Local News
Simkin Centre staff have been doing a fabulous job dealing with the demands placed on them by COVID-19
By BERNIE BELLAN
The role that Personal Care Homes have been playing in the COVID-19 pandemic is a crucial one.
We’ve all heard about the horror stories associated with seniors’ homes in other jurisdictions – especially Quebec, so it’s natural for anyone in Manitoba who has a loved one in a PCH to be especially concerned about the heightened risks associated with those facilities.
Whether it’s good luck or good management – or a combination of the two, we seem to have been spared any serious outbreaks in PCH’s in Manitoba – and none at all in the Simkin Centre.
In our April 15 issue, I reported on some steps that Laurie Cerqueti, CEO of the Simkin Centre, had said were being taken at the Centre in response to what has already begun to emerge as a pandemic here in Manitoba, along with the rest of the country. That article noted that:
“The front entrance is now the only entryway for staff into the building so that we can ensure full screening of everyone entering the building.
“20 extra bedside tables have been ordered to assist with social distancing during resident meal times.
“All vendor supplies are now dropped off only at the receiving entrance and are not being brought into the building as was normally done prior to this.
“A system has been developed for Resident supplies being brought by family. They are now left on a table in the vestibule and items are being wiped down with an antiviral wipe prior to being distributed to the care areas.
“Dr. Koven, our Medical Director, is now the only MD that will be onsite to assess Residents. He does not attend other sites at this time so is less likely to bring COVID-19 into our building. Other MDs will respond to phone calls from nursing and do virtual visits as able.
“Over 95% of all staff have now been trained in feeding and swallowing so that we can all help to ensure that are Residents are being fed. Currently, about 52% of our Residents require assistance with meals. Helping Residents with meals has brought joy and new purpose to staff that would not have previously been involved in Resident care.
“We have prepared for the eventuality that many staff and managers may be living at the Centre. We have ordered extra mattresses for staff to sleep on, purchased toiletries for staff, and purchased portable cell phone chargers.”
On Thursday, May 6, I spoke with Laurie and with Aviva Tabac, Fundraising and Administrative Officer at the Simkin Centre, to find out how things have gone for the 200 residents and 250 staff at the Simkin Centre since that April 15 report.
Laurie Cerqueti began the conversation by saying: “We’re actually doing quite well in many ways and staff have gone above and beyond to do things, to make sure the residents are cared for and fed. We’ve seen a lot of good come out of this.”
I said to Laurie that a recent story in the news about how resident Shirley Kleiman receives visits every day from her husband, Sam, who comes to a window to say hi – and tell her how much he loves her, must have resonated with anyone who saw that story. I wondered how many residents are actually able to be brought to windows to see loved ones?
“Not all residents would go and do the window visits with family,” Laurie answered, “but all of the rooms have windows and all of the windows open so they can get fresh air, but we do the window visits in the atrium area. There are also families that will go to a particular resident’s room and connect there (using cell phones). Anyone on the main floor would have the opportunity to do that.”
I wondered whether the issue of putting cameras into residents’ rooms had come up (stemming from the shocking lack of supervision in certain Quebec nursing homes).
Laurie said: “You mean the ‘nanny cams’? No, we haven’t had that requested, and I think families know we’re doing the best we can – with the Facetiming, Skype or Zoom. Aviva does a Zoom call with a resident here and there have been up to 12 family members participating in that Zoom session.”
Laurie went on to explain that an iPad is brought into residents’ rooms – one at a time, for those interactive sessions, which are all prearranged. “We’ve actually just launched an online booking system for those types of visits,” she explained (including window visits) at www.simkincentre.ca.
I referred to our April 15 article, which referred to staff preparing to sleep over at the centre, if necessary. Although that hasn’t proved necessary, according to what Laurie told me, I wondered about the state of morale among staff in general, considering the extreme stress under which they must be working.
“Actually, I think we have a very high morale now,” Laurie said. “Everybody’s working together – probably better than they ever have been, including a lot of us that wouldn’t typically help with assisting residents with meals. We’re all chipping in to make things work.
