BOSTON – Hebrew SeniorLife (HSL), a nonprofit organization committed to improving the lives of older adults, was founded 115-years ago on the Jewish tradition of honoring and respecting our elders and today has a Spiritual Care Team that serves patients, residents, staff, and family members of all traditions and backgrounds. During the pandemic, HSL chaplains are working in HSL hospitals, home care and hospice, assisted living, and independent living communities as members of an interdisciplinary team to provide emotional support and to facilitate reflection and spiritual growth.

With extensive training in clinical pastoral care, HSL chaplains have particular expertise in helping people find meaning, cultivate resilience, and deepen their spiritual lives. Honoring each individual’s cultural and religious traditions as well as the wishes of patients who don’t choose to engage in spiritual activities, the Spiritual Care team provides support in English as well as Russian, Hebrew, Yiddish, and American Sign Language, and leverages music, support animals, and other techniques designed to help patients affirm their values and what matters most to them. In addition to 1:1 care, the Spiritual Care team offers regular group services (both Jewish and Christian) that are now conducted virtually due to CDC prevention guidelines for COVID-19.

For example, the Spiritual Care team has stepped up to help support and work with families who can’t see their loved ones due to no-visitor policies and self-shelter at home directives. For Passover and Easter, they produced and delivered virtual Passover Seders and Easter Day Services that patients and residents viewed in their rooms or apartments on designated video channels, or by phone with some family members joining in as well.

Increasingly, they counsel family members, patients, residents, and staff who have been affected by COVID-19. According to HSL’s Director of Spiritual Care Rabbi Sara Paasche-Orlow, “Every day our chaplains hold the hands of those who are sick in the hospital. They help them connect via FaceTime or telephone with their families and friends, to give families that little bit of connection and comfort, particularly to those who can no longer be present themselves.”

In addition to counseling patients, residents, and their families, the Spiritual Care staff also counsels HSL employees during this crisis. For example, at one campus the team set up a comfort zone in the synagogue where direct care staff can drop in for a moment of reflection, support, and warmth, and pick up a blessing card.

Rabbi Paasche-Orlow said, “We sit with staff members who are at times shaken up, and we pray with those who are seeking divine support in the face of so much uncertainty.”

Beth Terhune, Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center (HRC) in Roslindale, who is covering the long-term chronic care hospital’s COVID-19 unit, said, “I have the privilege of serving alongside the Spiritual Care staff as we care for patients and staff throughout the Roslindale campus. In these last few weeks, chaplains have been active at every level, demonstrating ongoing authentic, direct support to those of us on the frontlines, as well as for the loved ones trying to stay connected to the patients in our care during this most trying of times.”

The Spiritual Care team is also a resource for chaplains and caring professionals outside of HSL. For example, HSL’s Rabbi Beth Naditch, Chaplaincy Educator, has been leading crisis and disaster spiritual care webinars nationally during the COVID-19 crisis. At other times, members of the team have offered leadership and support to the Greater Jewish community outside of the Boston area, and graduates of HSL’s Clinical Pastoral Education program come back monthly on an ongoing basis for clinical supervision.

About Hebrew SeniorLife
Hebrew SeniorLife is a national senior services leader dedicated to rethinking, researching, and redefining the possibilities of aging. As New England’s largest nonprofit provider of senior health care and living communities, and the only one affiliated with Harvard Medical School, HSL cares for more than 3000 seniors a day across six campuses throughout Greater Boston. Our locations include: Hebrew Rehabilitation Center, Boston and Dedham; NewBridge on the Charles, Dedham; Orchard Cove, Canton; Simon C. Fireman Community, Randolph; Center Communities of Brookline, Brookline; and Jack Satter House, Revere. Founded in 1903, HSL also conducts influential research into aging and trains more than 1,000 students in geriatric care each year. Visit https://www.hebrewseniorlife.org, follow us on Twitter @H_SeniorLife, like us on Facebook, or read our blog.

BOSTON – Hebrew SeniorLife (HSL), a nonprofit organization committed to improving the lives of older adults, serves more than 3,000 seniors every day across its health care and senior living campuses. About 1,700 of these seniors are residents of HSL’s senior living communities in Brookline, Canton, Dedham, Randolph, and Revere, and amid the COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis have been self-sheltered at home since April 3 or earlier, which means they are not leaving their apartments.

