AJAS

Association of Jewish Aging Services E-UPDATE


 

 

Fall 2010

From the AJAS Office

New Office Staff at AJAS

Washington, D.C. - Amidst a whirlwind of change, the staff at the Association of Jewish Aging Services of North America has seen a complete turnover.  Marla Gilson joined AJAS as President and CEO in early summer.  Two new members were added to the AJAS team after Lesley Libo, previous program director, left the organization.  Monica Wolfe and Heather Gordon were hired late summer as program director and program associate, respectively.  Both are very excited to be working for AJAS.  While much of their time until now has been spent learning about the organization, both are up and running full steam ahead.  "To be part of AJAS at this time of change is very exciting", said Heather Gordon.   Monica Wolfe adds, "This organization performs such an important role in helping seniors.  We are eager to do all we can for AJAS and its members".
 
Don't hesitate to contact either of them:
Monica Wolfe can be reached at monica@ajas.org
Heather Gordon can be reached at heather@ajas.org
Phone: 202-543-7500
Fax: 202-485-4090


Check out the Job's page on the AJAS website.  It's a great place to post and review jobs in the AJAS community.
Upcoming Events


Fall Symposium
Monday, October 18
Maimonides Geriatric Centre
Montreal, Quebec
 
                        -----------------------------------------------------------------------

2011 AJAS Annual Conference
The Art of Living: Redefining Organizational Structure

Dallas

For information about upcoming events or to register, please contact Monica Wolfe, program director, at 202-543-7500 or monica@ajas.org.
Fall Scribe

Would you like to see your news featured in the fall issue of The Scribe? Please send news items, articles, and photos to heather@ajas.org.  The deadline for the Fall issue is Friday October 22, 2010. 

Scribe Spring 2010


To view the spring issue, please click here.
Upcoming Fall Gala Events

October 21, 2010
Jewish Home Lifecare, New York, will be celebrating the 60th Anniversary of their Bronx Campus and the 40th Anniversary of Kittay House.

October 24, 2010
Jewish Home and Care Center, of Jewish Senior Living, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, holds its Annual Dinner.  There, three attendees will be honored with prestigious awards from the community. Eugene Bass will be honored with the Leadership Award, Raul Mateo, M.D. will be honored with the Bikkur Cholim Award, and Kenneth Stein will be honored with the Volunteer Award. 

October 28, 2010
The Jewish Home for the Elderly, Fairfield, Connecticut, will host their Fall Gala.  Roy Friedman will be the recipient of the Arthur and Gladys Lunin Humanitarian Award, recognizing his outstanding public and community service.  Sue Angel will be awarded with the Louis Lotstein Award, recognizing her leadership and long-term service to The Jewish Home.
 
November 20, 2010
The River Garden Foundation, Jacksonville, Florida, celebrates its 18th birthday at their Foundation Gala.  Proceeds will benefit the residents of River Garden Hebrew Home/Wolfson Health & Aging Center.

If you would like your Galas and events to be posted on an e-update, please contact Heather Gordon, program associate heather@ajas.org.
Innovative Television at MorseLife
 
MorseLife Logo
When brainstorming ideas of how to provide residents, staff, and visitors with up-to-date information, MorseLife, located in West Palm Beach, Florida, went far beyond simple fliers and bulletin boards.  Thus came into being their new Electronic Information Centers.
 
The Electronic Information Center (EIC) resulted in television monitors located in 5 key areas across the MorseLife campus.  Content displayed on the EIC is tailored to its location, providing the most relevant information for each area of MorseLife.  These monitors not only provide up-to-date information about events and activities, they also show other information in eye-catching photos and graphics.  Information such as the daily weather update, birthday and anniversary announcements, and schedules of educational programs offered to employees appear on the monitors.  Entertaining information such as Yiddish daily words, Jewish holiday recipes, stories, jokes and sayings also show up on the new monitor system.
 
Residents, staff, and visitors alike enjoy the vibrant and colorful display of the informative content.  The EIC first came into use this past summer and have been an unqualified success since then.  They are under the auspices of MorsLife Learning Institute (MLI), which provides clinical, organizational and professional course content to the internal staff of MorseLife and the professional community. 

For more information about MorseLife's Electronic Information Centers, contact Jimmy Glenosat (561)209-6134.

Sign Up to Exhibit at our 2011 Annual Conference
 
Booth space is still available for the Exhibitors Showcase during the Annual Conference in Dallas, TX, March 27-30.  We have extended the early registration discount; sign-up before November 15th and receive $200 off the total booth price.  For more details or to register please go to the AJAS website to download the form.  For questions contact Monica Wolfe, program director - monica@ajas.org.
Send Us Your News & Photos!