“That doesn’t mean that staff aren’t scared,” Laurie added, however. “I think everyone’s a little bit scared, including me and you, Bernie”.
“Yah,” I said, “but I think the level of apprehension must be lower than when the virus first emerged in Manitoba because we seem to have escaped the brunt of it here.”
Have there been any Personal Care Homes in Manitoba that have seen the virus show up, I wondered?
“Yes, there have been,” Laurie responded, “but all sites went into a lockdown some time ago.” She noted that “all staff are required to wear face masks and goggles; staff are screened every time they come to work; we take their temperature; we ask them a series of questions. It would probably be safer here than when you go to the grocery store.
“The other thing we do,” Laurie continued, “is every week we try and show our appreciation for staff so some board members and family members have donated funds, treats or products to help make this happen.”
I wondered about programming for residents – and to what extent there are still programs available?
“All of the programs in the atrium and the multi-purpose room have been canceled,” Laurie answered. “Recreation programming happens on the individual units now or out in the courtyard, where we’re able to physically distance residents one from another. And, any new admissions we would have isolate in their room up to 14 days. Otherwise residents are out and about in their individual units. There are a few residents that are able to make it to the atrium on their own, but there aren’t large groups of them together.”
“What about meals?” I wondered. “Are meals being taken in the residents’ rooms or are they still able to go to the common areas in the units?”
“They are able to go to the common area,” Laurie explained, “but we spread it out so we have ordered extra bedside tables so it’s not as tight as it would normally be where we’d have three to four residents at a table.”
I asked Aviva what else the Simkin Centre has been doing for residents as far as being able to make the time pass under these stressful circumstances?
“The recreation department has stepped up in a huge way,” she began. “They’re running smaller programs on the units now. They have programs that run in the morning and the afternoon. Now, we also have evening and weekend staff that are doing recreation.
“And, even though Steven Hyman (who regularly conducts Shabbat and holiday services at the centre for residents and families) is not able to be here in person, he has been recording videos of services that we show to residents.”
Laurie noted, as well, that “we are having services on the units every Saturday.”
Aviva continued: “The residents are pretty busy. They’re doing art programs, they’re doing bingo, exercise programs…we’ve had musical entertainment.”
“We’ve actually had musicians come to our courtyard,” Laurie noted, “where they play and we open the windows so that the residents can hear the music and see the musicians.”
“What about the financial situation for the Simkin Centre?” I wondered. “How different is it as a result of the pandemic?”
“There are a number of large costs for equipment and supplies – right when it started happening,” Laurie answered, “and there are ongoing costs.”
“And you mean Simkin will have to assume responsibility for those costs – and not the province?” I asked.
“I’m not confident that the province will fund partially or fully any of this,” Laurie said.
“Really – wow!” I said. “You mean it’s all going to fall on to the Personal Care Homes themselves to fund?”
“It could,” Laurie said. “I’m not confident” (that the province will provide the funding).
She added that, in addition to the extra costs imposed on PCH’s for equipment and supplies, “there are all these new rules – if you’ve traveled, you can’t come to work for 14 days; if you have any symptoms you have to go get swabbed, and then you have to have the A-OK, you can come back to work; or people that have pre-existing conditions aren’t able to work. So there are increased staffing costs that we are incurring.”
“Have you had a lot of staff who have been affected by all these new rules?” I asked.
“There would have been, especially in March, which was peak travel season” for a lot of people, “including our staff,” Laurie said.
“We are staying close to the community and I think people are appreciative of the work we’ve been doing here,” Laurie said in conclusion.
Local News
Community leader Sheldon Zamick role model of perseverance despite life’s vicissitudes
By MYRON LOVE For Sheldon Zamick, life is a marathon, not a sprint – and there is always more to learn. In a life marked by struggles, he has overcome adversity and written a story of success both in business and community leadership.
Over the years, he has given of his time and experience to a great variety of charitable organization – including the Jewish Federation, the CJA, the JNF, Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the Canadian Magen David Adom, the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue (he is currently the Board’s finance chair), the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Mount Carmel Clinic, the Variety Club, Muscular Dystrophy, Habitat for Humanity, Siloam Mission, and the Canadian Institute for the Blind. The most recent charitable organization that has benefited from his leadership has been the Lake Winnipeg Research Consortium.
