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Los Angeles Jewish Health7150 Tampa Ave., Reseda, CA 91335855.227.3745lajhealth.orgEffective Date: Feb 1, 2026 Your Information. Your Rights. Our Responsibilities.This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully. Your RightsYou have the right to:Get a copy of your paper or electronic medical recordCorrect your paper or electronic medical recordRequest confidential communicationAsk us to limit the information we shareGet a list of those with whom we’ve shared your informationGet a copy of this privacy noticeChoose someone to act for youFile a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated Your ChoicesYou have some choices in the way that we use and share information as we: Tell family and friends about your conditionProvide disaster reliefInclude you in a hospital directoryProvide mental health careMarket our services and sell your informationRaise funds Our Uses and DisclosuresWe may use and share your information as we: Treat youRun our organizationBill for your servicesHelp with public health and safety issuesDo researchComply with the lawRespond to organ and tissue donation requestsWork with a medical examiner or funeral directorAddress workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requestsRespond to lawsuits and legal actionsTo the extent that we have your substance use disorder patient records, subject to 42 CFR part 2, we will not share that information for investigations or legal proceedings against you without (1) your written consent or (2) a court order and a subpoena. Your RightsWhen it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.Get an electronic or paper copy of your medical recordYou can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. Ask us how to do this.We will provide a copy or a summary of your health information, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.Ask us to correct your medical recordYou can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this.We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days.Request confidential communicationsYou can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home, office, or cell phone) or to send mail to a different address.We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests.Ask us to limit what we use or shareYou can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no,” for example, if it could affect your care. If we agree to your request, we may still share this information in the event that you need emergency treatment.If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared informationYou can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information for six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why.We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We’ll provide one accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.Get a copy of this privacy noticeYou can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly. You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, or request an accessible format (such as large print or electronic text), by contacting our Privacy Officer.Choose someone to act for youIf someone has authority to act as your personal representative, such as if someone has your medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information.We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.File a complaint if you feel your rights are violatedYou can complain if you feel we have violated your rights with our Privacy Officer:Timothy Carlson, RN, Chief Nursing Officer7150 Tampa Ave., Reseda, CA 91335Phone: 855.227.3745 | Email: [email protected] can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/index.html.We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint. Your ChoicesFor certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, talk to us. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care or payment for your careShare information in a disaster relief situationInclude your information in a hospital directoryIf you are not able to tell us your preference, for example if you are unconscious, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.In these cases we never share your information unless you give us written permission:Marketing purposesSale of your informationMost sharing of psychotherapy notesIn the case of fundraising:We may contact you for fundraising efforts, but you can tell us not to contact you again.If we have your substance use disorder patient records, subject to 42 CFR part 2, we will give you clear and obvious notice in advance and a choice about whether to receive fundraising communications that use your Part 2 information. Our Uses and DisclosuresHow do we typically use or share your health information?We typically use or share your health information in the following ways.Treat youWe can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you.Example: A doctor treating you for an injury asks another doctor about your overall health condition.Run our organizationWe can use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary.Example: We use health information about you to manage your treatment and services.Bill for your servicesWe can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities.Example: We give information about you to your health insurance plan so it will pay for your services.How else can we use or share your health information?We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes.In all cases, including those listed below, if we have substance use disorder patient records about you, subject to 42 CFR part 2, we cannot use or share information in those records in civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative investigations or proceedings against you without (1) your consent or (2) a court order and a subpoena.Help with public health and safety issuesWe can share health information about you for certain situations such as:Preventing diseaseHelping with product recallsReporting adverse reactions to medicationsReporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violencePreventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safetyDo researchWe can use or share your information for health research.Comply with the lawWe will share information about you if state or federal laws require it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we’re complying with federal privacy law.Respond to organ and tissue donation requestsWe can share health information about you with organ procurement organizations.Work with a medical examiner or funeral directorWe can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when an individual dies.Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requestsWe can use or share health information about you:For workers’ compensation claimsFor law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement officialWith health oversight agencies for activities authorized by lawFor special government functions such as military, national security, and presidential protective servicesRespond to lawsuits and legal actionsWe can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.  Reproductive Health Care Privacy: We will not use or disclose your health information to investigate, prosecute, or impose liability on any person for the primary purpose of seeking, obtaining, providing, or facilitating lawful reproductive health care services, consistent with federal privacy regulations. Our ResponsibilitiesWe are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.We will not use or share your information other than as described in this notice unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html. Changes to the Terms of this NoticeWe can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request, in our office, and on our web site. Other Instructions for NoticeEffective Date: Feb 1, 2026Privacy Officer Information:Timothy Carlson, RNChief Nursing OfficerPhone: 855.227.3745Email: [email protected] California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) & State Protections:California law (Cal. Civil Code § 56 et seq. and Health & Safety Code § 123100 et seq.) provides heightened privacy protections and stricter record access rights than federal HIPAA. Under California law, we will not disclose your health information regarding mental health treatment, psychotherapy notes, HIV/AIDS testing or status, or communicable diseases without your explicit written authorization, unless specifically required or permitted by state law. Additionally, you have the right to inspect your medical records within 5 working days of a written request or receive copies within 15 working days. California Law & Federal Part 2 ProtectionsTo the extent that we maintain substance use disorder or psychiatric treatment records subject to 42 CFR Part 2 or California CMIA, we will not use or disclose such records in civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative investigations or legal proceedings against you without (1) your explicit written consent or (2) a court order accompanied by a subpoena. If we send fundraising communications that utilize Part 2 information, you will be provided clear notice and an opportunity to opt out prior to receiving such communications.

