Sarah Neuman Center Takes First Step To Create A New Model Of Care For Elders In Westchester

Thanks to a $500,000 matching grant from The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, two floors of Jewish Home Lifecare’s campus in Westchester, Sarah Neuman Center, will be renovated in a new configuration to enhance the personal preferences, privacy and autonomy of its nursing home elders. This is the first step in a multi-phase renovation of and new construction on the 40-year-old Westchester campus, all of which will be completed in 2016.

Lisa Feiner, board chair at Sarah Neuman Center,  said, “With support from The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, a longtime partner in our work, the Pavilion Building redesign will create a new model for long-term care at Sarah Neuman Center, which will have a profound positive impact on our eldercare services for the 21^st century.

Scenario:

It’s early morning, and 91-year-old, wheelchair-bound Mrs. Jones wants to make her own breakfast. She also wants to invite her neighbor from a nearby room to join her. In a traditional nursing home, her wish could not be accommodated. Yet, at Jewish Home Lifecare’s Sarah Neuman Center, meeting the personal preferences of residents, such as Mrs. Jones’, is about to become the norm.

The renovation of two existing floors of the Pavilion building, funded by The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation grant, will transform the current traditional nursing home room arrangement, with semi-private rooms lining main corridors, into one that better addresses the personal preferences of today’s elders. Upon completion of a third floor renovation, there will be a total of five clusters of rooms, called “Small Houses,” that will be home to 63 residents. Each Small House will feature a country kitchen (in which meals are prepared and cooked), communal dining table, a den and private bathrooms. A central staff person will be assigned to that household and will establish close, personal relationships with the residents to better understand and accommodate their needs and preferences.

Elders will receive the personal care, clinical support and skilled nursing they need in a living space designed as a private home, without clinical services becoming the focus of their existence.

The Small Houses, inspired by The Green House model of person-centered care (www.thegreenhouseproject.org), will encourage elders and staff to build genuine, personal relationships with one another. These improvements and innovations allow Jewish Home Lifecare to continue to implement and pursue the Green House Model’s philosophy:

• Creating real homes around which communities are developed and high levels of care are provided.
• Recognizing and valuing individuality of elders and staff.
• Honoring autonomy and choice.
• Supporting elders’ dignity and providing privacy.
• Offering opportunities to forge close relationships between elders and staff.
• Offering meaningful activities and engagements.
• Promoting maximal functional independence.

When the three-phase Sarah Neuman Center renovation/construction is completed in 2016, the campus will feature a new, freestanding two-story Green House Home and the five Small Houses (three of which are funded through The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation grant), as well as the existing rehabilitation center and nursing home. The Green House will accommodate two 12-bedroom households, each with private bathrooms. Like the Small Houses, the Green House will be a person-centered and person-directed operation.

Background:

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the United States, has been a longtime and generous supporter of Jewish Home Lifecare since 1994 and funded the Weinberg Pavilion for Rehabilitation at Sarah Neuman Center. The Foundation has partnered in seven capital projects on all three campuses of Jewish Home Lifecare - the most recent collaboration was in 2010 for the construction of Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Gardens, a HUD Section 202 residence of 71 one-bedroom apartments for low-income elders on Jewish Home’s Bronx campus.

Sarah Neuman Center is the Westchester campus of Jewish Home Lifecare. It is a 300-bed, rehabilitation and long-term skilled nursing care facility in Mamaroneck, NY, that offers nursing home care, a full range of post-surgical, disease recovery and short-stay rehabilitation, an adult day program and respite care. In addition to a highly trained staff, Sarah Neuman features  private rooms, dining options, beautiful gardens and lounges, Internet-equipped computers, concerts and art programs and even award-winning pet therapy to enhance any stay. Sarah Neuman is a key provider in the Westchester area and a partner of UJA Federation, serving over 1,000 individuals annually with 400 staff and over 360 volunteers from the community.

Jewish Home Lifecare, since its inception in 1848, has served New York area residents through service and education. Its programs to improve geriatric care are now used throughout the nation, and its advocacy programs have educated the American public about the needs and strengths of elders. Today, Jewish Home comprises one of the largest not-for-profit geriatric long-term care organizations in the nation. The not-for-profit agency directly serves more than 12,000 clients annually through comprehensive inpatient long-term skilled nursing, post-acute care, home care, adult day care, housing, telehealth, and care management programs in Manhattan, the Bronx and Westchester County. Jewish Home is intent on continuing to develop and implement the most creative solutions to the challenges of aging, including serving elders in the community in skilled nursing facilities. For more info visit www.jewishhome.org