But thanks to dozens of HSL volunteers who raised their hands to help, including members of the HSL Board and Trustees, food, packages, laundry, medications, mail, notices, and more are being delivered to their doors. In addition to an increase in hot meals delivered from the communities’ kitchens, families are dropping off food and other necessities, and residents can order frozen meals and groceries that also need to be packaged and delivered.

Additionally, residents receive a wellness check-in call regularly – sometimes even daily - from a friendly voice. These calls, done by staff and volunteers, are a lifeline and include inquiries about physical and mental health, identification of specific needs, and provide an opportunity for conversation. Volunteers are also covering essential administrative duties, freeing staff from those roles to assist with the new operational needs of the pandemic.

“The operations of all of our senior living campuses have changed completely as we work to prevent, mitigate, and contain the virus,” said Kim Brooks, HSL’s Chief Operating Officer for Senior Living. “The teams that routinely operate our independent and assisted living communities suddenly have roles that never even existed before. Protecting and supporting these 1,700 seniors could not be done without the help of volunteers who give their time and energy. We are so grateful.”

HSL residents who signed up as ‘call partners’ receive weekly calls from dedicated Harvard Medical School students, who offer a young person’s perspective about the current situation. One student noted her weekly calls create a sense of purpose for both herself and her call partner, and that the experience is more meaningful than she expected.

For other volunteers, the idea of supporting HSL was their goal regardless of the task. “When I received a call from a friend asking if I would consider volunteering at Center Communities of Brookline, I said 'yes,'” Brookline resident Aliza Dash said. “I have two friends who work at Hebrew SeniorLife and I’ve always admired their devotion to the organization, particularly now. Sorting and delivering mail is the least I can do, while freeing up staff time for more urgent work.”

As long as HSL’s self-shelter at home directive remains in place, HSL’s senior living residents will be greeted each day by a new friend with a good heart, and as one resident said, “be overfed.”

About Hebrew SeniorLife
Hebrew SeniorLife is a national senior services leader dedicated to rethinking, researching, and redefining the possibilities of aging. As New England’s largest nonprofit provider of senior health care and living communities, and the only one affiliated with Harvard Medical School, HSL cares for more than 3000 seniors a day across six campuses throughout Greater Boston. Our locations include: Hebrew Rehabilitation Center, Boston and Dedham; NewBridge on the Charles, Dedham; Orchard Cove, Canton; Simon C. Fireman Community, Randolph; Center Communities of Brookline, Brookline; and Jack Satter House, Revere. Founded in 1903, HSL also conducts influential research into aging and trains more than 1,000 students in geriatric care each year. Visit https://www.hebrewseniorlife.org, follow us on Twitter @H_SeniorLife, like us on Facebook, or read our blog.

BOSTON – Hebrew SeniorLife (HSL), a nonprofit organization that cares for more than 3,000 Boston area seniors daily, today announced a Front-Line Staff Appreciation Pay Program for its direct care workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lou Woolf, President and CEO of Hebrew SeniorLife said, “Our direct care staff is the heart and soul of our organization. Front-line staff nurture and care for our seniors in our health care facilities, across all of our senior living communities, and through home care, in patient homes in the community. We offer this Appreciation Pay Plan to recognize their 24/7 commitment to the seniors in our care during this pandemic.”

The Appreciation Pay Plan is designed for all front-line staff and support staff who work onsite at one of HSL’s campuses in Boston, Dedham, Canton, Randolph, Brookline, or Revere, or go into patient homes to provide home care. The Plan is retroactive to April 5 and will extend through May 2.

The Appreciation Pay Program follows on the heels of other supports HSL has put in place for direct care staff during the pandemic. These include no-cost hotel accommodations, free meals, an emergency sick bank, wellness supports, and more.

Woolf continued, “We have enormous gratitude and respect for our front-line staff and thank them for everything they do every day.”

About Hebrew SeniorLife
Hebrew SeniorLife is a national senior services leader dedicated to rethinking, researching, and redefining the possibilities of aging. As New England’s largest nonprofit provider of senior health care and living communities, and the only one affiliated with Harvard Medical School, HSL cares for more than 3000 seniors a day across six campuses throughout Greater Boston. Our locations include: Hebrew Rehabilitation Center, Boston and Dedham; NewBridge on the Charles, Dedham; Orchard Cove, Canton; Simon C. Fireman Community, Randolph; Center Communities of Brookline, Brookline; and Jack Satter House, Revere. Founded in 1903, HSL also conducts influential research into aging and trains more than 1,000 students in geriatric care each year. Visit https://www.hebrewseniorlife.org, follow us on Twitter @H_SeniorLife, like us on Facebook, or read our blog.

