In response to the coronavirus crisis, this month the AJAS E-Update will feature information and resources on COVID-19 to assist eldercare communities deal with the situation.
Featured Member
The Selfhelp Home
(Chicago, IL)
We are very proud to announce our featured member for April.
As the coronavirus crisis came to a head last month, AJAS collected protocols and other preparedness information from members on dealing with the virus. Click here to access the folder where the collected information is stored.
Information about
Providing Critical Personal Protective Equipment for Jewish Healthcare Providers and Institutions, an exciting project of Jewish Funders Network, the Jewish Federations of North America and the North American Volunteer Network to purchase desperately needed protective equipment and distribute it through the Association of Jewish Aging Services and the Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies.
Check out
JFN's Coronavirus Resource Hub frequently. We're updating it at least once a day, adding critical information about upcoming webinars, resources for navigating the new CARES Act, new articles and much more.
Lou Woolf at Hebrew Senior Life put together a comprehensive, thoughtful and terrific list of these vital resources and tools.
Mike King at Jewish Senior Life in Rochester has made arrangements with a local farmers' market to come weekly and provide staff with free
fresh produce. Staff will receive two plastic bags to fill to the top.
Carol Silver Elliott at Jewish Home Family found this video useful:
A new website,
jewishtogether.org has been developed to offer information during the pandemic.
Small business loans may be available to communities. Click
here for information on the Small Business Administration's application process.
Community Makes Supplies Available to Staff During Crisis
Jewish Home Family
(Rockleigh, NJ)
The Jewish Home Family was looking for ways to boost and maintain staff morale. They came up with the idea to boost its wholesale orders of staple foods and toilet paper and pass the goods along to staff.
"We know it's not simple for our staff to find the time to go to a store after a long day caring for our elders," said Jewish Home Family's President and CEO Carol Silver Elliott. "So we brought the store to them. The staff are thrill
ed and the more we can help make life easier
for everyone who is giving it their all, the better."
The 100-year-old nonprofit's administration hopes that other facilities and organizations will take the idea and replicate it.
Available at the in-house convenience store were eggs, three types of industrial-size loaves of bread, milk and toilet paper. The home plans to replicate the store on a regular basis, as well as at their assisted living facility.
Other steps taken to help staff during this period are a PTO bank with donated hours from other staff, offering extra hours for those who want, offering additional training to be able to work extra time in other capacities, working with staff to offerin
g employment to family members and telehealth services for staff and their families.
On the Lighter Side:
Charming Videos Demonstrate Compassion, Social Distancing
Hooverwood
(Indianapolis, IN)
To relieve stress, some communities have made videos looking at the lighter side of things. Here are some AJAS has received:
Beth Shalom Village in Virginia Beach, VA, was featured The Virginian-Pilot on April 2 with a story on creative ways the community is devising fun activities for residents during quarantine.
