There are many options for those who are in their senior years in today’s world. Whether you’re exploring help with everyday tasks or other senior living services for yourself or a family member, The American Israelite invites you to explore the following organizations which can help meet these special needs in the Cincinnati area.
Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati
Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati (JCGC) serves the burial needs of the Greater Cincinnati Jewish community with care and dignity and honors the resting places of the community. Pledged to serve all, JCGC maintains and preserves 25 Jewish cemeteries across our two-century-old Jewish community, a unique model that provides sustainability into the future.
Beyond dignified burial, services offered by JCGC include assistance creating monuments and markers, secure pre-arrangements, monument cleaning services and access to 35,000 burial records for genealogical research. Jewish Cemeteries has made a tradition of marking the graves of veterans with flags in preparation for Memorial Day. A marker for survivors of the Holocaust will soon be available as well.
Now is an advantageous time for making pre-arrangements as price points for both grave plots and interments will rise on May 1, 2024. Plots are available in cemeteries on both Cincinnati’s east and west sides, with especially broad options in the new Loveland Cemetery which promises to become a main communal resting place in coming decades. Call 513-961-0178 for more information.
JCGC cemeteries contain special memorials, natural beauty and multitudes of fascinating and inspiring stories. Capital fundraising supports ongoing restoration that can require rebuilding monument foundations, replacing fencing, tree care, delicate repair and cleaning of ancient stones and complex geological stabilization. Plans are now in process for spring-through-fall concentrated work especially in the hilly west side cemeteries, which date back to the nineteenth century.
Jewish Family Service
Jewish Family Service of Cincinnati strengthens lives and the community by providing professional social services to families and individuals in times of need.
JVS helps lead the way to a Jewish community where everyone lives with dignity, security and hope.
It is a nonprofit social service agency that serves all individuals without regard to religion, race, age, disability, sexual orientation, national origin or ability to pay.
Growing older is just another part of the total life process. But the later years can become lonely and difficult for many older adults and a stressful time for their families.
Jewish Family Service has many services it offers. The Aging and Caregiver Services program at Jewish Family Services was created to help older adults maintain their independence and enhance their involvement with their family and their community.
The Education and Mentoring program enriches lives by providing interactive learning opportunities for all, and supportive direct services for at-risk youth.
LifeLabs offers free educational discussions around specific topics people experience through the lifespan. They are designed to help them understand and navigate situations that can be difficult, complex and emotionally challenging.
Jewish Family Service also offers support through the Barbash Family Vital Support Center, the Heldman Family Food Pantry, emergency food assistance, homelessness support, case management, delivery of Passover food for those unable to afford to celebrate the holiday and help with food stamps.
Mayerson JCC: 60 & Better Center
The 60 & Better Center at the Mayerson JCC serves active older adults in the community, allowing them to fully participate in life at the J, including art, wellness, and technology classes; socialization programs; kosher lunches; and transportation.
Its Senior Meals program offers both dine-in and carryout selections, all prepared kosher by the JCC kitchen and J Café. They also offer a meal delivery service for homebound senior adults through the Meals on Wheels program. Between the two programs, they served nearly one hundred thousand meals last year.
To keep seniors healthy, active, and engaged in community life, the 60 & Better Center offers almost twelve hundred in-person and virtual programs each year. Socialization programs include exciting day trips to local attractions, ongoing groups and classes that encourage adults to learn new skills, and fitness classes geared toward staying active and strong.
The J’s Transportation Services allow senior adults to move freely around the community, giving them more independence and greater access to activities that contribute to a better quality of life. The fleet of vehicles provide comfortable and accessible transportation to and from the J for activities, to community events, and for non-medical appointments.
In addition to services provided by the 60 & Better Center, the Mayerson JCC offers a wide variety of arts, ideas and Jewish life programming for adults of all ages, including those sixty and over.
Mercy Health – The Jewish Hospital
Mercy Health, including Jewish Hospital, is leading Cincinnati health care through its mission and values.
The Jewish Hospital – Mercy Health was founded in 1850, when a cholera epidemic sickened thousands of Cincinnatians. The Jewish community saw a need to provide care for poor Jews, and founded the first Jewish hospital in the United States. Since its early days, The Jewish Hospital has always welcomed and cared for people of every faith.
