Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly (JCHE); Hebrew Senior Life

This beautiful elderly residence houses over 60 frail elderly who are survivors of the Holocaust and communism, most of whom were living in isolated, sub-standard housing in the city.  With support from the DKP and local Boston philanthropists, Beit Baruch has been growing and expanding its services in recent years.  Boston’s JCHE provides ongoing support and training to Beit Baruch staff.  JCHE’s Francine Godfrey set up an exercise program for residents, which has increased their overall functionality and well-being.  We have introduced an exciting new Fall Prevention Program at Beit Baruch mirroring the successful Fall Prevention Program at JCHE. We are also excited to provide technical expertise to support the community’s new adult day care program, which will be housed at Beit Baruch.

Shaker Bidrah - Hip Replacement Program

In fall 2004, Dr. Lewis Lipsitz and Louise Lipsitz traveled to Dnepropetrovsk for a three-month sabbatical.   Dr. Lipsitz, who is Vice President for Academic Medicine at Hebrew Senior Life, and Chief of the Division of Gerontology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, worked at Beit Baruch to train physicians and staff there.  He focused on geriatric issues in Dnepropetrovsk through his numerous lectures at Dnep's medical academy and other institutions.  Dr. Lipsitz also helped launch the first hip fracture surgery program called Shaker Bidrah that provides medical care for the 30-40 Jewish elderly who fracture or break their hips each year.  Surgery has already been performed on thirteen people who would otherwise have died or would have spent the rest of their lives bedridden. 

For more information please contact Francine Godfrey at fgodfrey@jche.org

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