BOSTON - Harvard Medical School Affiliate Hebrew SeniorLife (HSL), a national senior services and academic leader uniquely dedicated to investigating, understanding, and enhancing the experience of aging, continues to deliver on its mission to improve the lives of seniors, particularly during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. HSL has become a mentor and advisor to several organizations that are in the senior care industry, and has created special resources to help those organizations manage their COVID-19 response.

Since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis started, inquiries, requests for information, and questions from senior care organizations—from across the nation—have filled HSL staff members’ email inboxes daily. Questions posed range from “What is your protocol for setting up screening stations?” to “What are the workplace policies your Human Resources department has put in place?” In addition to consulting on such important questions via phone and email, HSL has been sharing best practices via a dedicated section on its website, Resources for Senior Care Organizations, which is a compilation of materials, tools, protocols, and sample documents specifically aimed toward senior care organizations addressing COVID-19. In the few weeks since its launch, Resources for Senior Care Organizations has recorded more than 800 views from across the nation and other countries as well.

According to Elissa Sherman, President of the Massachusetts chapter of LeadingAge, a national aging advocacy organization, “Hebrew SeniorLife has developed and generously shared a range of helpful materials including templates, checklists, policies, and procedures with their fellow members of LeadingAge Massachusetts. Members of LeadingAge are not-for-profit providers of aging services who are on the front lines of the COVID-19 battles, working to protect the older adults they serve from this highly contagious and dangerous virus. HSL’s commitment to supporting fellow aging service providers in this fight—by making valuable resources available—is a terrific example of the collaborative nature of our members and has never been more important.”

Kim Brooks, HSL’s Chief Operating Officer for Senior Living, led the charge to make these fundamental resources on HSL’s website available, working in collaboration with Tammy Retalic, Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President, Patient Care Services of Hebrew Rehabilitation Center, HSL’s long-term chronic care hospital located in Boston and Dedham.

“It is important to us to further our mission in protecting seniors whether we serve them directly or not. Resources for Senior Care Organizations is one clear way for us to provide tools and best practices for other organizations so that they don’t have to create everything on their own,” said Brooks.

Resources for Senior Care Organizations is regularly reviewed and updated with new materials.

About Hebrew SeniorLife
Hebrew SeniorLife is a national senior services leader dedicated to rethinking, researching, and redefining the possibilities of aging. As New England’s largest nonprofit provider of senior health care and living communities, and the only one affiliated with Harvard Medical School, HSL cares for more than 3000 seniors a day across six campuses throughout Greater Boston. Our locations include: Hebrew Rehabilitation Center, Boston and Dedham; NewBridge on the Charles, Dedham; Orchard Cove, Canton; Simon C. Fireman Community, Randolph; Center Communities of Brookline, Brookline; and Jack Satter House, Revere. Founded in 1903, HSL also conducts influential research into aging and trains more than 1,000 students in geriatric care each year. Visit https://www.hebrewseniorlife.org, follow us on Twitter @H_SeniorLife, like us on Facebook, or read our blog.

BOSTON – Harvard Medical School Affiliate Hebrew SeniorLife (HSL), a nonprofit organization committed to improving the lives of older adults, has reinvented how its residents and patients across the organization’s senior living communities and health care campuses can enjoy their pre-COVID-19 program engagements and connect with others during the pandemic.

For seniors who have been self-sheltering at home in HSL’s five senior living communities in Brookline, Canton, Dedham, Randolph, and Revere, their family connections and social networks are maintained by phone and the swift embrace of videoconference systems, like Zoom. And thanks to HSL’s technological capabilities and its creative Community Life Staff, residents are offered innovative virtual programming to fill their calendars. 

Physical exercise, meditation, book clubs, knitting and photography groups, concerts, stimulating discussion groups, and entertainment delivered by closed-circuit TV, Zoom, and phone provide all day engagement. Music therapists play live music in the common spaces. Particularly enjoyable and “a huge hit” are open air sing-alongs that reach residents from campus grounds to their open windows and terraces, including those that took place this past week at Center Communities of Brookline’s three locations in Brookline, on the campus of NewBridge on the Charles in Dedham, and at the Simon C. Fireman Community in Randolph, according to Lynda Bussgang, Director of Multigenerational Programming at Hebrew SeniorLife, who organizes these programs. 

