Rabbi Devorah Jacobson is 2013 "Unsung Hero"

Jewish Geriatric Services is proud to announce that our Director of Pastoral Care, Rabbi Devorah Jacobson, has won the Harold Grinspoon Foundation’s “Unsung Hero Award For Outstanding Professional Leadership” for 2013. The award recognizes volunteer, professional, community and teen leaders who have had a significant impact on Jewish life in Western Mass.

“I am truly touched and honored by this award,” said Jacobson.  “To be recognized by one’s peers for doing what you have a passion for and doing what gives you such joy and meaning is both unusual and humbling.”

Rabbi Jacobson has been part of the JGS family for 12 years. She is trained as a multi-faith chaplain, certified by the National Association of Jewish Chaplains (NAJC). Becoming a Board Certified Chaplain requires that the individual demonstrate outstanding abilities in the area of multi-faith pastoral care and meet the standards of professional competence as established by the NAJC.  This is the highest professional standard given in the chaplaincy field, providing specialized training in the area of healthcare chaplaincy.

 “Rabbi Jacobson came to JGS because the organization knew that having her as full time Chaplain to lead its Jewish Programming, inter-faith programming, and chaplaincy program was a critical component in fulfilling the overall mission to provide both physical and spiritual care to JGS patients and residents of all faiths,” said Robert Petroff, Executive Vice President at JGS’ Julian J. Leavitt Family Jewish Nursing Home. “Rabbi Jacobson commits herself fully to everyone her life touches, whether in times of joy or difficulty. Her capacity for empathy, along with her wise counsel, set an example of exemplary care giving to people of all faiths in the entire JGS community, and beyond,” he added

In addition to her many roles at JGS, Rabbi Jacobson is also part of the faculty for the Florence Melton School in both Springfield and Northampton. She has taught classes on “Jewish Ethics” and “Modern Jewish Thought”. Next year she will teach courses on “Midrash and the Rabbinic Imagination” and “The Problem of Evil: Jewish Responses”.

““Rabbi Jacobson’s caring and compassion creates a special bond with those she meets and

JNH Receives Deficiency-Free Survey from DPH

 

 Julian J. Leavitt Family Jewish Nursing Home Again Receives Deficiency-Free result from Dept. of Public Health

JGS is proud to announce that in 2013 JNH has yet again received a “deficiency-free” result on its annual

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JGS receives gift from Frances Cohen estate

JGS has received a $1 million gift from the estate of Frances B. Cohen, of Longmeadow, who died in October 2011. JGS was one of three local Jewish organizations to receive a gift from her estate. The Springfield Jewish Community Center (JCC)  and The Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts also received gifts.  The JCC hosted a reception February 5^th to honor Frances Cohen’s generosity.  The estate also left  a gift to Western New England University, her husband Norman’s alma mater.  

Mrs. Cohen was a longtime supporter of JGS, as a major donor to its 1998 Regeneration campaign that helped build Ruth’s House Assisted Living Residence and brought needed renovations to the Julian J. Leavitt Family Jewish Nursing Home, and as a supporter of its annual membership appeal, Stand By Me.  Mrs. Cohen had close friends who benefited from the programs and services of JGS, and “it had been her intention to live there at the end of her life, for them to be a resource if she needed it,” said her long-time friend and attorney Jeffrey

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Marceu Fund Extends Therapy Dog and Harp Program

Spectrum Home Health and Hospice Care has received a renewal of funding from the Albert E. & Lillian M. Marceau Fund for the Terminally Ill for the continuation of both their Therapeutic Harp program and their Visiting Dog Program. Both programs are offered to clients served by Spectrum Hospice in all of its service delivery locations--their homes, at Ruth’s House, at the Julian J. Leavitt Family Jewish Nursing Home and other facilities.

“We are truly honored that the Marceau Foundation is continuing to fund these two wonderful programs,” said Diane Mintz, Executive Director of Spectrum Home Health & Hospice Care.  “Both programs help distinguish Spectrum’s

Read more: Marceu Fund Extends Therapy Dog and Harp Program