Older Adults

Family Caregiver Services

We are committed to making the caregiving process easier for both caregivers and their loved ones. We offer practical information, connect you to local resources and services, and provide the emotional support that many caregivers need.

Geriatric Care Assessments

A consultation and/or assessment of needs can help:

• Determine the appropriate care for the older adult’s unique circumstance
• Ease the strain of caregiving for the family
• Assist with the complex emotions that arise when generations must reverse roles and responsibilities

After determining what is needed, the social worker may suggest:

• medical assessments by a geriatrician, geriatric psychiatrist, or neurologist
• resources and referrals to professional services including in-home support or alternative residential settings
• determination of entitlements and benefits
• coaching and advocacy

A Geriatric Care Assessment may also lead to enrollment in our Geriatric Care Management Program or our Care Consultation Program.

Geriatric Care Management

JFS MetroWest’s Geriatric Care Management provides a range of services to help adults maintain their dignity, independence and self-esteem through ongoing services offered by licensed social workers and care managers. We address current needs while planning for the future. Geriatric care managers will suggest customized services to best meet the needs of the individual by:

• Coordinating care and medications
• Facilitating communication among doctors
• Coordinating with family members locally and geographically dispersed
• Identifying and referring to community resources
• Assessing home safety and arranging for the installation of safety features in the home as well as meal delivery to make the home a safer space to age in place
• Continually monitoring health needs and potential risks
• In cases of hospitalization, the JFS social worker can be present as a patient advocate
• Assisting with processing insurance claims, appealing inequitable decisions, bill payment, and daily money management.
• Arranging for and supervising home health aides, equipment, and supplies
• Researching, recommending, and assisting with applications for alternative care environments that can enhance quality of life and match needs as well as financial resources.
• Monitoring on an ongoing basis that the care plan is appropriate and intervening in crisis or emergency situations

 

Housecalls: In-home Social Work Services

The JFS HouseCalls program provides vital in-home social work and health care services for the frail and homebound elderly who are living in Jewish Community Housing Corporation senior housing.

Care Consultation

JFS Care Consultation is a free telephone-based program designed to serve family caregivers as well as the care recipients. Care Consultation focuses on the unique needs of each family. The program provides ongoing support and solutions to meet your needs, adjust to changes and plan for the future. Care Consultation is an evidenced based program developed by the Benjamin Rose Institute for Aging in Cleveland, Ohio and is recognized as a “model caregiver support program” by the National Council on Aging and by the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving.

The Care Consultation program equips family caregivers with information and resources they can use to assist their aging loved ones. If needs become too difficult for the caregiver to manage, we may recommend the Geriatric Care Management program which provides more comprehensive assistance to caregivers.

Senior Resource Connect

Senior Resource Connect provides information and resources to assist individuals in discussing their needs with aging services professionals and provides a one-stop connection to local service providers in communities throughout North America.

Visit Senior Resource Connect Website

Counseling and Support Groups

The goal of the older adult counseling service is to promote the highest level of functioning and to assist individuals and families in coping with challenges faced during the aging process such as caregiving, depression, loss of independence, chronic health issues, loss, and bereavement. Individual counseling is offered by social workers who have expertise in geriatric issues.

Support Groups

We offer a range of support groups to address the needs of older adults. Support groups include bereavement groups, caregiver support groups and others. Please call us at 973-765-9050 for a complete listing of active groups and to register.

Holocaust Survivor Services

Providing Emotional and Financial Support

JFS MetroWest supports Holocaust survivors and their families to help them achieve and maintain the best possible quality of life. Subsidized assistance is made possible with funding from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference).

Services for Holocaust Survivors

• Counseling
• Outreach and Case Management
• Therapeutic Socialization Through Café Europa
• Information, Referral, and Advocacy
• Referrals to Medical Transportation
• Assistance with Reparations and Claim Forms
• Crisis Intervention
• Financial Relief
• Homecare Services for Those Who Are Eligible

Café Europa Social Program
Café Europa is an informal relaxed group where Survivors can engage in conversation, participate in social and educational activities, and develop supportive relationships. It also provides an opportunity for JFS to identify Survivors whose needs might otherwise go unnoticed and who may be eligible for other services.

Programming has included guest lecturers, authors, musical performances, and trips. Each meeting includes a nutritious kosher lunch.