“Every one of our 1,700 senior living residents is experiencing this challenging time with daily highs and lows, and one thing that really helps increase the highs is music,” Bussgang said following a recent sing-along. “Music is a beautiful way to engage our seniors, whether it’s through technology or through live music outside their windows.”

Residents and adult children are particularly appreciative of the many opportunities that help create connections. A NewBridge on the Charles resident commented on Executive Director Steve Colwell’s special talents when he performed via the community’s closed-circuit channel.

“Your TV debut was extremely enjoyable. I’d heard you play piano, but who knew you had such a fine singing voice. And we should add that the Community Life department’s various offerings on channel 918 have been more than should be expected,” the resident noted. 

For HSL seniors at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center (HRC) in Roslindale and Dedham, the long-term chronic care hospital’s Life Enhancement staff, along with redeployed staff from across the organization, maintain daily programming through a variety of creative methods that are all 1:1 patient to staff, including friendly visits, video chats with family, arts and crafts, and music via tablets. And through the use of technology, video links of the performers who patients have come to know and love are shown on a closed-circuit TV channel, as are weekly Shabbat and biweekly Christian programs and services.

“Our programming goal during the COVID-19 outbreak is to maintain our patients’ quality of life and the pre-virus ‘norms’ as much as possible with regular concerts, religious services, family connections, and televised entertainment,” said Mary Moscato, President of Hebrew SeniorLife Health Care Services and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center. “We reinvented the delivery of the programs our patients have come to expect in ways that keep them safe and engaged, using the advanced technology we have at hand and leveraging the creativity of so many of our staff.”

Since HSL’s no visitation policy went into effect in March, adult children have expressed their gratitude for the regular video chats with their loved ones, thanks to the 1:1 programming at HRC. In an email to staff, a family member said, “I want to express my gratitude for the video call I had this morning with my mom to tell her Happy 85th Birthday!”

About Hebrew SeniorLife
Hebrew SeniorLife is a national senior services leader dedicated to rethinking, researching, and redefining the possibilities of aging. As New England’s largest nonprofit provider of senior health care and living communities, and the only one affiliated with Harvard Medical School, HSL cares for more than 3000 seniors a day across six campuses throughout Greater Boston. Our locations include: Hebrew Rehabilitation Center, Boston and Dedham; NewBridge on the Charles, Dedham; Orchard Cove, Canton; Simon C. Fireman Community, Randolph; Center Communities of Brookline, Brookline; and Jack Satter House, Revere. Founded in 1903, HSL also conducts influential research into aging and trains more than 1,000 students in geriatric care each year. Visit https://www.hebrewseniorlife.org, follow us on Twitter @H_SeniorLife, like us on Facebook, or read our blog.

Dae Hyun Kim, MD, MPH, ScD, founder of the Frailty Research Program at Hebrew SeniorLife's Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, has been elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation, a medical honorary society for physician-scientists.  

According to ASCI, Kim is one of 100 new members who come from 50 different institutions and represent excellence across the breadth of academic medicine. They will be officially inducted into the society at the ASCI Dinner and New Member Induction Ceremony on April 5, 2024, as part of the AAP/ASCI/APSA Joint Meeting in Chicago.

Each year, the ASCI Council considers membership nominations of several hundred physician-scientists — aged 50 years or younger — and recommends up to 100 candidates for election based on outstanding scholarly achievement.

Election is a milestone in the physician-scientist career path, and the ASCI holds its members to the highest standards of integrity, professionalism, mutual respect, and collegiality. Along with the Association of American Physicians and American Physician Scientists Association, the ASCI convenes an annual scientific meeting in Chicago. With the guidance of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, the society has established programs and processes to achieve equity and meaningful inclusion for people of all identities, with a focus on physician-scientists who are underrepresented in medicine and science (UiMS).

About Dr. Kim

Dr. Kim is a geriatrician, researcher, and mentor. He believes we can provide better health care to older people by incorporating frailty into clinical care, research, and population health.

Toward this mission, Dr. Kim founded the Frailty Research Program at the Marcus Institute. Funded by grants from the National Institute on Aging, Harvard Catalyst, Health Resources in Action, and John A. Hartford Foundation, his research aims to enable clinicians and health care systems to deliver clinical care and population health management tailored to a person’s frailty level.