The hospital has a legacy of teaching the next generation of physicians dating back more than one hundred years, and today residents in surgery, medicine, podiatry and pharmacy all train at The Jewish Hospital.
The hospital’s services include the region’s first and most comprehensive adult blood and marrow transplant center; enhanced neurosciences capabilities with a brain tumor center; a premier joint replacement center performing nearly one thousand total joint replacements every year; the region’s most experienced mobile mammography program; the weight management center and full-spectrum cardiovascular and emergency services.
As the largest nonprofit health care system in Ohio, Mercy Health has a mission to serve the entire community, especially the poor and underserved. With five hospitals, as well as more than one hundred and eighty doctor’s offices, clinics and care locations throughout Greater Cincinnati, it works to ensure that its patients have easy access to safe, effective, timely and cost-efficient care. Mercy Health does everything to help its patients be well — mind, body and spirit.
Senior Care Partners
Senior Care Partners was founded with the goal of helping families understand and develop the right expectations of Senior Housing. After working in senior housing, we found seniors, and their loved ones were not set up to succeed and were often unhappy. This leads to moving seniors again, uprooting them once again, or putting loved ones into a community which lacks quality. We set out to create a company which prompts long-term success for our clients and their loved ones to enjoy all senior housing has to offer.
Stuart Solomon, owner and care advisor, aims to keep Senior Care’s clients safe, secure and happy with their care options.
StarPoint Home Care
StarPoint Home Care, LLC is a local Cincinnati private-pay agency. As a non-profit, StarPoint is dedicated to first meeting the needs of our clients who trust us to help them with daily living activities. Caregivers are available 24/7 to help older adults with daily living activities, so they feel comfortable, secure and independent while remaining in familiar surroundings.
StarPoint Home Care is steeped in Jewish culture and traditions. Caregivers can prepare meals following kosher dietary laws, and they are provided special training to help serve the unique needs of Holocaust survivors.
Caregivers assist with bathing, grooming, dressing, shopping, light housekeeping, meal preparation, transportation and much more.
StarPoint was originally founded by the Jewish Home of Cincinnati in 2008 to ease the life of senior adults and their family members by connecting them with trusted, experienced home care aides. We are proud to now be under the umbrella of Jewish Family Service of the Cincinnati area, which has been recognized locally and nationally for its devotion to helping older adults maintain independence since 1943.
Weil-Kahn Funeral Home
For more than four generations Weil-Kahn Funeral Home has been dedicated to providing efficient and compassionate service at a time of great distress and anxiety.
Long-time owner Bob Weil recently sold the funeral home to Bill Kahn, who has worked at Weil-Kahn Funeral Home for more than thirty years. Bill’s father Sylvan was also a long-time employee at the funeral home.
This means that, after more than one hundred years of practice in Cincinnati, Weil-Kahn Funeral Home will continue to serve the community in a caring and professional manner. Attention to all details is their proud hallmark.
Weil-Kahn Funeral Home offers services ranging from the most traditional Orthodox Jewish to a less traditional or even non-religious ceremony.
Services include the use of their chapel, which is wheelchair accessible and able to comfortably hold more than three hundred and fifty people. This allows them to handle large public funerals or small private ceremonies, whichever the family desires. Also provided are all necessary materials for Jewish practices, including all-wood orthodox caskets, burial vaults, traditional burial garments, kriah ribbons, shiva candles, acknowledgement cards, registry books, folding chairs, shiva stools, prayer books and other requested items.
Weil-Kahn Funeral Home is nothing if not accommodating. Services can be arranged at the cemetery, at Temples or Synagogues or various other locations in the area.
How a near-death experience reveled the secret to lasting happiness
Courtesy of StatePoint.
Carl B. Barney, author of the “The Happiness Experiment”
(StatePoint) — What if happiness isn’t about accumulating wealth, but about how you use your resources — time, money and emotional energy — to create joy for yourselves and others? Picture your next family gathering not filled with tension or superficial chatter, but genuine laughter and meaningful connections. Imagine seeing the joy on your loved ones’ faces when you share something special with them — not after you’re gone, but right now, creating memories that last.