To borrow from Adam Sandler, "Chanukah is the Festival of Lights. Instead of one day of presents, we have eight crazy nights". From those words of wisdom, we get the questions to address. What is this Festival of Lights? Why eight nights? In addition, while sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) and latkes (potato pancakes) are awesomely delicious, why are they associated with Chanukah? In the larger universe of Jewish holidays, Chanukah is known to be a minor observance. It certainly is not a holiday or observance on the level of Passover or Sukkot, let alone Rosh Hashanah. Even as we know Chanukah is a minor festival, Chanukah is beloved and its existence is widely known, if not understood. Here in America, Chanukah gets extra exposure because of the proximity to the Christmas holiday. Christmas is always December 25 but Chanukah follows the Jewish-Lunar calendar and can occur as early as Thanksgiving or fall in the later part of December. In that range of dates, Chanukah falls during what is commonly called the Holiday Season and becomes incorporated into it. That takes us to a uniquely American ideal about the make-up of our nation. We inscribe on the coins of our currency E Pluribus Unum- or in the English "Out of many one". In America, we celebrate being united; additionally we treasure what makes each part of the American mosaic unique. As the majority of Americans observe one holiday, Americans of the Jewish faith observe Chanukah. At its core, Chanukah is the celebration of maintaining that uniqueness. In the days following the breakup of the empire of Alexander the Great, the dominant culture in the Mediterranean world was the Greek culture. It would have been easy and made their lives simpler for the Jews of those times to be swallowed by that Greek culture. Yet, they refused, they rebelled against assimilation and they elected to fight to maintain the faith and identity they inherited from their ancestors. At the conclusion of this struggle to remain unique in a larger culture, it was time to dedicate the great Temple in Jerusalem. Part of the dedication or Chanukah was lighting the menorah. On hand was only enough oil to last 1 day. It would take several days for more oil to be procured. Rabbinic legend is that the oil that should have lasted for 1 day actually lasted eight. For that reason, we light candles in ascending numbers each night, to remember this miracle of the oil lasting. In observing Chanukah, we celebrate our unique identity in a larger world. Jews chose to retain the faith of those who came before us and treasure that faith and uniqueness in a diverse world. Finally and very importantly, why the latkes and sufganiyot? They are both linked to the miracle of the oil, as they both are fried foods. When I was a student in Israel, I marveled at the wide variety of sufganiyot-doughnuts on sale in every store and bakery. Naturally, I had to sample a cross section. My favorite? The chocolate frosted-halvah filled doughnut was the winner. Latkes are potato pancakes of course. There are many different recipes for them. You can use potatoes, sweet potatoes or even zucchini. Among the many toppings can be applesauce, sugar or what I recommend, sour cream. All are wonderful, all tasty without a doubt. Nevertheless, what is valued is to pause, gather together to bless and light the candles, sing the traditional songs and celebrate the wonder and miracle of Jewish identity in our day and time.