As a Beeson scholar, Dr. Kim developed a claims-based frailty index algorithm, which allows estimation of the frailty level from administrative claims data such as Medicare data. This algorithm is widely used by epidemiologists and health services researchers who want to measure frailty on a population scale. He is a member of the Project Advisory Task Force for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation of the Department of Health and Human Services for “Validating and Expanding Claims-Based Algorithms of Frailty and Functional Disability for Value-Based Care and Payment.” Dr. Kim’s current research uses this algorithm to evaluate the benefits and harms of drug therapies, surgical procedures, and care models by different levels of frailty.

To translate frailty into clinical practice, Dr. Kim has developed the Senior Health Calculator, an online frailty index calculator, which has been incorporated into the electronic medical records at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. As a result, frailty assessment is increasingly used for clinical decision-making and conversations about prognosis with patients and their families.  

As a geriatrician, Dr. Kim provides a preoperative comprehensive geriatric assessment in medically complex patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement in the Senior Health Practice at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Dr. Kim has mentored over 40 people in their early career, including recipients of the National Institutes of Health career development awards. He teaches students and trainees at Harvard Medical School, Harvard Geriatrics Medicine Fellowship, and Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. He lectures on preoperative frailty assessment in the Harvard Annual Review of Geriatric Medicine course.
Dr. Kim is an associate editor of the Journals of Gerontology Medical Sciences and serves on the American Geriatrics Society Research Methods subcommittee and the editorial board of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

About ASCI

The American Society for Clinical Investigation seeks to support the scientific efforts, educational needs, and clinical aspirations of physician-scientists to improve the health of all people.

The ASCI is a nonprofit medical honor society composed of more than 3,000 physician-scientists representing all medical specialties. The society is dedicated to the advancement of research that extends understanding of diseases and improves treatment, and members are committed to mentoring future generations of physician-scientists.

Founded in 1908, the ASCI is one of the nation’s oldest medical honor societies and is among the few organizations focused on the special role of physician-scientists in research, clinical care, and medical education, as well as leadership positions in academic medicine and the life sciences industry.

About Hebrew SeniorLife

Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is a national senior services leader uniquely dedicated to rethinking, researching, and redefining the possibilities of aging. Hebrew SeniorLife cares for more than 4,500 seniors a day across six campuses throughout Greater Boston. Locations include: Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-Boston and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-NewBridge in Dedham; NewBridge on the Charles, Dedham; Orchard Cove, Canton; Simon C. Fireman Community, Randolph; Center Communities of Brookline, Brookline; and Jack Satter House, Revere. Founded in 1903, Hebrew SeniorLife also conducts influential research into aging at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, which has a portfolio of more than $98 million, making it one of the largest gerontological research facilities in the U.S. in a clinical setting. It also trains more than 1,000 geriatric care providers each year. For more information about Hebrew SeniorLife, visit our website or follow us on our blog, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn.

Hebrew SeniorLife is one of the 30 U.S. health systems selected to participate in the Age-Friendly System-Wide Spread Collaborative, and the only health system in Massachusetts chosen. 

This first-of-its-kind Collaborative, led by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, will accelerate and spread the adoption of evidence-based, high-quality care for older adults across all of its sites and care settings. 

The Collaborative is the latest endeavor of the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative, which promotes four evidence-based elements of high-quality care known as the 4Ms: What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility. 

Hebrew SeniorLife previously earned the initiative’s Committed to Care Excellence designation after demonstrating the reliable practice of the 4Ms. Now, during this 18-month Collaborative, Hebrew SeniorLife will build on its progress and test changes to ensure that the 4Ms are provided equitably as a standard practice as older adults receive care across its entire system. All participating teams in the Collaborative will learn from each other and expert faculty, and be among the first health systems to achieve an ambitious new Institute for Healthcare Improvement recognition for the system-wide spread of age-friendly care.  

“Hebrew SeniorLife is committed to staying on the leading edge of patient care, always looking for proven ways to deliver safe, equitable, and reliable care to all of our patients,” said Hebrew SeniorLife CEO and President Steven H. Landers, MD, MPH. “The Age-Friendly Systems-Wide Spread Collaborative advances this commitment and will give us the tools we need to provide the highest standard of care to every older adult at every care interaction.”

