Los Angeles Jewish Home CEO-President Elected as Next Chair of Leading Age California

Jun 20, 2018

(RESEDA, CA – June 20, 2018) Molly Forrest, Chief Executive Officer-President of the Los Angeles Jewish Home, has been selected as chair-elect of LeadingAge California, the state's top advocacy group for nonprofit senior living and care. Her two-year term begins July 1, 2018.

Forrest is the first leader of a Jewish home to hold this position, helming an association representing nearly 600 members statewide who together serve more than 100,000 California seniors. LeadingAge's critical work assists the state's older adults with the full continuum of care including issues related to affordable housing, continuing care retirement communities, assisted living, home- and community-based care, and skilled nursing.

"For more than half a century, LeadingAge has demonstrated an unflagging commitment to raising awareness about seniors' needs and putting them front and center on the state and national policy agenda," Forrest says. "I look forward to carrying that tradition forward as we seek to make a difference for California's rapidly expanding senior population."

That expansion – an expected 87 percent increase in California's senior population by 2030 – is resulting in unprecedented growth in the market for services. In the next two years alone (through 2020), LeadingAge projects an 80 percent increase in the demand for aging-related healthcare. "This is a challenge facing all Californians of every age," Forrest says. "Our system for providing senior care is inefficient and fragmented, and everyone pays for that. LeadingAge is playing an instrumental role in helping us think through how we as a society can finance the care our seniors deserve."

Vision and experience were vital factors in Forrest's recent elevation. "Molly's leadership on the LeadingAge board and at the Los Angeles Jewish Home propelled her to this position," says Jeannee Parker Martin, LeadingAge's President and CEO. "We are thrilled by her election."

Forrest has served on the LeadingAge board since 2009, most recently as vice chair. At the Jewish Home, she has spent over 22 years overseeing incredible growth and revitalization. The Home serves more than 4,000 seniors annually on campuses in the San Fernando Valley and on L.A.'s Westside, providing award-winning independent and assisted living, specialized memory care, short-term rehabilitative care, hospice care, and groundbreaking community-based services. To build the organization's capacity, Forrest has generated a remarkable groundswell of donor support: The Home – one of the leading senior healthcare systems in America – is on its way to completing an ambitious $265 million campaign to provide quality senior care for future generations.

A graduate of Oregon State University, Forrest is a nationally prominent advocate for equity and excellence in senior care. She frequently advises high-level figures across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors and is an in-demand guest speaker on geriatric issues for leading healthcare, eldercare, and nonprofit organizations in California and across the country. In addition, Forrest is active in a variety of community organizations, serving as past chair of the Association of Jewish Aging Services (AJAS), the California State University Northridge (CSUN) Professional Health Care Administration Committee, on the CAL-PACE Board of Directors, and on the LeadingAge CA Strategic Planning Committee. She is a recipient of the Jewish Communal Professionals of Southern California Allan J. Kassin Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement, San Fernando Valley Business Journal Health Care Leadership Award, Jewish Free Loan Association Ben & Anne Werber Communal Service Award, and an Honorary Doctorate from American Jewish University, among many others.

LeadingAge California has represented nonprofit senior living and service providers since 1961. Whether testifying at public hearings, building coalitions, visiting member communities, or engaging with elected officials, the organization actively works to create systemic change through advocacy that strengthens members' viability and supports innovations in the delivery of aging services.

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Jun 3

Los Angeles Jewish Health Receives Prestigious Certification from the American Heart Association

