Dear Friend:

Sometimes a false rumor is a blessing in disguise. It provides an opportunity to reach out with the truth.

Take, for example, an article that ran in the 11/4 San Francisco Business Times. At the Jewish Home, we were pleased to see reporter Chris Rauber tackling an urgent issue: The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved California’s request to cut Medi-Cal payments to nursing homes and sub-acute hospital units.

This decision will undeniably affect vulnerable seniors, their families, and the physicians and institutions that care for them – a hard truth our community needs to understand. But the article also advances the faulty assumption that this threatens the Jewish Home’s future. “I don’t know if the Jewish Home is going to make it,” said Ron Smith of the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California – a comment he later retracted.

As I stated in my response to the Business Times on 11/21, copied below, the Jewish Home will do far more than just “make it.” In truth, the Jewish Home will flourish as the flagship in a growing network of environments, programs, and services that will enrich the lives of seniors across the Bay Area.

The banner under which these diverse enterprises will operate will say Jewish Senior Living Group. It’s a name our community may not yet know. But in the months ahead, you will hear more about it, and our plans to build on the traditional values of the Jewish Home – excellence, compassion, commitment – with new values, such as innovation and inclusiveness, that are essential to creating a sustainable enterprise.

We are confident that the future we envision will enable us to make an even greater contribution to the well-being of seniors – from the Jewish Home’s most vulnerable residents and those in need of short-term rehabilitation, to independent older adults across our community. And we are grateful for community members like you, who understand and support our mission. I look forward to sharing our plans with you as they unfold.

Sincerely,
Daniel Ruth
President & CEO
Jewish Senior Living Group

“Medi-Cal cuts will be dire”- San Francisco Business Times, 11/18/11

Chris Rauber’s story in the Nov. 4, 2011 San Francisco Business Times sheds light on a truly urgent situation: the impact of recent Medi-Cal cuts on institutions that, like the Jewish Home of San Francisco, provide life-giving care for seniors.

There’s no question that a potential 25% reduction in Medi-Cal reimbursements will challenge the Jewish Home. But I’d like to make one thing clear: The Jewish Home is going to make it. This is not the first time we’ve weathered a flagging economy or evolved to address the changing needs of seniors. In fact – anticipating a scenario in which even the frail elderly receive less support from their government – a plan is already in place to sustain the Jewish Home and its 140-year legacy for generations to come. Our vision, through the Jewish Senior Living Group, is to create an innovative regional network providing senior adults with accessible and enriching services, programs, and environments that – reflecting our strong Jewish values – promote dignity and independence. This new business model, we believe, will not only advance our mission; it will also make us a sustainable institution for the long term.

Not that this transition will be easy. Indeed, we will continue to speak out against cuts to a Medi-Cal program that has been chronically underfunded for more than two decades – and ranks last in the nation for payments to physicians and hospitals who care for vulnerable elders. But with a plan in place and the support of our community, the Jewish Home will grow and flourish, and so will those whose lives we touch.

Daniel Ruth
President & CEO
Jewish Senior Living Group