RESEDA, Calif., Nov. 8 /PRNewswire/ — Skirball Hospice, a community program of the Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging, has been awarded accreditation by the National Institute of Jewish Hospice. The accreditation acknowledges what the Skirball Hospice has been doing since its founding — building upon the Home’s nearly century of service to the Jewish community by highlighting Jewish history, ethics and traditions as part of its overriding philosophy of care.
Skirball Hospice is available to any adult 21 or older throughout the greater Los Angeles area needing hospice services, whether in their private home, a nursing facility or residential care facility. In addition, the Skirball Hospice staff sees patients at the Jewish Home’s palliative care unit within the Goldenberg-Ziman Special Care Center on the Home’s Eisenberg Village campus.
“Life is precious on a variety of levels, especially at the end of life,” said Rabbi Kalman Winnick, director of spiritual life at the Jewish Home. “Our hospice mission includes providing appropriate, high-quality care for the needs of the body accompanied with sensitive, compassionate care addressing issues of feelings, culture and faith.”
Skirball Hospice features a specially trained, interdisciplinary team that includes rabbis and chaplains as well as licensed nurses, social workers, dietitians, home health aids, bereavement counselors, and volunteers specializing in hospice and palliative care. Working together with the patient and family, this team provides education and support regarding all end-of-life issues with particular attention focused on providing physical, psychosocial and spiritual comfort.
“Jewish tradition supports the idea that each person has the right to face the end of life with freedom from pain and with dignity,” said Rabbi Malka Mittelman, chaplain at Skirball Hospice. “Our team and our approach help to provide this for our patients.”
Skirball Hospice is a licensed, Medicare- and Medi-Cal-certified hospice agency open to all adults regardless of faith, culture or ethnicity. Further information on the program may be obtained by calling 818-774-3040 or visiting http://www.jha.org/hospice.htm.
The National Institute for Jewish Hospice was established in 1985 and works with hospices, hospitals, family service, medical organizations and other healthcare agencies to ensure they have a basic understanding of the ethical and cultural considerations relevant to Jewish persons during the final phase of their lives.
Founded in 1912, the world-renowned Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging is one of the foremost continuing residential-care facilities for seniors in the United States and is the largest single-source provider of senior housing in Los Angeles. Each year, nearly 1,000 women and men are sheltered on two village campuses (spanning 16 acres), which feature independent-living “Neighborhood Home” accommodations, residential care, skilled nursing care, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia care, and hospice. Healthcare professionals from around the world consult with the Jewish Home in an effort to improve eldercare in their home countries. The Jewish Home is a nonprofit organization that relies upon donations from individuals, corporations and foundations to continue its remarkable work. Further information regarding the Home can be found online at http://www.jha.org/ or by calling 818-757-4407.
Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging
CONTACT: Jim Yeager, +1-818-597-8453, [email protected], for LosAngeles Jewish Home for the Aging
Web site: http://www.jha.org/hospice.htm
Web site: http://www.jha.org/
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