As the largest single-source senior care provider in the area, Los Angeles Jewish Health is recognized as a distinguished leader in the field committed to making a positive difference in seniors’ lives. The American Heart Association (AHA) recently recognized the quality of care at Los Angeles Jewish Health by awarding the organization its Skilled Nursing Facility Heart Failure Certification. Fewer than 1 percent of nursing facilities nationwide hold this distinction.LAJH is one of the first Jewish facilities to receive this certification, and the first outside New York and New Jersey.“This prestigious recognition reflects the dedication of our healthcare team, who have provided exceptional care for more than 114 years since LAJH’s founding,” says Dale Surowitz, chief executive officer and president of LAJH. “As seniors live longer and their medical challenges grow in complexity, we are proud to be keeping pace, setting national standards for excellence in cardiac care, and in geriatric care more broadly, that are enabling seniors to make the most of their later years.”The certification provides an evidence-based framework for evaluating skilled nursing facilities against the AHA’s rigorous requirements for heart failure care including program management, patient and caregiver education and support, care coordination, clinical management, and clinical improvement.CHF Certification TeamNoah Marco, MD, CMD, LAJH’s chief medical officer, says the organization’s state-of-the-art heart failure management unit continues to demonstrate transformative approaches to care.“Twenty percent of heart failure patients admitted to the hospital are brought back to the hospital within 30 days of discharge. But our unit, by preserving patients’ independence, managing their multiple chronic conditions, and empowering those we serve to meet their goals, has a readmission rate of under 2%,” Dr. Marco says. “The AHA’s certification is a meaningful endorsement of our approach and our impact across Southern California.”Mark Taper Building Administrator Charlette Ofrecio notes that a wide range of factors drive the unit’s success, among them its focus on coordinated compassionate care.“Each of our residents in the unit benefits from a deeply collaborative team including a cardiologist who oversees the program and regularly reviews each resident’s clinical status with our interdisciplinary staff,” Ofrecio says. “Through the combined expertise of pharmacy, dietary, and nursing, along with innovative, noninvasive monitoring technology, we’re able to proactively manage heart failure and provide meaningful education to residents and families for success at home.”Dr. Marco says that, while an unplanned hospitalization is an extremely stressful event in the lives of older adults and their families, LAJH’s heart failure management unit can offer critical peace of mind.“Our staff have the knowledge and expertise necessary to address one of the most challenging chronic diseases that older adults can face,” he says. “Heart failure patients who come to us can rest assured that there is literally nowhere else in our community better equipped to provide the specialized care they need.”

New Sculpture Honors Beloved Los Angeles Jewish Health Donor

When Dr. Rosalyn Heyman passed away in 2021, Los Angeles Jewish Health (LAJH) lost a staunch supporter and dear friend. But she remained dedicated to the organization to the end, leaving a significant bequest to continue advancing its vital mission. To recognize Heyman’s generosity, LAJH commissioned a sculpture in her honor, unveiling the piece last month in a dedication ceremony that celebrated her enduring legacy.The sculpture, entitled “Tanya’s Gift,” is the work of noted local artist Jonathan Bickart, whose installations are on display at UCLA, Griffith Park, and other locations across Los Angeles. Featured prominently on LAJH’s Grancell Village campus between the Joyce Eisenberg-Keefer Medical Center, the Mark Taper Building, and the Schulman Medical Building, the sculpture depicts a young girl sitting atop a stack of books—a tribute to Heyman’s distinguished career as a pioneering figure in the L.A. education landscape.“Rosalyn was an amazing person who made an incredible impact on her community,” says Aaron Levinson, LAJH’s vice president for planned giving. “She started out as a teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District, then became one of the district’s first female principals [of Berendo Junior High], and ultimately rose to serve as the district’s assistant superintendent of secondary education.”Levinson says Heyman’s stories of her time at LAUSD were larger than life.“Rosalyn was unbelievably bold and seriously funny,” he recalls. “She used to tell me she wanted to write her memoir and call it Bad Things I Did With Good Results. For instance, when she took over at Berendo, it was the worst-performing school in the district, and there was significant gang activity, with kids storing knives and guns in their lockers. One day, she started cracking down by opening up every locker and confiscating all the weapons. She knew she’d never get official permission to do it, but went ahead anyway, and when I asked her about whether she was worried she would get in trouble, she said, ‘What were the kids or their parents going to say to me: Someone came in and stole my gun?’ Her plan went off without a hitch, and she ended up turning the school around.”Heyman’s professional success was mirrored by her philanthropic achievements. She was involved with numerous charitable causes, but, says her friend and estate attorney, Chuck Tigerman, she had a special affection for Los Angeles Jewish Health.“Rosalyn was a devout agnostic, but she was culturally very Jewish, and proudly so. She lived for a time at Fountainview at Eisenberg Village, and later in her life, as her health deteriorated, she moved to the Joyce Eisenberg-Keefer Medical Center for skilled nursing assistance. She had the resources to go anywhere, but she chose LAJH,” Tigerman said.Following Heyman’s death, LAJH staff commissioned the sculpture in her honor, selecting Bickart and fellow artist Tanya Ragir for the work.“Tanya had a tragic ending because she received an unexpected brain cancer diagnosis, so she wasn’t able to do much on the sculpture, but I discussed it with her and showed her my progress until her death,” Bickart says. “When it was finished, we decided to name the sculpture ‘Tanya’s Gift’ in her memory.”Given Heyman’s passion for education and learning, Bickart incorporated space for a small lending library at the base of the statue, allowing passersby to leave a book for others or to take one for themselves. With a wink to Heyman, Bickart also gave one of the books in the sculpture itself the title she had selected for her own memoir, Bad Things I Did With Good Results.“The sculpture is really beautiful, but more importantly, it captures the spirit of a truly special person,” Levinson says. “We were truly fortunate to have Rosalyn Heyman in our orbit.”To learn more about making bequests to Los Angeles Jewish Health, contact Aaron Levinson at (818) 757-4416 or [email protected].