Meetings are held bi-monthly at Oheb Shalom Congregation from 11 AM to 2 PM. Transportation to and from Café Europa may be available. Please check the JFS MetroWest website calendar for the most current information on Café Europa programs.

Café Europa is offered at no charge to participants, but advance registration is required. To register, call 973-765-9050.

Café Europa was established with generous funding from The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey. Café Europa is supported in part with generous funding from the Curt C. and Else Silberman Foundation, the JFS Ellin Cohen Memorial Endowment Fund and the Jennie (Blinderman), Morris and Harry Slipock Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest. Café Europa programs for Holocaust survivors are also supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference).

Alzheimer’s & Related Dementia

Caring for a person with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia at home is challenging. We can assist with counseling and resources to help you through the caregiving journey.  We also offer Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support Groups in conjunction with Alzheimer’s New Jersey in Essex and Morris Counties.

Our Family Care Consultants who are licensed clinical social workers can help you:

• Understand Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia and how it may progress over time
• Learn to manage challenging behaviors
• Develop strategies for coping with personality changes
• Guide you through the diagnostic process and monitor medications
• Create a support system of family members and friends
• Connect with additional resources in the community

Senior Reach provides support for the well-being, independence and dignity of older adults through community education, mental health services, and connection to community resources by:

• Identifying older adults who may need emotional or physical support and/or connection to community services.
• Helping older adults get assistance before a serious crisis develops.
• Creating partnerships between agencies, businesses and community minded individuals like you.

The Senior Reach Community Partners are trained volunteers who identify older adults who may need help. Community Partners contact our call center to discuss their concerns and make a referral. The Senior Reach Specialist will talk with the senior to determine need and willingness for intervention. If the older adult agrees, Senior Reach will help connect them with appropriate services:

• Counseling
• Care management referrals
• Connection to community resources
• Depression screening and treatment

If you want to refer a senior, volunteer as a Community Partner, or get more information about Senior Reach® or issues that impact an older adult’s health, contact Senior Reach:  973-637-1740

If your situation is urgent, always call 911.

Implementation of Senior Reach is in partnership with Northwest New Jersey Community Action Partnership and is made possible through the contribution of the Grotta Fund for Senior Care, an Advisory Council Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater MetroWest NJ.

Hebrew Free Loan of NJ

Hebrew Free Loan of NJ provides interest free loans to members of the Jewish Community who reside in the areas covered by the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest New Jersey and the Jewish Federation of the Heart of New Jersey. Loans are provided for many purposes, except for student loans. Examples of typical loans are:

• Medical Expenses
• Debt Consolidation
• Home Improvement or Repair
• Costs Related to Adoption
• Starting or Expanding a Business

Borrowers must have the potential to repay the loan and need to provide post-dated checks in the full amount. Certain loans require one or two cosigners (two for home improvement and business loans), and the cosigner must live in New Jersey. The cosigner becomes responsible for the loan repayment in the event the borrower cannot meet his/her obligation.

Hebrew Free Loan of New Jersey holds to the highest standard of confidentiality.

Please call 973-637-1739 to get started if you reside in the Greater MetroWest area; Monmouth County residents can call 732-774-6886; Middlesex County residents can call 732-777-1940.

Financial Crisis Intervention: Safety Net Services

JFS staff will work with you to fully understand your financial distress. Through a process of budgeting, planning and referrals to community resources, staff will help you achieve greater control and mastery over your financial challenges. During this process, financial assistance may be offered to help you through a critical time.

JFS MetroWest helps individuals and families struggling with financial worries caused by a health-related emergency or an unsustainable living situation. The JFS Healthcare Emergency Relief Fund and the JFS Safety Net Fund provide eligible JFS clients with access to emergency assistance to meet their needs.  The Safety Net Fund is supported in part by JFS donors and in part through the Greater Newark Holiday Fund, an annual campaign administered by the Star Ledger.

 

For more information about your health insurance options through the Health Insurance Marketplace, click here.

Government Assistance

If you are disabled or over 60 and having difficulty understanding or paying for health care, please contact our help line at 973-637-1717. We may be able to help you lower your Medicare monthly premiums, doctor co-pays, and monthly drug plan premiums. As the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)* Administrator for Essex County, we can also answer your questions about Medicare.