“We are honored to have Hebrew SeniorLife participating in this Collaborative and applaud their dedication to equitably delivering age-friendly care as older adults and their family caregivers receive care across their practices, hospitals, and nursing homes,” said Institute for Healthcare Improvement Vice President Leslie Pelton, MPA. “This is an exciting and ambitious endeavor and a testament to the increasing importance of the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement as we prepare our health systems and workforce to provide excellent care to the growing older adult population.” 

Since 2018, the movement has recognized 3,907 care settings as Age-Friendly, benefiting 3.29 million older adults who have received age-friendly care centered around what matters to them and their families. Age-Friendly Health Systems is an initiative of The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, in partnership with the American Hospital Association and the Catholic Health Association of the United States. 

About Hebrew SeniorLife

Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is a national senior services leader uniquely dedicated to rethinking, researching, and redefining the possibilities of aging. Hebrew SeniorLife cares for more than 4,500 seniors a day across six campuses throughout Greater Boston. Locations include: Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-Boston and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-NewBridge in Dedham; NewBridge on the Charles, Dedham; Orchard Cove, Canton; Simon C. Fireman Community, Randolph; Center Communities of Brookline, Brookline; Jack Satter House, Revere; and Leyland Community, Dorchester. Founded in 1903, Hebrew SeniorLife also conducts influential research into aging at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, which has a portfolio of more than $98 million, making it one of the largest gerontological research facilities in the U.S. in a clinical setting. It also trains more than 500 geriatric care providers each year. For more information about Hebrew SeniorLife, visit our website or follow us on our blog, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn.
 

Hebrew SeniorLife’s Jack Satter House held ceremonies on June 10, 2024, to announce the receipt of an up to $20 million grant by the Revere supportive housing community to improve efficiency and climate resilience. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded this grant in December as part of its Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP).

About the Grant

As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, a key pillar of Bidenomics, HUD announced in December $173.9 million in new loans and grants under the GRRP Comprehensive and Elements categories. 

The awards will support energy efficiency, electrification, clean energy, low-embodied carbon materials, and climate resilience improvements in 30 HUD-assisted multifamily properties, including 3,070 rental homes for low-income individuals and families. These investments will help tackle the climate crisis and support equitable economic development in American communities as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and historic environmental justice agenda. 

GRRP grant and loan funding will improve residents' quality of life by expanding energy efficiency, reducing climate pollution, generating renewable energy, promoting the use of green building materials, improving indoor air quality, and enhancing climate resilience.

These awards include the first set made under the GRRP’s Comprehensive category, which provides funding to properties with the highest need for climate resilience and energy efficiency upgrades. All 19 properties receiving Comprehensive awards serve low-income residents and roughly half serve seniors. 

For more information about the grant, visit the HUD press release. 

Speakers and attendees at the event included: 

• Democratic Whip Katherine Clark
• Regional Assistant for Senator Edward J. Markey Mark Lannigan
• HUD New England Regional Administrator Juana B. Matias 
• State Representative Jessica Giannino
• State Representative Jeffrey Turco
• Acting Secretary at Executive Office of Elder Affairs Robin Lipson
• Revere Mayor Patrick Keefe, Jr.
• Revere City Council Vice President Ira Novoselsky
• Revere City Councillor At-Large Robert J. Haas, III
• Revere Ward 5 City Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya
• Hebrew SeniorLife Board Chair Richard J. Henken

“For nearly five decades, the Jack Satter House has been a beacon of hope and belonging for so many of our seniors," said Democratic Whip Katherine Clark. “This funding represents an investment in the future of this community and a commitment to ensuring its services continue for many more years to come. I remain committed to bringing home the resources we need to support our seniors, clean up our air, and brace our homes against the impacts of climate change.”

“I am thrilled to announce the award for the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program Grant award that HUD is presenting to Jack Satter House for $20 million,” said HUD New England Regional Administrator Juana B. Matias.

“This program will support projects that reduce carbon emissions, improve utility efficiency, enhance indoor air quality, and otherwise improve the climate resilience of this building and many other HUD-assisted properties throughout the country.”

“For years, the Jack Satter House has provided seniors along Revere Beach the opportunity to live and age in a community, affordably and with dignity. Now they are demonstrating how senior housing can be resilient and sustainable,” said Senator Edward J. Markey (via Regional Assistant Mark Lannigan).

