Vol. LXXXIV No. 43 Omaha, NE
Celebrating 84 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa
24 Sivan, 5765 July 1, 2005
New Blumkin Home Will Bring the Outside In
In Thailand Seminars, JDC Helps Tsunami Caregivers Help Themselves
“Emerging research is making a strong case for access by RITA SHELLEY to the outdoors as an important part of a therapeutic JSS Publicity Coordinator A new philosophy of nursing home care has revolu- environment,” Silverman said. “The new facility will tionized nursing home design in the last 25 years. have secure walking paths, healing gardens, a playToday’s emphasis is on rehabilitation and short-term ground for visiting children, and other ‘natural’ areas stays for residents who still can live independently, and that contribute to overall well-being. None of these on more intimate, homelike settings for individuals who would be feasible in our current facility.” need care for extended periods of time. This “revoluIn the enlarged courtyard that is proposed, residents tion” also has overtaken the physical limitations of the and families also will have more ways to enjoy the outexisting Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. doors in a secure setting. Winding paths will provide difThe time for a modern building that addresses current ferent lengths and difficulty of walking routes that will and future needs has arrived. provide choice to residents different needs. to Mike According with Handrails will encourage less Silverman, Executive able residents to participate Director of Jewish Senior in outside activities. Paths Services and the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, the will be wide enough to proposed facility addresses accommodate the turning current and future trends in radius of wheelchairs. Shady short- and long-term care. areas will provide protection from the elements and proKey aspects of the proposal vide places to sit and watch include re-allocating space to children of family members accommodate the increasing demand for speech, occupaand friends interact on the tional and physical therapies, playground. Cathy Carroll, an activities coordinator at the Rose Blumkin separate care units for shortThe enlarged courtyard also Jewish Home, helps resident Esther Segel care for petunias in and long-term residents, and will be more accessible, both the home’s courtyard. The proposed new building will provide an area designed especially for visually and physically, from additional opportunities such as these in a larger courtyard the care of people experiencthe main entrance and from and other areas with plants and sunlight, indoors and out. throughout the building. ing memory loss. The new Home also would feature a “Main Street” “The nursing home industry is calling for further concept as its front entrance. Shops, as well as commu- research on connections between the environment and nity and family gathering places, will be designed to help the well-being of seniors,” Silverman said. “But further research would only support what any reasonable person reinforce intergenerational connections. The proposed facility addresses yet another important already knows--getting outdoors feels good, even if you “connection” often overlooked in traditional nursing don’t ‘feel good.’ The time has come to make use of this home design—the connection between residents and knowledge to continue to provide exemplary care that the outside world. meets the needs of our community’s seniors.”
by GUY SHARETT PHUKET, Thailand--Juree Worawit wasn’t hurt in last winter’s Southeast Asian tsunami, but that doesn’t stop her from envisioning worst-case scenarios as she relives the moment in her mind. “We’re still thinking, ‘What if the tsunami had hit on a Monday?’” says Worawit, a kindergarten teacher from a navy base in Phang Nga in southern Thailand, where teams are still looking for bodies from the Dec. 26 disaster. “Although it happened on a Sunday and the kids were safe, we still feel guilty, just by thinking ‘what if,’” she says. “The other teachers and I often speak about what we’re going to do if it happens again: Who would grab which kid and to which direction we would run.”
Israeli trauma expert Dr. Gillat Raisch talks with Thais who helped victims of the 2004 tsunami, on June 11, during a seminar in Phuket, Thailand, organized by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Credit: JDC Continued on page 3
ADL’s St. Louis Office Takes Over KC from Omaha Ozzie Nogg Named to AJPA by RICK HELLMAN Editor of the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle For many years, Bob Wolfson, who heads up the Anti-Defamation League office in Omaha, had responsibility for the greater Kansas City area. The local phone number: 816.471.3038, rang in his office. But now that responsibility has passed to Karen Aroesty, regional director in Karen Aroesty ADL’s St. Louis office. “This is a good move for us,” Wolfson told the Jewish Press, “as it allows the Great Plains Region office--our office in Omaha--to devote more time and more of our resources to the rest of the region--outstate Kansas, Nebraska and Western Iowa.” To that end, Aroesty came to Kansas City last month to introduce herself to leaders in the Jewish and general community and to reintroduce ADL’s mission: “To stop the defamation of the Jewish people--to secure justice and freedom for all.” Aroesty said ADL works closely with the National Conference for Community and Justice in St. Louis, and she hopes to do the same in the Kansas City area, with regard both to NCCJ and to the Jewish Community Relations Bureau/American Jewish Committee. While the various groups share some goals in common, Aroesty said, “We have specific products to bring to the table, including early-childhood education and an interactive video product for middle- and high-schoolers
Inside Opinion Page see page 8
called ‘Hate Comes Home.’” Aroesty said ADL has a legislative agenda in Missouri, and part of her efforts in Kansas City will be devoted to securing support for that. She noted that Missouri has no “cultural competency” requirement for teachers, and ADL thinks it should. It would involve such things as anti-bias training for teachers to instructions on how to Bob Wolfson defuse a conflict over race, religion or sexual orientation. Aroesty said the St. Louis office of ADL has been open since 1958. It has a regional advisory board of 48 people, an Israel advocacy task force and a civil rights committee. Omaha’s ADL office is involved in the planning of the “No Place for Hate” rally in Lincoln this month on July 16, 1-4:30 p.m., at Antelope Park. Last year’s rally came about in oppostition to what turned out to be a rather small neo-Nazi gathering on the capitol steps. Organizers of the diversity rally were so overwhelmed by the huge numbers that came to the park last summer they decided to host the event again--even without the presence of hate groups to spur them on. With projects like this, the Prejudice Elimination Workshop, the ADL Community Teen Leadership series (and its annual trip to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.), Manhigim: the Jewish Teen Continued on page 2
Next Week: No Jewish Press Published July 8 JDC Helps Tsunami Caregivers Help Themselves: Page 3
RBJH Honors Silvia Roffman: Page 4
Executive Committee by CAROL KATZMAN Editor of the Jewish Press She’s a former Chairman of the Board of the Jewish Press, an ad agency owner, photographer, actress, storyteller, author of a book--Joseph’s freelance Bones--and columnist and writer. And now Omaha’s own Ozzie Nogg is the first freelance writer ever Ozzie Nogg asked to serve on the Executive Committee of the American Jewish Press Association. She was elected at the AJPA annual meeting in Boston, MA, last week. “I’m very excited to have this opportunity,” said Nogg from Boston. “Life has taken me down many different roads and I’m sure this one will lead to new outlets for creativity and collaboration.” Joanie Jacobson, Chairman of the Jewish Press Committee, added, “It’s an honor for us and for the Jewish community of Omaha to have our friend and colleague serving on the national level. Not only will she represent Omaha to the greater Jewish world, but she’ll be in a position to bring us new ideas as well.” Nogg’s term is a two-year position; she will report on the rest of the AJPA annual meeting in the July 15 Press, and on other issues critical to the organization during the tenure of her term. Her column, “Staying in Touch”, will continue to appear in the Press.
Coming July 15: Health and Wellness Special Issue Teen Age Features Winners of Lt. Cohen Essay Contest: Page 7
YJO to Hold Casino Night at Blumkin Home: Page 12