Los Angeles Jewish Health Earns Rare American Heart Association Certification for Excellence in Heart Failure Care

LAJH is among fewer than 1% of nursing facilities nationwide to earn this designation, and the first Jewish facility outside of NY or NJ LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Jewish Health (LAJH) has received the American Heart Association’s Skilled Nursing Facility Heart Failure Certification, a distinction held by fewer than 1% of nursing facilities nationwide recognized for excellence in evidence-based heart failure care. LAJH is one of the first Jewish facilities to receive this certification, and the first outside of New York or New Jersey.LAJH is the largest single-source senior care provider in Los Angeles. Across the organization, LAJH serves more than 4,000 seniors each year, including those in skilled nursing facilities who receive 24/7 specialized heart failure care.The certification provides an evidence-based framework for evaluating skilled nursing facilities against the American Heart Association’s rigorous requirements for heart failure care, including program management, patient and caregiver education and support, care coordination, clinical management, and quality improvement.“This prestigious recognition reflects the dedication of our healthcare team, who have provided exceptional care for more than 114 years since LAJH’s founding,” said Dale Surowitz, Chief Executive Officer and President of Los Angeles Jewish Health. “Amid the challenge of a growing number of seniors, we are committed to delivering comprehensive care for all, rooted in our Jewish values.”“Participation in this certification benefits the patient and the facility by standardizing care practices,” said Cory Woods, DNP, MHA, MSN, RN, volunteer chair of the American Heart Association’s Quality Certification Business Management Committee and assistant chief clinical officer at Rockport Healthcare Services in Los Angeles. “When there are clear processes during every phase of care, patients have the best opportunity for positive outcomes.”Dr. Noah Marco, Chief Medical Officer of Los Angeles Jewish Health, added, “Patients with heart failure require specialized, closely coordinated support, and we are proud of the systems we’ve built to provide care that is both effective and compassionate. As our team helps seniors navigate a wide range of cardiac conditions, we continue to innovate and adopt best practices to strengthen patient outcomes. The AHA’s certification is a meaningful endorsement of our approach and our impact across Southern California.” ### Founded in 1912, Los Angeles Jewish Health (formerly Los Angeles Jewish Home) is the largest non-profit, single-source provider of comprehensive senior healthcare services in the Los Angeles area, serving nearly 4,000 people each year. At Los Angeles Jewish Health, thousands of seniors benefit from community-based and in-residence care and services. Programs include independent living; assisted living; senior behavioral health; short-term rehabilitation; skilled nursing; Brandman Centers for Senior Care PACE; and geriatric and memory care. Los Angeles Jewish Health is also home to the Annenberg School of Nursing.