He took on his most recent challenge as executive director of the Lake Winnipeg Research Consortium last year after stepping away from a 40-year career in real estate sales. “This is a really big responsibility,” he says of taking the helm of the LWRC.
As noted on the LWRC webpage, the organization was founded in 1998 “to facilitate scientific research on Lake Winnipeg following evidence of water quality deterioration related to the 1997 Red River ‘Flood of the Century’. The LWRC was incorporated in Manitoba in 2001 and received charitable status in 2008”.
“Our organization does vital research in regard to Lake Winnipeg,” Zamick points out. “Our 328-ton, 110-foot-long ship, the MV Namao – which celebrated its 50th birthday this past August (during which over 1200 supporters toured the boat) in Gimli – is out regularly in the spring, summer and fall on Lake Winnipeg taking water samples. We provide the research platform for scientists to conduct research with regard to climate change and the state of the lake and fish population. We offer science education year round, group tours and summer camp programs for kids.”
He adds that the consortium works closely with many stakeholders, including the Universities of Manitoba and Winnipeg, and receives funding from the Winnipeg Foundation, the Canada Water Agency, Manitoba Hydro, the Manitoba Government, the City of Winnipeg, the town of Gimli, other municipalities and many individual donors.
“It has been great getting the opportunity to meet with various government officials, research partners and donors,” he says.
Sheldon Zamick is a role model demonstrating that an individual growing up in humble surroundings and having to deal with adverse circumstances can succeed in life. He recalls how he had to go to work early in life – at the age of 12 – to help support his family. “We moved around a lot when I was growing up in the North End because my parents could never afford to buy their own home,” he recounts. “That is what drew me to a career in real estate.”
His first job, he says, was peeling potatoes in the basement at Kelekis (a long gone North End Winnipeg restaurant which those of us of a certain age still fondly remember). “I had to learn at an early age to be self-sufficient,” he notes.
In his university days, he worked part time as a corrrections officer – taking as many shifts he could get – at the Winnipeg Remand Centre.
He also demonstrated his leadership capacity at an early age. At 17, he served as president of the USY chapter at the former Rosh Pina Synagogue (even though his parents couldn’t afford to be members of the shul).
After graduating from the University of Manitoba with degrees in Economics and Psychology, he founded TV Facts Magazine, a free weekly TV and shopping guide which some readers may remember. “TV Facts was part of an international chain of publications,” he recounts. “I had to travel to New York to learn how to run a magazine. At our peak, we were putting out 50,000 copies a week – which were available in over 500 locations.”
It was in 1985 that Zamick pursued his interest in becoming a realtor – a profession in which he excelled. Over 40 years as a realtor, he received numerous sales awards, also recognition for his leadership role in his profession and his numerous contributions to the wider community. In the former field, he served for five years as a member of the Winnipeg Real Estate Board, including a term as treasurer and chairing the Government Relations committee.
In 2013-14, he was elected as a director of the 120,000-member Canadian Real Estate Association.
Zamick was recruited into volunteering in the Jewish community, he notes, in the mid-1980s by Laurie Goldberg and the late Larry Rosenberg, who were co-chairs of the Federation’s Young Adult Division. Sheldon subsequently served as co-chair –with Sid Halpern – of the 1987-88 Combined Jewish Appeal’s New Gifts Division.
“We were responsible for contacting members of the community who hadn’t given for a long time,” he explains. “We were really successful in persuading many of them to contribute to the campaign and (by extension) the community.”
That year, he and current outgoing Federation president Paula Parks were nominated to receive our community’s Young Leadership award. Zamick was presented with the Harry Silverberg Young Leader of Distinction Award by Nora Kaufman, the late Harry Silverberg’s daughter.
He later served as the CJA’s campaign director from 1989 to 1992. “During the 1989-90 campaign – that included Operation Exodus (aimed to help Jews leave the dying Soviet Union) – we raised an extra $2 million- bringing in a total of $6-million that year.”
