The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey Special Care Unit at Hirsch Pavilion

Overview of the Special Care Unit Program

Our State-Certified Special Care Unit is designed for the treatment of people suffering from memory impairments due to Alzheimer's Disease and related disorders. We admit residents who are in approximately the early 4th to late 5th stages of the disease, mid-stage dementia. Our supportive therapeutic environment is designed to maintain quality of life with emphasis on the resident's existing abilities. Our Social Activity model creates feelings of usefulness, success and pleasure thereby preserving dignity and self-esteem.

Therapeutic Environment

Our supportive setting includes outdoor patios, indoor lounge spaces and vignette areas. We also offer Snoezelen® Multi-sensory environments, which reduces anxiety, provides stimulation and encourages communication. Directional signage and contrasting colors are employed to help way-finding.

Quality of Life

Our Activity Program is designed to promote success. It includes a full complement of programs supervised by a therapist trained in Activity-Based Dementia Care. Some programs include music, art, exercise, horticulture, religious programs, trips, cooking, outdoor events, Snoezelen therapy, and parties. Programming is scheduled seven days per week, Monday through Saturday until 8 p.m., and Sundays until 4 p.m.

Support Services

Making the decision to place a loved one in a special care unit can be difficult. Our professional staff is trained to provide support groups, offer educational information and referrals to outside support services.

Individualized Plan of Care

Our trained clinical staff gathers as much information as they can in order to provide your family member with a 24-hour daily schedule as close to his or her prior home life as possible. We pay special attention to bathing and grooming rituals, menu likes and dislikes, preferred activities and those areas that provide your loved one with peace and tranquility.

Physician and Nursing Services

Our medical staff is professional trained in dementia care, and our program director is a Certified Dementia Practitioner. We employ Certified Nurse Aides specially training in dementia care to cue residents, so that they maintain their independence for as long as possible.

The Special Care Unit is endorsed by the Northern New Jersey Alzheimer's Chapter.

Special thanks to our benefactors without whom the Special Care Unit would not have been possible: The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, & The Women's League at Daughters of Israel

Daughters of Israel's dedicated and trained professionals provide the highest quality of care for our residents in a warm, nurturing, and safe environment. Daughters of Israel is a Home in the truest sense, caring for our residents' physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs.

Daughters of Israel’s award-winning medical staff provides the highest quality of care and compassion to our residents. In addition, our team of dedicated nurses provide on-site, 24-hour care. For the convenience of our residents, we also have on-site dentists, audiologists and podiatrists, in addition to our team of physical, speech, and occupational therapists.

Daughters is a community within itself, with a coffee shop, gift shop, beauty salon/barber shop, bank, and a computer station equipped with Skype.

The Home's spacious layout offers many options for socializing, relaxing, or just a change of scenery. In addition to several dining rooms, Daughters boasts an auditorium, indoor atriums, outdoor patios, lounge areas, and multi-sensory gardens

Our residents benefit from a diverse and stimulating range of social, cultural and educational activities. Art, baking, horticulture, yoga, Wii bowling, music appreciation, and current events, are just some of the many activities that our residents enjoy on a daily basis.

There is also a full array of special programming throughout the year including talent shows, school visits, an intergenerational program in conjunction with West Orange High School, pet therapy, art exhibitions, musical and dance performances, garden parties and summer barbeques. The Home also hosts celebrations for New Year's Eve, Thanksgiving, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and other holidays. For residents who are physically capable, we arrange outdoor excursions throughout the summer, and trips to concerts and local restaurants throughout the year.

For patients with hard to heal wounds, our comprehensive wound care program includes a broad range of leading edge therapies and treatments, including:

• Surgical wound debridement
• Chemical wound debridement
• Wound VAC
• Burn care
• Ultraviolet light therapy
• Tissue ultrasound
• Electrical stimulation

Our full-time staff includes a physician wound care specialist and trained wound care nurses who play an active role in assessing, diagnosing, and overseeing all wound care procedures and protocols. To prevent recurrence, our unique whole person approach to care also stresses wound prevention and self-management.

The program is designed to treat a wide range of problems, including:

• Diabetic ulcers
• Pressure ulcers
• Arterial and venous ulcers
• Burns
• Infections
• Surgical wounds
• Amputations

Also treated are complex wounds resulting from conditions that
compromise circulation, such as: diabetes, traumatic injury,
surgical breakdown, congestive heart failure, vascular disease,
incontinence, obesity, renal failure, lymphedema and others.

Our specialized stroke rehabilitation program is designed to help restore patients to optimum levels of functionality while helping them compensate for decreased capabilities. By regaining greater independence in accomplishing daily tasks, many go on to enjoy a quality of life beyond their expectations.

Our highly personalized, integrated programs include:

• Physical, occupational and speech therapy
• Gait, balance and mobility training
• Psychological support
• Dysphagia therapy

Following a surgical procedure, our main goal is returning patients to their highest level of functionality, as quickly and safely as possible. Our multidisciplinary team of therapists and support staff specialize in creating personalized rehab programs that address a wide range of post-operative conditions and diagnoses following:

• Joint replacement
• ACL replacement
• Rotator cuff repair
• Lumbar/cervical laminectomy/discectomy
• Spinal fusion
• Hand surgery

In order to get patients back on their feet and back home quicker than other facilities, Daughters of Israel has the capability of providing physical, occupational and speech therapies as often as the patient’s physician recommends it – up to seven days a week, for up to three hours a day. Our advanced therapeutic modalities address a wide range of orthopedic, neurological and other disabilities, diseases and conditions, including:

• Joint replacement
• Neuro-muscular diseases
• Cardiac conditions
• Traumatic brain injury
• Spinal cord injury
• Stroke
• Dysphagia
• Fractures
• Post-surgical complications
• Diabetes complications
• Amputation

Our orthopedic rehabilitation program offers the combined therapeutic, clinical and technical resources needed to address a wide range of orthopedic conditions, including:

• Joint replacement
• Fractures
• Cervical and lumbar injuries
• Arthritis and osteoporosis
• Amputations

Using a multidisciplinary approach to care, individually designed treatment plans combine specialized therapies, pain management, strength, balance and mobility training, biomechanical re-education, joint protection and other techniques to help restore even frail and high risk patients to optimum levels of functional independence.

When the road to recovery calls for intravenous therapy, our experienced staff can ensure it’s done correctly and with compassion. From maintaining the right fluid balance, to monitoring drug effectiveness, to treating infection and relieving pain, our highly trained IV therapists and dedicated nurses work closely with our patient’s personal physicians to maximize comfort and speed recovery.

Prior to a resident’s discharge from our facility, our rehabilitative professionals make sure they’re ready for the challenges involved with returning home or to an alternate level of care. In addition to outlining personalized exercise plans and guidelines for safely performing daily routines, our therapists will make sure each patient can manage stairs and other obstacles related to returning home. Our social workers may arrange for wheelchair assistance or other assistive devices, and our nutritionists may go over dietary issues that could impact a full recovery. If applicable, our nurses will provide information on wound care and medication management. All this will ensure that once they leave our facility, residents will be adequately prepared to resume optimal functionality and independence.

For those recovering from heart disease and/or cardiac-related surgery, our cardiac rehabilitation program can help them achieve optimum recovery and health. Goals include limiting the physical effects of cardiac illness and improving overall cardiovascular fitness.

Our individualized programs are designed, supervised and executed by a team of specialists that may include:

• Physicians
• Nurses
• Therapists
• Nutritional consultants
• Mental health professionals

Furthermore, we educate all staff members to be vigilant regarding changes in our cardiac patients’ condition, which has proven to be an effective step in reducing re-hospitalizations.