Jewish Eldercare day centre closing decried

By Joel Goldenberg, October 24th, 2012

A day centre offered by the Jewish Eldercare Centre in Côte des Neiges closed Oct. 5, but the reasons for its closing were not justified and it must be reopened nevertheless, says Maya Yuzefpolsky.
“It's a really unique place, and not just because the frail elderly have a Jewish cultural program or celebrate Jewish holidays, and it's not the only place where they receive Kosher food or they have registered nurses, occupational therapists and special care services,” she says. “What is really unique is the atmosphere - creative, with a very special staff, some of whom have been there for 25 years, really, dedicated sincere people who treat seniors with great respect, love and care. They became an extended family, for seniors and caregivers.
“It's very important to preserve this and do whatever possible to help it survive.”
According to media reports, about 50 seniors who are not residents of the nursing home as a whole were taking part in the day centre this year. Yuzefpolsky's mother-in-law Sofa Papernaya, 89, was one of them. The day centre had been providing Jewish-oriented activities and its goals included, according to the centre's website, “maintaining or improving the participants' level of functioning, enhancing their quality of life, decreasing isolation; and providing respite for caregivers.”
“How can you say to families, don't worry, we'll separate [the users], but we'll send you to beautiful places?” Yuzefpolsky said. “It existed for 26 years. When my mother-in-law came here in her late 70s [from Russia], she didn't speak English or French, and she was very depressed - it's not easy to change a country or culture. But when she started to go to this centre, believe it or not, the warmth of these people pushed her to start to learn a little English, and she was able to communicate. She knows the participants' names. She started to go one day a week and finished at three days a week.
“It became her life and our life too. And it's not just my mother-in-law, it's many mothers and fathers.”
Yuzefpolsky said provincial government policy is to keep frail seniors at home as long as possible before possibly needing nursing home care. She contended that Jewish Eldercare officials have been trying to close the day centre for years, but that this was refused by the previous Liberal government. Approval for the closing was given in response to what was said to be dwindling numbers, she added.
“In reality, admissions were closed seven months ago, and this artificially reduced the number. There is a waiting list for these unique services.”
Financial reasons were also not justified, contends Yuzefpolsky. She alleges that a well-known donor and a group of donors were ready to help, but were refused.
She also said that when it was pointed out that some suggested alternatives to the day centre do not serve Kosher food, Jewish Eldercare executive director Barbara Gold suggested that users could bring their breakfast and lunch.
The Jewish Eldercare day centre “is my last hope,” says Yuzefpolsky. “I don't want to lose this hope.”
The Suburban contacted Gold, who said it is indeed government policy to keep frail seniors at home as long as possible.
“But our day centre numbers were going down and we did find alternatives for everybody - we worked with our partners,” Gold added.
The executive director said the contention that admissions were closed seven months ago and numbers artificially reduced are untrue.
“We first came up with the proposal [to close the day centre] about a year ago, because we saw the numbers coming down and we were not able to do it at that time. We weren't given the go-ahead. The numbers kept going down - once we got the okay in July, we didn't take any new clients. There was a substantial [numerical] difference over the last few years - that's why we made that decision.”
In terms of finances, Gold said the centre “had to come up with a plan to save several hundreds of thousands of dollars, and this was a big part of our plan. We had to make a choice - if I have to give the government a plan - we're stretched very tightly - our main mission is to take care of the people who live here. About the last thing we want to do is cut services to residents who live here.”
Gold said no donors approached Jewish Eldercare to help preserve the day centre.
“In any case, it's not a one-time thing. It costs $400,000 every year, or more.”
Gold said a transfer plan was worked on for three months, with each user individually in terms of priority.
“Many people took the options offered. We worked very closely with the Cummings Centre, with CSSS Cavendish, the Shaar Hashomayim and a few other groups. Everybody was offered alternatives - not everybody wanted them. Several people took more than one alternative and they're going more frequently now than when they were going to the Jewish Eldercare Day Centre.”
Gold also confirmed she did suggest users bring lunch to a non-Kosher facility.
“Certainly, the Cummings Centre isn't an issue with that, but I know with CSSS Cavendish, they're very sensitive to that and I'm sure they would probably serve a vegetarian choice if the person wanted that, but you can always bring your lunch. They're not living there.”n