At a time when nursing homes are known for their high staff-turnover rates that stem from poor wages, poor working conditions, and poor benefits, the Miami Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged stands out as an exception to the rule. The working philosophy here is: The greater the stability of a nursing home staff, the better the care for residents.
“We ensure a high level of staff stability by providing employees with a highly attractive employee wage and benefits package,” said Fred Stock, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director.
The home also offers tuition reimbursement for staff members who want to create better career ladders for themselves. Certified nurse assistants who want to become licensed practical nurses can do so. The same is true for licensed practical nurses who wish to become registered nurses. And graduates of the program are under no post-study mandate.
One of the founders of the Miami Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged underwrote the Certified Nursing Assistant School at the home. The twenty-one persons recently graduated recently from the school were awarded the certified nursing assistant certificate, and are now eligible to take the state exam. Those who pass the exam will likely be employed at the home.
Staff members care for residents in a setting that amplifies the available resources for them, such as the sophisticated level of service. Every nursing home is required to hire social workers, but the Miami Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged hires only masters-level social workers. “Masters-level social workers are trained to be highly capable when addressing he issues that arise in a nursing home,” said Stock.
In a related vein, Stock emphasized the need to have a broad-scale recreation program for residents. Next to food, creative recreation on a large scale, adaptable to residents needs, is one of the most important offerings at the Miami Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged. Plentiful recreation offsets the concept that many elderly have of losing everything that contributed to their lifestyles once they take up residence at a nursing home.
“We have a program for a number of residents in arts and crafts. Each resident participates with an activities coordinator and a second person in activities like knitting and crocheting. Residents make things that we sell on campus and know that others appreciate their wares,” said Stock.
The home also has a cyber café on campus where recreation therapy professionals and volunteers from local high schools help residents learn to use the Internet and e-mail. In fact, it is not at all uncommon for a resident at the home to be seen printing our electronically transmitted photos of grandchildren.
Through its on-campus cable broadcast network, the home transmits live performances from its auditorium to residents who cannot attend in person, religious services of various faiths, and Spanish programming to meet the needs of Hispanic residents.
Taking a larger view, the Miami Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged maintains the Stein Gerontological Institute, an ongoing research program that develops care and training programs for patients in the home who suffer from dementia. Now in its third year, the program is currently researching adaptive devices the elderly can use to better negotiate their environment. The program is under the directorship of Dr. Bernard Roos, who is the Chair of the Department of Gerontology at the University of Miami.
The home closely affiliates with the University of Miami and serves as a training site for physicians and for nursing schools in South Florida such as the University of Miami, Barry University, and Florida International University.
In brief, the Miami Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged continues to provide for the near-term and longer-term health care of its residents and to complement this with diverse services that enable residents to enjoy a participatory lifestyle.
At a time when nursing homes are known for their high staff-turnover rates that stem from poor wages, poor working conditions, and poor benefits, the Miami Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged stands out as an exception to the rule. The working philosophy here is: The greater the stability of a nursing home staff, the better the care for residents. 