Would you like to see your organization, staff, outstanding programs and great news mentioned in the e-Update? Please send a quick email with the information you would like to share to Heather Gordon, program associate, at heather@ajas.org. Then, look for your news in next month's e-Update.
The Washington Beat


Washington DC feels a little empty these days as Congress has recessed until the November 2nd elections.  Most likely, they'll be back for a "lame duck" session or or around November 15.

 
The Leadership Council of Aging Organizations is celebrating the 75th birthday of Social Security.  To read the letter they sent to Congress, click here.

Get out there and vote!  Your vote makes a difference in legislation that affects you and your community daily.  So go hit those polls!

 


If you have any questions, contact Marla Gilson, AJAS CEO and resident Washington expert at marla@ajas.org.

AJHSA

Are you a member?
The mission of AJHSA is to maintain a nationwide network and outreach program of auxiliary leaders, volunteer directors, development directors, and other staff and lay leadership in order to promote understanding between agencies to provide new ideas that support our agencies financially, programmatically and educationally; to solve common problems; to advocate services for the elderly and long term care programs; and encourage leadership development to strengthen the role and stature of volunteers and auxilians.
Become a member for $250 per year.

AJAS Member Benefits

If you are not yet an AJAS member, consider joining.  Here is just a short list of some of our valuable benefits:

  • CEUs
  • Significant discounts on Annual Conference registration
  • Online discussion groups for CEOs, CFOs, marketing & development staff and lay leaders
  • The Scribe, the e-update and the Washington Update
  • Regional Forums
  • Webinars on hot topics in the field
  • Complimentary job postings on the AJAS website
Stay Up-to-Date on Important News & Events

We're in the process of updating our membership database. Please click here to complete the form. AJAS uses this information to keep you in the know on news that affects your organization.
If you have questions, please contact Heather Gordon, program associate at heather@ajas.org.
Introducing the Albert Z. Fleet Geriatric Training Center at River Garden
 
 

River Garden Hebrew Home/Wolfson Health &Aging Center proudly announced recently that the Geriatric Training Center at River Garden has been endowed through a generous gift by the Albert Z. Fleet Trust.  The dedication ceremony and reception was held on September 10th at River Garden, Jacksonville, FL.

The Center was dedicated in name and memory of Albert Z. Fleet, who was a resident at River Garden.  Albert cared deeply about River Garden and therefore the trustees of this endowment felt it was a fitting one.  The Albert Z. Fleet Geriatric Training Center at River Garden is a Florida Licensed not-for-profit postesecondary school established in 1995.  It provides academic training and skills for those who desire to become Certified Nursing Assistant.
 
CEO of River Garden Martin Goetz said, "We are very grateful to the Albert Z. Fleet Trust for this generous and thoughtful gift.  It will play a major role in helping to ensure the future of the school and the ever important role of training skilled, competent, and compassionate nursing assistants for generations to come."


Cooking with Love

Cooking with Love
 
Maimonides Geriatric Centre, Quebec, is fundraising in an innovative way with their new cookbook, Cooking With Love.  Created almost entirely by volunteers and several tireless editors, Cooking with Love includes more than 150 recipes from the community. 
 
The book is put together with a combination of modern flair and old family recipes.  All of the recipes respect the laws of kashrut and are certain to be enjoyed by anyone who tries out its recipes.  In addition, the full price of the book supports the Maimonides Geriatric Centre, currently celebrating 100 years.

Click here to read the full article in the Montreal Gazette.  To learn more about the cookbook, go to www.maimonides.net.
Smoke Free is the Way to Be
 
Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly's (JCHE) buildings are now smoke free.  The process began at the start of September 2010 when each of the JCHE independent senior housing buildings became 'smoke-free' communities. 
 
The decision to go smoke-free reflects the JCHE's commitment to creating healthy environments for its residents and staff.  This policy was based on the conclusive research done by the U.S. Surgeon General about the harmful effects of both first and second hand smoke.  For the majority, this policy has been favorably received by both residents and staff.
 
While this policy does not require residents to stop smoking, it has provided several residents with the impetus to kick this unhealthy habit.  JCHE, serving the Greater Boston area, is proud to now have a smoke-free campus.
The New Age of Communication

"Skype-ing" has come to Shalom Park, Aurora, CO.  Residents now can both see and talk to their family members from all over the country.  All of this is thanks to a donation from a family member.  It means so much to residents who are able to be with their family members at important holidays and daily communication. 

AJAS Listservs: a valuable resource

AJAS currently hosts three separate listservs: CEOs and Presidents, CFOs and Financial Managers, and Development and Marketing.  They are great way to communicate with and reach out to colleagues from all AJAS member organizations.  If you or someone in your organization wants to be part of one of our listservs, please contact heather@ajas.org.

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Thank You AJAS Sponsors!

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