Science confirms that generosity and gratitude significantly enhance personal happiness. A 2020 University of Chicago study found that people who intentionally give to others experience deeper and longer-lasting joy compared to those who spend only on themselves.
Educational entrepreneur and author of “The Happiness Experiment,” Carl B. Barney is sharing practical, achievable steps to experiencing more happiness today:
Express Daily Gratitude: Write down three things you’re grateful for each day. Notice how quickly your outlook shifts toward joy and positivity.
Create Memorable Experiences: Plan meaningful, shared moments with loved ones rather than simply giving material gifts. The happiness derived from these shared experiences endures long after the event itself.
Give with Purpose: Offer thoughtful gestures, advice or financial help in meaningful ways. Even small acts of generosity can transform relationships and significantly boost your happiness.
This approach to happiness isn’t just theory — it’s a proven pathway to a richer, more fulfilling life. After a near-death experience in a plane crash profoundly shifted his worldview, Barney realized he wanted to witness the joy and impact of his generosity firsthand, rather than leaving his loved ones to benefit only after he was gone. Discover more about this transformative approach and start enhancing your happiness today at happinessexperiment.com.
Happiness can’t be bought, but it can be cultivated. As science and real-world experiences show, generosity and gratitude are fundamental pillars to long-lasting joy.
How support and connection can improve mental health as you age
Courtesy of StatePoint. Photo credit: (c) Renata Angerami/iStock via Getty Images Plus
(StatePoint) — Mental health issues, such as stress, anxiety and depression, are common among older adults, and can be exacerbated by declining health, loss of loved ones, financial challenges and late-in-life regrets.
Unfortunately, these issues can impact overall health, quality of life, and in some cases, even be life-threatening. The suicide rate among Americans aged 75 and older is the highest of any age group, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If you’re an older adult, Dr. Zia Wahid, medical director with Cigna’s Medicare business, encourages you to take the following actions:
Nurture relationships: Research has found that loneliness can have negative health consequences as impactful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. That’s why finding connection is essential. Check with your local community center to find out what activities, classes and social events they offer. Faith-based organizations, neighborhood gatherings, and clubs based on common interests are also great ways to meet people and stay engaged. A simple phone call with a loved one is often enough to strengthen bonds, and emotional resilience.
Get moving: Physical activity can improve strength and agility as you age. It can also be a powerful way to boost your mood and ease anxiety and depression. From chair yoga to water aerobics, there are forms of exercise appropriate for every ability and age, and free or inexpensive classes offered in many communities. Your Medicare Advantage (MA) plan may also offer fitness benefits that can help you move more and stay connected. Group fitness not your thing? Consider just getting outdoors for a short walk and a dose of sunshine.
Avoid substance misuse: Substance use disorder is common among older adults, and can intensify mental health challenges. One in 11 adults over age 60 had a substance use disorder in 2022, and that number is on the rise, according to the American Psychological Association. Check your Medicare plan. It may cover treatment for alcoholism and substance use in both inpatient and outpatient settings.
Schedule a doctor’s visit: Mental health, just like physical health, requires your attention and care. If you’re experiencing mental health concerns, schedule a doctor’s appointment. They can refer you to a psychologist, psychiatrist or clinical social worker, or provide additional advice and resources.
Get it off your chest: Talking about your feelings with friends, family, or even a trained professional can be helpful. Medicare covers individual and group therapy with doctors or licensed clinicians, and some of these services are offered virtually.
Consider medication: Antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, antipsychotics and mood stabilizers, can be effective treatments for certain mental health conditions. A Part D plan — either standalone or within an MA plan — covers many of these prescriptions. Before starting a new medication, be sure to talk to your doctor about possible side effects and interactions with drugs you’re currently taking.
Don’t wait: If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, immediately call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 to reach a trained crisis counselor. This free, confidential service is available 24/7 nationwide in both English and Spanish.
For more information about Medicare benefits and mental health, visit cignamedicareinformation.com.
“Depression and other mental health concerns don’t have to be part of aging. Treating these conditions can put you on the path toward a more fulfilling life, so that you can enjoy this chapter of life with confidence and joy,” says Dr. Wahid.