“Today is a great day for the City of Revere, and it's an unbelievable day for the residents of Hebrew SeniorLife's Jack Satter House,” said Revere Mayor Patrick Keefe, Jr.

“I am proud to see Hebrew SeniorLife not only grow its affordable housing portfolio but also find ways to partner with HUD to invest in critical greening initiatives like this,” said Hebrew SeniorLife Board Chair Richard Henken. “Jack Satter House and its residents will benefit from this grant for years to come.”

“Hebrew SeniorLife is committed to creating new affordable housing with the highest level of energy-efficient construction standards and to renovating our existing infrastructure to mitigate the impacts of climate change and plan for future generations of residents in our communities,” said Hebrew SeniorLife Executive Vice President of Senior Living Kim Brooks. “Receiving the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program grant ensures that our Revere community can continue to evolve to meet the needs of today and tomorrow.”

“Jack Satter House is a vibrant, active, thriving community where our residents can age with programs and services to meet their needs,” said Jack Satter House Executive Director Steve Post. “Thank you to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for your partnership to allow Jack Satter House to make the necessary improvements for our current and future residents.” 

About Jack Satter House

Jack Satter House, located at 420 Revere Beach Boulevard, Revere, MA, is a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) subsidized senior supportive housing community with 266 apartments. Residency is open to all age and income-qualified persons in accordance with the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity, national origin, disability, and familial status. 

Located directly across the boulevard from Revere Beach, Jack Satter House has panoramic Atlantic Ocean views from almost every apartment. The community follows Hebrew SeniorLife’s model of service-enriched housing, which includes supports that keep residents healthy, active, and engaged so they can continue to thrive. This includes resident-driven social, educational, and intergenerational programming. Boston-based philanthropist Jack Satter, who made the gift that named the community, introduced “Fenway Franks” and “Yankee Franks” and was a limited partner to the New York Yankees before he died in 2014. 

About Hebrew SeniorLife

Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is a national senior services leader uniquely dedicated to rethinking, researching, and redefining the possibilities of aging. Hebrew SeniorLife cares for more than 4,500 seniors a day across seven campuses throughout Greater Boston. Locations include: Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-Boston and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-NewBridge in Dedham; NewBridge on the Charles, Dedham; Orchard Cove, Canton; Simon C. Fireman Community, Randolph; Center Communities of Brookline, Brookline; Jack Satter House, Revere; and Leyland Community, Dorchester. Founded in 1903, Hebrew SeniorLife also conducts influential research into aging at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, which has a portfolio of more than $98 million, making it one of the largest gerontological research facilities in the U.S. in a clinical setting. It also trains more than 500 geriatric care providers each year. For more information about Hebrew SeniorLife, visit our website or follow us on our blog, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn.

Boston, MA — Navigator Homes of Martha’s Vineyard (NHMV) and Hebrew SeniorLife have announced the signing of a management agreement for the new skilled nursing care and rehabilitation center that, pending final local and state approval, is scheduled to open in  Summer 2025 on Martha’s Vineyard.  

The facility, in the Green House model, will provide skilled nursing and rehabilitation service by highly trained care staff focusing on the whole person – medical, emotional, and social needs. NHMV is committed to offering a center that will provide an environment where seniors can thrive, by eliminating the three plagues of aging: loneliness, helplessness, and boredom.

“We are pleased to collaborate with Navigator Homes of Martha’s Vineyard in support of this innovative Green House model of elder care,” said Mary Moscato, FACHE, President, Hebrew SeniorLife Health Care Services and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center.

“We are honored to enter into this agreement with Hebrew SeniorLife, which has set the gold standard for senior care in the Boston area,” said NHMV Treasurer Polly Brown.   

About NHMV
Scheduled to open in Summer 2025, Navigator Homes of Martha’s Vineyard plans to house  people in 5 homes with 13 or 14 residents each. Each resident will have a private room with bathroom. In beautiful, well-appointed, spacious communal areas, residents will share living room, kitchen, dining rooms, and other enriching and recreational spaces, both inside and outside. Outside space will be a pocket park thoughtfully landscaped with native species.

All current Residents from Windemere Nursing & Rehabilitation Center (the only skilled nursing home on Martha’s Vineyard) will have the option to relocate/move into the new Edgartown-based, Green House model community. Navigator Homes of MV will encourage all Windemere residents who qualify for skilled nursing care to move to the new community, including those individuals seeking short-term rehabilitation after hospitalization, as well as those seeking Long Term Care. Navigator will accept MassHealth, Medicare, and Private Pay. 