In 1992, Zamick was afflicted with a condition that might have derailed a lesser individual. He was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a condition that left him legally blind. The ever resilient Zamick however took the diagnosis in stride. In 2022, he told an online publication called “Slideshare” that, after the diagnosis, he chose to be thankful for what he had rather than focus on what he had lost.
He added that while legally blind, he still has some sight in certain lighting. “It is a unique way to live,” he told Slideshare, “but you have to adapt to it and I haven’t let it stop me.”
He has been helped immensely by his longtime, supportive wife, Florence.
Typically, following his diagnosis, he threw himself into volunteering with the Canadian National Institute of the Blind. He served on the board of the CNIB for 16 years and was a leader in raising the funds one year – when the CNIB was facing government cutbacks.
Zamick is planning to retire from his current position at the end of this month. He says that he and Florence are looking forward to spending more time with family and friends, travelling –a pasttime they both enjoy, and getting together with their children – Natalie in Toronto and Steven and his wife Ally, along with granddaughters Isabella and Mikayla in Montreal.
He is however, still open to new possibilities. “You never know who might call next,” he observes.
Local News
Local author Avra Love (yes, my daughter) scores three book deal with new Jersey-based Scribal Scion Publishing
By MYRON LOVE Avra Love’s first children’s book has just been released. “Don’t Wake Mommy! A Story About Honouring Parents” is part of a three-book deal that Avra signed with James Gershfield, the president of New Jersey-based Scribal Scion Publishing. The book focuses on Aaron, a Jewish little boy who loves his parents dearly and is always trying to please them.
In “Don’t Wake Mommy!”, Aaron is trying to be considerate of his mommy, who is trying to get some sleep. So, when he discovers water leaking in the basement, he tries to deal with the problem himself – without having to wake his mother – with predictable results.
“Don’t Wake Mommy!” is Avra’s second published book. She published her first, a book of short stories called “Into the Junk Drawer and Other Stories” on Amazon in the spring of 2022. The book sold well – around 250 copies and received very positive comments from many of its readers.
“I have been writing for as long as i can remember,” she comments. “Over the years, I have dabbled in prose and poetry, short stories and longer pieces.”
She began writing the stories that make up “Into the Junk Drawer” shortly after giving birth to her son, Ares, in late 2021. The book consists of a collection of 35 stories – each two to three pages long and each with a moral or a twist at the end.
She became aware of James Gershfield in the summer of 2024 after I wrote a couple of stories about him in the Jewish Post about biographies he had written about his parents, former Winnipeggers Rabbi Edward and Toby Gershfield. His mother was a granddaughter of the late revered Rabbi Israel Kahanovitch.
James Gershfield published both books through Scribal Scion Publishing, which he founded two years after retiring from a 40-year career as a software developer. Scribal Scion Publishing focuses on Jewish books that inspire and comfort. Genres include memoir, biography, religion, and comfort for mourners, as well as children’s books.
In a comment to Avra, Gershfield wrote that “I think you have a great talent for coming up with fun stories for kids – stories that also teach some valuable lessons”.
Avra reports that she wrote the draft of “Don’t Wake Mommy!” several years ago. “Working with James, I learned a lot about the unique features of writing children’s stories. While the process (of publishing) took longer than I expected, I am very happy with the final result.”
She notes that the second book in the series – “Taking Care of Mommy” – should be out next year and the third ,‘”Aaron’s Buried Treasure” – the year after that. In the meantime, she has another group of short stories almost ready for publication and is working on a Chanukah craft fair murder mystery.
“Don’t Wake Mommy!” is available online at Amazon or you can call 204 334-4961 to get your copy.
Local News
Lifelong friend of Israel and the Jewish people John Plantz is the epitome of humility
By MYRON LOVE In the Torah, the prophet Micah, asks the question: “O man. What does the Lord require of you?” to which the Lord responds: “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
John Plantz tries to live those precepts every day. Though recently retired as the Christian Friends of Israel’s director, the lifelong supporter of Israel and our local Jewish community has been and remains actively involved as a volunteer in several of our institutions, among them Canadian Magen David Adom, Friends of JNF Canada, Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Canadian Friends of Haifa University, Leket Canada, Operation Lifeshield, and the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba. (He and his wife, Irene, were Endowment Book of life singers a few years back.)
