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.
By MYRON LOVE Gray Academy, our community’s only junior kindergarten–12 Jewish day school, holds a unique place among Jewish schools in Western Canada.
The school has a higher per capita enrollment than any other Jewish day school in Western Canada related to the number of potential Jewish students in the community. As well, it is the only Jewish high school in North America – other than yeshivot – that offers an international student experience.
“We generally enrol one or two students a year from international communities,” says Gray Academy Head of School and CEO Lori Binder. “Our International Student program has always been a niche program,” “We want to be able to make sure that the international students are well integrated into our student body.”
For the most part, she reports, the visiting students have come from Brazil and Mexico. “We have agents in Brazil and Mexico,” she notes. “In the past, we have participated in recruitment trips – and we might again one day – depending on available resources. Most of our international students hear about our program through word of mouth.”
This school year, Gray Academy has two international students enrolled. Natalie Rozenberg is from Rio de Janiero This is the Grade 12 student’s second year at the school. She is following in the footsteps of her older sister, Dafne, who graduated from Gray Academy in 2020 and is currently enrolled in third year Data Science at the University of Manitoba.
The newest international student at Gray Academy is Tara Foster, who has come all the way from Australia to sample a different kind of educational experience. “Tara is the first Australian student to participate in our program,” Binder says. “In fact, she reached out to us after finding information about our program online.”
The Grade 10 student was born and raised in Sydney. Her father, she notes, was also originally from Sydney, but her parents met and married in London. They moved to Sydney 18 year ago. Up to now, Tara has been a student at Masada College, a K-12 Jewish school in Sydney, where she will be returning next fall.
I wanted to experience a school somewhere else – preferably in an English-speaking country,” she says. “I searched online and Gray Academy was the only school offering this program.”
While her mother, she notes, had some concerns about her 15-year-old daughter traveling so far from home for school, her father was fine with the idea. He is involved in an accounting software business which brings him frequently to Toronto. Her mother, Tara says, is planning to come to visit in January.
Tara has been here for just over a month. She reports that Winnipeg so far is sort of what she expected. “It is very flat,” she muses. “It is easier to get around here than in Sydney.”
She says that she has already made some friends in her new school and is starting to get involved in extracurricular activites
Natalie began the school year by joining her Grade 12 classmates on their Human Rights and Holocaust Education trip to Washington, DC. She is looking forward to continuing to work out regularly at the Rady JCC.
”I am still working on improving my English,” she says.
She notes that her parents are happy that their two daughters are living in a safe community such as Winnipeg.
As is the standard practice with Gray Academy’s International Student program, both girls are living with host families. “Over the past 15 years or so, our visiting International Student Program has hosted more than 30 students,” Lori Binder reports. “Not only do the visiting students benefit from the experience of going to school here, but our own students get the opportunity to welcome fellow students from different places and learn more about the larger world.”
She adds that the visiting students form long-lasting bonds with their host families, with the guests often becoming part of the host family’s extended family.
Local News
Rabbi Michael Skobac, international leader in Jewish outreach, to speak at Adas Yeshurun Herzlia on October 20
By MYRON LOVE It has been many years since I have had the pleasure of interviewing Rabbi Michael Skobac. I am happy to report that the long time Education Director of Jews for Judaism has been invited back to Winnipeg by the Adas Yeshurun Herzlia Congregation to do a presentation – on Friday, October 20, after Kabbalat Shabbat services – on the subject of the ongoing missionary threat to the Jews.
The subtext for “The Battle for the Jewish Soul,” the title of his lecture, he points out, is an exploration of why so many Jews are susceptible to the siren song of missionaries – not just Christian missionaries, but also Asian religious movements – an issue that also falls under the aegis of Jews for Judaism.
“It is not just a matter of a lack of education or knowledge,” he explained in a wide ranging interview with the JP&N last Friday morning. “Many of those who have left Judaism grew up in Jewish homes, had their bar/bat mitzvahs, went to Hebrew school and visited Israel. What they are missing is a sense of spirituality.
“Too many Jews have grown up in a spiritual vacuum,” he continued. “They have holes in their soul that cry out to be filled and they are not finding it in Judaism. Therefore, they are turning to Bhuddism, Hinduism and the Church.”
To further illustrate his point, he cited a story about a conference on Jewish meditation a year ago in New York City. “There were about 1,000 people registered,” he recounted. “They were asked to raise their hands if they had participated in Eastern mediation practices. Everyone raised their hands. When subsequently asked how many of them had had any experience with Jewish meditation, no hands went up.”
That anecdote speaks to one of the several ways that Jews for Judaism’s mission has evolved and expanded. The organization was founded in 1989 in Toronto by Julius Ciss, himself a former “Jew for Jesus” who had returned to Judaism some years before and had begun doing counter missionary work.
Rabbi Skobac joined Jews for Judaism full time in 1992. A graduate of Yeshiva University, the former New Yorker received his smicha in 1980. After teaching for a short time, he was drawn into outreach work within the Jewish community prior to joining the staff of Jews for Judaism.
Initially, Jews for Judaism’s primary mission was working to bring back to Judaism susceptible Jews who were enticed into joining messianic congregations operating under the guise of following Jewish ritual practices within a context of worshipping Yesha (Jesus).
