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Nurse experiment in Hollis Hills meeting 'exponentially' growing needs of older members.
For most Jews, a synagogue is a place to turn to for spiritual health.
Today, in a sign of the demographic times, some synagogues are broadening their mission to care for aging members' physical health by sponsoring their own staff nurses who tend to members' medical needs.
Linda Liederman, the congregational nurse at the Hollis Hills Jewish Center in Queens, experiences this every Shabbat. As predictable as the snacks at the Shabbat morning Kiddush are the questions about symptoms, health insurance and prescriptions.
"I do not get a piece of cake," said Liederman, a veteran home health care nurse who was appointed six months ago to the volunteer position; she continues to work full-time in home health care.
Many physicians and nurses are annoyed when people broach medical questions during such social situations.
Liederman views the weekly discussions over cake and kugel as a vital part of her responsibilities as congregational nurse, "an opportunity to see people," she said.
The Hollis Hills Jewish Center, which established its congregational nurse program during the High Holiday season last fall, is part of a small but emerging trend in the American Jewish community. At a time of reduced synagogue memberships and declining affiliation, some congregations are reaching out in innovative one-on-one ways, especially to older members.
The program at Liederman's synagogue does not exclusively serve a senior population, but about two-thirds of the people with whom she deals are 50 to 70 years old, or older, roughly reflective of the Conservative synagogue's demographics, she said.
"In Queens County, many of the synagogues are experiencing aging issues," said her husband, Arthur Liederman, the congregation's president.
"The children are moving out," he said, leaving many often-isolated seniors without someone around to help out with medical questions.
Such congregational nurse programs provide an invaluable service for the aging community, according to Kathryn Haslanger, CEO of the Jewish Association of Services for the Aging (JASA).
"For many older adults, religious institutions can be familiar places where they feel safe and comfortable, where they have trusted relationships. Connecting seniors to health and social service supports through synagogues helps seniors remain actively engaged in their communities," Haslanger said via email....