I first met John Plantz more than 25 years ago when I joined the board of the old Jewish Public Library; he was the volunteer librarian back then – and he told me his story.
His first encounters with Jews came while he was growing up near the former Jewish farm colony at Camper – about a two hour drive northwest of Winnipeg. “It was one of the Baron Hirsch farm colonies,” he recalled. (Hirsch started several Jewish farm colonies in Western Canada and Argentina in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.) When I was a kid, there were still a lot of Jewish families in the area.”
Post high school Plantz found himself adrift – unsure of what he wanted to do with his life. He worked in construction for a time, tried joining the RCMP (but they weren’t taking on any new recruits at that time) – and contemplated going to university. He also thought about playing professional baseball.
Then he heard about an evangelical bible school – Briercrest College and Seminary – in west central Saskatchewan, and applied for admission. He says that he was initially attracted to the institution because of its sports program. However, he also found himself becoming increasingly interested in the Bible and became a devout Christian. His experience at Briercrest further fostered his passion for Israel.
In 1979, he graduated with a Bachelor of Religious Education and a teaching certificate. In 1983, John married Irene Plett. He recalls that, at the reception, he suddenly leaned over to his new bride and said, “One day, I’m going to Israel.”
From 1978 to1988, he worked as a youth pastor and as a “circuit preacher” in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In 1989 he decided to go back to school, to attend Briercrest Seminary to obtain his Masters of Ministry with studies in archaeology in Israel.
“As I studied the Bible more intently,” he recalls, “one of my professors suggested that if I really wanted to understand the Bible better, I should hear it taught from a Jewish perspective.”
To that end, in 1991, he began attending the Beth Jacob Synagogue in Regina. He went to Shabbat services regularly for a year and became friendly with the rabbi. One day, after Shabbat service, the Rabbi asked him if he was Jewish because he had a Jewish friend with the same last name.
“My plans to visit Israel were already in the works,” he says, “and so I tucked this away as something I should pursue while there.”
In Israel that first time – the first of many visits to Israel – 28 at last count – he took archaeology courses at the Hebrew University and went on some digs. He also looked into his surname and found that it was a Hungarian Jewish name.
When he returned to Canada, he asked his grandfather, Ralph Plantz, whether he was, in fact, Jewish, his grandfather acknowledged that he did have Jewish ancestry. When John asked why his grandfather had never mentioned it before, the response was that no one asked.
“My ‘zaida’ (which is how John now refers to his late grandfather) always encouraged us to treat Jewish people with respect,” John notes.
While still a devoted Christian, he says that he does consider himself Jewish.
After coming back from Israel that first time John began volunteering with Christian Friends of Israel. He also began volunteering at the old Jewish Public Library.
“I loved being at the library,” he reminisces. “I had studied both Hebrew and Yiddish so I could work comfortably with the collection.”
He speaks fondly about some of the regulars who visited the library. “I learned a lot from them,” he says.
He remembers the late Noach Witman in particular. “Noach was one of the kindest men I have ever known,” he says.
(Witman was the founder and long time host of the Jewish radio hour Sunday afternoons – which is still on the air every Sunday from 1:30 to 2:30 on CHJS radio 810 on the am dial.)
During that time, Plantz began to attend north Winnipeg synagogues on Shabbat and volunteer for a number of Winnipeg-based Israel fundraising organizations.
In 2018, he assumed the role of Manitoba Director of Christian Friends of Israel, a position he just retired from at the end of August. He declares however, that he will continue to work on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people as long as he is able.
He is proud to report that his seven children all share his and Irene’s passion for the Children of Israel and all helped out at the Jewish Public Library. “All five of my sons took Yiddish lessons and one of my daughters studied Hebrew,” he says.
Plantz quotes the Prophet Jeremiah as declaring that – to paraphrase – as long as the sun, the moon and the stars are in the sky, “the seed of Israel shall not cease from being a nation before me”.
“And so must be our love for the Jewish People and Israel,” Plantz concludes.