical, popular, and show tunes. As one looked around, you saw many residents tapping their feet with big smiles on their faces as well as getting up and dancing. The weather was generally beautiful and warm, and everyone was sociable and having a great time. It’s one of the reasons we love the Jewish Home. We all owe a big THANKS to Bea and Jack, and look forward to their Saturday Night Socials next summer.

Time Keepers

noreply@blogger.com (Los Angeles Jewish Home) — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 18:29:00 +0000

By Alice Kulick, 88
Jewish Home resident

As I was watching Good Morning America, an author of the book “Time Keeper” came on. His concept on how we use time got me thinking about time and how we use it all our lives. We used our time as children at play, school and growing up to high school, proms and then onto college. When we married and had children, our time went very fast. Raising our children was a full-time job. Our home and family was so busy, we just didn’t know how much time had passed.

The years and our time also passed swiftly. Our ages also passed with time. Before we knew wit, we were senior citizens. Now we had lots of time. But how were we using it? We now enjoy our lives in the beautiful Jewish Home. But do we spend our days in our rooms watching TV or do we volunteer in the mail room, conduct tours, help our in the volunteer office? There are many jobs to volunteer for and committees to be a part of. We are all time keepers. Everyone has time but how we choose to use it can make our lives more valuable.