Benefiting our Community

The Jewish Home has a tradition of service to the community at large – to the frail, elderly, and under-served; to vulnerable populations; to intergenerational groups, interns and students. This history of benefiting the community is fundamental to the Home’s initiatives and philosophy, and informs its membership in “Building a Healthier San Francisco” – a collaboration of San Francisco hospitals, Department of Public Health, United Way, human services’ providers, philanthropic foundations, and numerous community-based organizations.

The following gives an overview these community services. Download our most recent Community Benefit Report for a complete account.

Care

• Through its coordinated care effort, the Home is integral in supporting seniors’ ability to live longer within the general community. The Home provides medical direction externally, and is an intrinsic part of a continuum of care throughout the Bay Area – from participation in the influenza prevention program; to the Home’s medical director serving as a consultant to staff of an assisted living community in Danville; and nurse practitioners and physician’s assistant coordinating care for residents of a subsidized housing community and training their staff in assessment.
• The Home’s short-term and rehabilitation program is designed for those requiring specialized medical and rehabilitation services, usually following discharge from an acute hospital or an acute illness, with the goal of returning to the community.
• Our acute psychiatric unit is a major Bay Area resource, delivering both inpatient care and consultation to the general community. The Home specializes in meeting the psychiatric needs of seniors, offering individualized treatment for individuals age 55 or over, and support services for family members.

Community Adult Education

• In partnership with San Francisco City College, the Home offers several adult education classes to the general community, including creative arts class and Tai Chi.
• Residents may take courses through the Home’s collaboration with Lehrhaus Judaica, an adult school of Jewish studies, while its partnership with KQED makes available educational programs based on PBS programming.
• The Home’s rabbi regularly teaches in the community and participates in educational and leadership development programs with a variety of agencies. His use of poetry and sacred text in pastoral care and spiritual issues related to aging, illness, and death are frequently requested for presentation to chaplains, professional and lay persons.

Kosher Nutrition Project

• The Home’s state-of-the-art kitchen prepares and distributes more than 37,000 nutritious kosher meals annually to community seniors.
• A complete “Seder in a box” is provided to 100 homebound seniors, enabling them to celebrate the Passover holiday with traditional food.

Information & referral services

• The Admissions department receives an average of 500 requests annually from the community for information about services for seniors in the Bay Area. Extensive outreach focuses on informing the community, older adults, and geriatric care professionals about the Home’s services.

Community Service Learning

• The Home partners with local high schools that wish to involve youth in their community, that aim to promote civic responsibility and encourage the development of leadership skills. By volunteering at the Home, students gain valuable life experiences and acquire volunteer time required for college admissions.
• In partnership with local colleges such as City College and San Francisco State University, and community grammar schools, the Home hosts service-learning programs, where classroom instruction is enhanced as students gain practical field experience while meeting the needs of the community partner.
• The Home provides a work-site for the Mayor’s Youth Employment and Education Program, enabling youth to develop job skills and increase career awareness and future employability.
• Student interns from UCSF, Samuel Merritt College, Dominican University, San Jose State, and San Francisco State University are regularly placed with the Home’s physical, occupational, and speech therapists, as well as in therapeutic recreation.
• The Home is considered one of the premier training sites for rabbinic interns specializing in geriatric work. The role played by the Home’s rabbi in training interns received national recognition in 2008 when he was selected by the Association of Jewish Aging Services (AJAS) as Mentor of the Year, in recognition of his longtime commitment to mentoring others, and paying tribute to his excellence in mentoring.
• The Home serves as a site for research trainees, certified nursing assistants, and acute psychiatric care providers. Clinical training is offered to acupuncture students from the San Francisco-based American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine; geriatric fellows, medical and pharmacy students from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF); family practice residents from San Francisco General Hospital; internal medicine residents from UCSF and California Pacific Medical Center. Students from UC Berkeley, Samuel Merritt College and UC Davis are introduced to aspects of geriatrics through rotations at the Home.

Intergenerational Programs

• Through on-site visits and programs, youth groups from schools and synagogues learn about the wider Jewish community, the cycle of life, and respect for elders. High school students spend time with residents one-on-one, sharing rich and rewarding interactions.
• As part of their scholarship and enrichment program, Project Achieve students (under-served, low-income, minority high-school scholars) are paired with residents to share in-depth conversations and oral histories, resulting in a deeper understanding of and appreciation for both generations’ perspectives and life experiences.

Vulnerable populations

• The Home serves as a work site for participants in Employment Plus, a non-profit agency for adults with developmental disabilities, as well as for high school students with similar disabilities. As these individuals perform their duties at the Home, their self-reliance, independence, and productivity are maximized, helping them to become fully-integrated, participatory, and contributing members of their communities. Similarly, volunteers in the Transitional Volunteer Program find a supportive environment at the Home. Individuals with mental and physical challenges gain work experience, increase their self-confidence, and attain a sense of efficacy and community.

Research

• The goal of research undertaken at the Home is to improve the care and quality of life of older people, especially the frail elderly. Opportunities are provided for intellectual scholarship, clinically-based research, and research into the mechanism of age-related processes, disability, and disease. The cooperation of investigators, staff, study volunteers, and their families is an investment in the future welfare of our community.

End-of-Life and Hospice Care

• At the initiative of Rabbi Sheldon Marder, the Home implemented Kol Haneshama: Jewish End-of-Life Care – a program of volunteer and staff training the Jewish Home co-sponsors with the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center. The Home and the Healing Center have worked in close partnership with the Zen Hospice Project, a nationally recognized innovator in the training of volunteers for end-of-life care. In addition to the inter-agency cooperation that exists as a result of this program, numerous families have benefited from knowing their loved one formed a close relationship as they approached the end of their life. Kol Haneshama received national recognition in 2008 when it won the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties’ Program of the Year award, as well as a Jewish programming award from the Association of Jewish Aging Services.