Katherina "Katy" Schaffer knows what it means to face extraordinary odds. But she has also experienced, first-hand, the triumph of perseverance. Over the course of her 97 years, Katy has faced unimaginable challenges, including time spent in three Nazi concentration camps. Through them all, she has proven time and again she has the strength of spirit to carry on—and, above all else, that she is a true survivor. A resident of Los Angeles Jewish Health's Grancell Village for the past year, Katy's story starts in 1925, in pre-war Czechoslovakia. One of six siblings, at the age of 19 she traveled to a neighboring town to become an apprentice seamstress. As Europe fell under the cloud of Nazi threat, her parents sent word that she should return home. On her way back, at a train station in the company of her older sister, Katy was abducted by the Germans. So began an odyssey that would subject her to the unimaginable horrors of the Holocaust and leave her at death's door. "When my mom was liberated, in 1945, she remembers airplanes dropping little bags of cheese and bread. Some people she knew in the camps, who were on the brink of starvation, ate so much that they died—their systems couldn't handle all that sustenance at once," says Katy's daughter, Erit Siegal. "Fortunately, she restrained herself, and she eventually made it to a hospital, where she recuperated for a long time." After she was liberated, Katy traveled to her native Czechoslovakia, only to find that, aside from two sisters and a brother, her entire family had perished in the Holocaust. She and her siblings eventually emigrated to Israel, where she met her husband Otto and gave birth to Erit. By then, one sister had moved again—this time, to Los Angeles—and Katy and Otto decided to join her. Katy and her family—which soon expanded to include a son, George—thrived in Southern California. Otto worked in the garment industry; Katy was a homemaker who cooked, sewed clothing, and provided a warm and loving environment for her children in the house they purchased in the San Fernando Valley in 1963. Despite the hardships she had endured, she found fulfillment and success. "I always tell people to learn from their parents and neighbors, to follow Jewish values, to help the poor, and to be a mensch," she says. Husband Otto passed away in 2011; Katy stayed in their home for another decade or so. Among the hobbies she took up during this period was volunteering for seven years at Los Angeles Jewish Health (LAJH), in the Arts and Crafts Room on the Eisenberg Village campus. "I've always felt that, wherever I can help, I help," she says. "Giving back to LAJH was a way for me to contribute." Katy came to Los Angeles Jewish Health as a resident via our short-term rehabilitation program after falling and fracturing her spine. While in rehab, the vascular disease she had in her leg progressed, ultimately resulting in the amputation of her leg. She moved into Los Angeles Jewish Home full-time just over 12 months ago. "Mom has always been incredibly active, and losing her leg was so traumatic," Erit recalls. "But it's kind of miraculous how she's adapted and adjusted. I think her experience in the war contributed to her being able to deal with her current situation—these survivors have something special in them that has enabled them to carry on." Today, Katy keeps her mind and body active and agile through knitting, doing word searches, and reading. Already during her brief tenure at LAJH, she has developed a reputation for her trademark resilience and positive energy. "Katy is an extraordinary person, and it's an honor to have her residing here at Los Angeles Jewish Health," says Rabbi Karen Bender, LAJH's chief mission officer. "She never allowed the atrocities she witnessed and experienced during the Shoah to interfere with her ability to embrace life, and it's no wonder all of the staff adore her. I personally love spending time with Katy. Her smile inspires me!" For her part, Katy is grateful for the blessings of family and the benefits of living at Los Angeles Jewish Health. "My children and four grandchildren keep me going," she says. "And I appreciate LAJH: I like the kosher food, I've made friends with my roommate, and Dr. Marco and my nurses are right here to help take care of me. I love it here—other places are just not the same!"

Chanukah is here! As you get those Menorahs out, let Rabbi Bender help you pick the right one for yourself or your older relatives.

A little #Dreidel 101 for your Chanukah fun! Whether learning for the first time or for a gentle reminder, let Rabbi Bender and her family teach you the most famous #Hanukkah game of them all. Great for seniors!

Need to bring out a bit of the #Hanukkah spirit? Rabbi Bender has plenty of good decor and outfit suggestions to bring the light of the season to anyone who sees them.

What Hanukkah would be complete without Sufganiyot aka Israeli donuts? Rabbi Bender, with an assist from her daughter Shoshie, has the perfect easy recipe for you to make with your loved ones.

Rabbi Karen Bender and family go through the annual Hanukkah debate: are latkes better with sour cream or applesauce?

Latkes are easier to make than you might think. Let Rabbi Bender and her family guide you through how to make Latkes, as well as share information about the Hanukkah treat.

The best way to show Hanukkah happiness is to sing! Rabbi Bender and family lead us in "Oh Chanukah", "Dreidel and "Maoz Tzur".