The New Jewish Home (formerly Jewish Home Lifecare among other prior names) is an American nonprofit older adult health care system based in New York City. The organization serves older adults of all religions and ethnicities at its three campuses in Manhattan, The Bronx, and Mamaroneck in Westchester County. It provides rehabilitative services, skilled nursing, senior housing, and numerous home health programs, including a certified home health agency and a home care agency. The organization was founded in 1848 by Hannah Leo of the B'nai Jeshurun Ladies' Benevolent Society.
History
1848–1878: Foundation and the establishment of first home
Hannah Leo and other women of the B'nai Jeshurun congregation founded the B'nai Jeshurun Ladies' Benevolent Society for the Relief of Indigent Females on November 21, 1848. In its early years, the society struggled to accumulate funds for its philanthropic endeavors. Through various fundraising efforts, the society had accrued around $5,000 by the late 1860s. The organization was officially incorporated on March 13, 1866. On May 24, 1870, it opened a home for elderly women in a ten-room house it had rented at 215 West 17th Street in Manhattan. The home, also referred to as the Home for Aged and Infirm Hebrews, initially housed four to seven women. It was one of the first nursing homes or eldercare facilities of its kind. Founder Hannah Leo passed soon after the home opened, but her son, Simeon N. Leo, served as attending physician for many years.
In 1872, the organization was re-incorporated as the Home for Aged and Infirm Hebrews. In March 1872, the home was moved to a building on West 32nd Street and served 14 women at that time. Accommodations proved inadequate there, and, in May 1873, the home was moved to a 5-story building on the corner of Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street that was capable of housing 50 individuals. At the time, the home housed 28 women and 6 men, all of whom were elderly or ill. In 1875 or 1876, the institution acquired a mansion at Avenue A and 86th Street that had previously been used as an eldercare facility.
1879–1922: Moving to main campus and subsequent growth
In 1879, administrators began coordinating with the B'nai B'rith service organization about the prospect of finding a plot of land to build a new facility. The two organizations agreed to a partnership to build a new home in January 1880. Later that year, 8 adjoining lots on 105th and 106th Streets in Manhattan were purchased. The cornerstone on the new building was laid in May 1882, and it was completed in 1883 at a cost of $200,000, much of which was paid via donations. Nine more adjoining lots were later purchased. The construction of an annex on that land was completed in November 1889. The apartments in the annex were reserved for the most ill residents. Another adjoining property was purchased in 1894, and construction of a new wing began in 1895. At that time, the home had 163 residents.
The new wing and a general expansion of the facility were completed in 1896, increasing the capacity to 300 residents. In 1902, the association had paid off all debts, and around 220 people were living at the facility. A 4-story extension to the campus was approved in 1907. Since its founding in 1917, the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York (now, the UJA-Federation of New York), has continually supported the work of the home. A few years later in 1920, the home celebrated its 50th anniversary. At the time, Dr. Simeon N. Leo was still the attending physician and surgeon, and the facility housed 350 residents. In 1921 Dr. Frederic D. Zeman, a Mount Sinai physician, developed the first patient-centered model of care at Jewish Home, where he also served as Medical Director for 45 years. In January 1922, a 4-story addition that could house up to 75 new individuals was completed.
1922–1987: Hospital accreditation and continued expansion
After Dr. Simeon N. Leo's death in the 1920s, the facility added full-time medical staff. In the 1940s, the organization received accreditation as a hospital from the Joint Commission and was one of the only geriatric hospitals of its kind in the United States. To address the shortage of institutional care for the aged, in 1948 Jewish Home became the country's first organization to provide home care for older adults helping them remain in their own homes for as long as possible.