{"id":1752,"date":"2012-07-17T15:36:13","date_gmt":"2012-07-17T12:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/brookdale.jdc.org.il\/?p=1752"},"modified":"2017-12-27T15:55:59","modified_gmt":"2017-12-27T13:55:59","slug":"person-centered-care-elderly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brookdale.jdc.org.il\/en\/person-centered-care-elderly\/","title":{"rendered":"Person-Centered Care for the Elderly"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the challenges of caring for an aging population at the top of today\u2019s social agenda everywhere (see the\u00a0article from Myers-JDC-Brookdale\u2019s Research in Action, Issue #1<\/a>), MJB has developed a shared learning process with\u00a0Jewish Care<\/a>, the United Kingdom\u2019s largest Jewish social service organization.<\/p>\n

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In February, senior staff from MJB, JDC-ESHEL, and our partners at the ministries of Health, Social Affairs, and Senior Citizens, and Israel\u2019s Social Security Administration, participated in a study trip to England to visit Jewish Care. This was the second professional exchange with Jewish Care, following a 2010 visit to Israel which resulted in Jewish Care implementing a number of programs they had learned about in Israel, including supportive community programs.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The February exchange focused on two critical issues that are becoming more and more acute: care of elderly people living with dementia and care at the end of life. In the intensive discussions with Jewish Care and other partner organizations, and in site visits and discussions with field staff and clients, the group gained a new international perspective on how to better address some of the most challenging issues facing care for the elderly today.<\/p>\n

A Person-Centered Approach<\/h3>\n

The Israeli visit to England came at a seminal time, as Jewish Care is in the midst of a process of significant and exciting reorientation of its basic approach to care.<\/p>\n

The focus today in Jewish Care is on how to design and implement all of\u00a0its services, from institutional care to community care, in a way that places the person and their unique needs at the center.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of talking about services, we talk about people,\u201d explained Simon Morris, the organization\u2019s director.\u00a0 \u201cOur approach is to emphasize what they can do, not what they can\u2019t do.\u201d\u00a0 The \u201cperson-centered\u201d approach focuses on delivering services in a way that addresses the unique history of the person being cared for, and that provides them with meaningful choices and control within the services offered.\u00a0 It is about promoting dignity, well-being, and meaningful lives.<\/p>\n

The concept of person-centered care is not new.\u00a0 What is unique is Jewish Care\u2019s total commitment to implementing this approach, by engaging their entire staff and many volunteers to help them to develop and create ways\u00a0of making Jewish Care a champion of person-centered care.
\nExamples of the person-centered approach include:<\/div>\n
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