About Hebrew SeniorLife
Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, was founded in 1903 and today is a national leader dedicated to empowering seniors to live their best lives. Hebrew SeniorLife cares for more than 3,000 seniors a day across six campuses throughout Greater Boston. Locations include: Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-Boston and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-NewBridge in Dedham; NewBridge on the Charles, Dedham; Orchard Cove, Canton; Simon C. Fireman Community, Randolph; Center Communities of Brookline; and Jack Satter House, Revere. Hebrew SeniorLife also trains more than 1,000 future health care professionals each year, and conducts influential research into aging at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, which has a robust research portfolio whose NIH funding in 2021 places it in the top 10% of NIH-funded institutions. For more information about Hebrew SeniorLife, visit our website or follow us on our blog, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

BOSTON - Hebrew SeniorLife, New England’s largest nonprofit provider of senior health care and living communities, has secured financing to build 54 new units of affordable senior housing at its Center Communities of Brookline location.   

The new seven-story complex, located at 108 Centre Street, will provide independent living apartments for seniors age 62 and older and will complement Center Communities of Brookline’s existing housing sites, which include the Marilyn and André Danesh Family Residences, the Julian and Carol Feinberg Cohen Residences, and the Diane and Mark Goldman Family Residences.

The new housing includes several features that prioritize resident well-being and sustainability, including:

• Expanded indoor and outdoor community space to benefit residents of Center Communities of Brookline and other senior residents of the town.
• Construction that meets Passive House Standards, which will reduce energy consumption, ensure indoor air quality, enhance durability, and improve thermal comfort.   
• Access to the vast array of services at Center Communities of Brookline such as wellness programming, fitness, and dining.
• Enhancements to the overall campus, including landscaping, lighting, and green space.

“Hebrew SeniorLife is pleased to launch this development that we believe will help meet the urgent need for service-enriched senior housing in Brookline,” said Kim Brooks, Hebrew SeniorLife chief operating officer for senior living. “Our new Centre Street location will combine independent apartment living for seniors with onsite support services, all in keeping with Hebrew SeniorLife’s effort to redefine the aging experience.”

Construction of this new affordable senior community will take approximately 20 months with occupancy anticipated in early 2025. For more information and construction updates, visit Redeveloping Hebrew SeniorLife's Centre Street Campus in Brookline.

Hebrew SeniorLife appreciates the support it has received from various town of Brookline departments, including the Select Board, the Housing Advisory Board, the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Brookline Historical Commission, and many other town boards, committees, and individuals. 

Financing for the project is supported by Eastern Bank, the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency (as bond issuer), the Massachusetts Housing Partnership Fund Board, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, the Town of Brookline, and Rogerson Communities, Inc., with an equity investment by RBC Community Investments, LLC.  Hebrew SeniorLife is also grateful for its partnerships with ICON Architecture, Affirmative Investments, Tierney Development Services, RLAW PC, NEI General Contracting, and Nixon Peabody LLP. 

Housing and Care Integration

Residents of the new building will benefit from the robust services offered at Center Communities of Brookline, including the Right Care, Right Place, Right Time Initiative (R3), an innovative program created by Hebrew SeniorLife to support residents in proactively managing their health by effectively linking housing and health care.

R3 seeks to help seniors stay independent and at home longer—improving lives and reducing costs.  The onsite resident-services team, including a wellness nurse and coordinator, focuses on preventative care, health education, and individualized support. LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston research found that seniors living in sites with R3 had lower hospitalization rates, days, payments, and readmissions than residents living in similar settings without the program.

About Hebrew SeniorLife
Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, was founded in 1903 and today is a national leader dedicated to empowering seniors to live their best lives. Hebrew SeniorLife cares for more than 3,000 seniors a day across six campuses throughout Greater Boston. Locations include: Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-Boston and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-NewBridge in Dedham; NewBridge on the Charles, Dedham; Orchard Cove, Canton; Simon C. Fireman Community, Randolph; Center Communities of Brookline; and Jack Satter House, Revere. Hebrew SeniorLife also trains more than 1,000 future health care professionals each year, and conducts influential research into aging at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, which has a robust research portfolio whose NIH funding in 2021 places in the top 10% of NIH-funded institutions. For more information about Hebrew SeniorLife, visit our website or follow us on our blog, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.