Skobac notes that Jews for Judaism’s focus has never been criticizing Christian beliefs, but rather on educating lost Jews as to the joys of Judaism. “We operate under the idea that the missionary activity of Jews for Jesus is not the problem,” he explains. “It is a symptom. The problem is that a growing number of Jews are disconnected from Judaism. Our communities are dealing with a lot of assimilation and apathy. The other thing we realized is that it is not just Christ who is calling to Jews. Twenty five percent of North American Bhuddists are Jewish and Jews are similarly overrepresented in other Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Bahai.”
Skobac noted that Jews for Judaism has become a 911 service forJewish communities – responding to many family members concerned about siblings or children who have strayed into other religious faiths.
There have been some interesting phenomena developing in more recent years that Skobac commented on. One is related to the growth of the messianic movements themselves.
“We are not dealing with just one or two messianic congregations in North America now,” he observed. “There are currently more than 500 – and they have become organized. They have camps and day schools and “rabbinical schools” to fill the growing demand for “rabbis”. The result is more of the messianic Jews are actually studying Judaism and some are – as a result- coming back to the Jewish community.”
Another difference that Skobac points out is that you no longer see these missionaries preaching on street corners. As with everything else in our modern world, virtually all the missionary work today is happening online. And the outreach efforts of Jews for Judaism has also moved to some degree online.
“Twelve years ago, we started our own YouTube channel,” he reported. “We have had between 8 and 9 million views. Obviously not all of our viewers re Jewish.”
He pointed out that over the past 40 years, a growing number of non-Jews have become interested in learning about Judaism and begun practising the “Noahide” laws as ordained in the Torah. These laws were required by God of Noah’s descendants and include prohibitions against idolatry, blasphemy, adultery, theft, murder and cruelty to animals.
And some of these Noahides convert to Judaism. Skobac reported, for example, that he was recently in Alberta to help a family living outside of Edmonton that was converting to Judaism.
The bottom line, Skobac noted, is that a growing number of Jews are not finding meaning in Judaism. “People need a sense of the spiritual in their lives to give their lives meaning,” he observed. “If they can’t find it in Judaism, they will look somewhere else. What we try to do is bring out the beauty and spirituality in Judaism.”
Readers who may be interested in attending rabbi Skobac’s presentation (which includes supper) can contact the Adas Yeshurun Herzlia office at 204 489-6262.
By MYRON LOVE For those of us who still remember the 1969 provincial election that vaulted Ed Schreyer and the NDP into office for the first time, one of the aspects of that turning point in our province’s political history that stood out was the large number of Jewish MLAs who were elected to office that year.
That number included four for the NDP (Sid Green, Saul Miller, Saul Cherniack, and Cy Gonick) as well as two for the Progressive Conservatives (Maitland Steinkopf and Sidney Spivak). Spivak later went on to become leader of the recently defeated Progressive Conservatives and Leader of the Opposition.
It has now been more than 30 years since a Jewish MLA has sat in the Legislature. That would be the late Jim Carr, who was first elected as part of the Liberal resurgence in 1988, was returned to the Legislature in 1990 as part of a much reduced Liberal caucus, and resigned in 1992.
While there are three Jewish candidates in the running in the election next week, it is very unlikely that the dearth of Jewish MLAs will be coming to an end any time soon.
For Nathan Zahn, representing the Green Party in River Heights, this will be his third try and second in River Heights. As the Green Party has never won a seat n the province and he is running against the long-serving and popular former Liberal party leader Dr. Jon Gerrard, to describe Zahn’s campaign as an uphill battle is an understatement.
The annual Electronic Music Exhibtion organizer (which is held in June in the Exchange district) and founder and executive director of the non-profit Science First (that promotes science literacy and ecological conservation policies) is a long time Green Party member.
“My goal in running,” Zahn says, “is to raise awareness of several issues.”
Some of those issues, according to the Green Party platform, are fighting climate change, electoral reform, instituting a guaranteed basic income and improving access to healthcare.
In Wolseley, Phil Spevack is the Liberal standard-bearer. The candidate is best –known in our Jewish community as the long time organizer of the Saturday evening Grant and Wilton Coffee House concert which are held in the basement of Temple Shalom (where Spevack also serves as the
shamas. He has also volunteered over the years for Habitat for Humanity and has a program wherein he speaks to church groups, using a combination of music and humour to educate his audiences about Judaism.
The Liberal caucus in the Legislature currently consists of only three MLAs and Spevack is fully aware of the long odds he is facing. “The Liberals needed a candidate to stand for the party in Wolseley,” Spevack says/ “Jon Gerrard asked me to run and I thinki very highly of Jon.”
While the candidate did have a couple of campaign events planned, he points out that working around all the yom tovim has limited the amount of time he actually has to go knocking on doors in the riding.
Running for the Progressive Conservative Party in the north Winnipeg riding of St. John’s is first time candidate Teddy Rubinstein. Although new to politics, the University of Winnipeg student in the Faculty of Education does have a role model in his baba, Sheila Billinghurst, who served two terms as a school trustee in Pembina Trails school Division.
(Teddy’s parents are Steven Rubinstein and Marla Billinghurst. Bernie and Sheila Rubenstein are also his grandparents.)
While Rubenstein had not responded to efforts to contact him by press time, his blurb on the PC election website notes that “he is running because he wants to make a difference in the St. John’s community, be a positive voice for youth, and give back to Manitoba, where Teddy has lived his whole life.
Teddy believes that it’s important that the younger generation, the future of Manitoba, gets involved in decision-making in order to make a difference in, and be a representative of, their communities. He wants to work to help fight for Manitobans, including addressing the issues of crime that we are seeing in Winnipeg, and to make life more affordable for all Manitobans.”
The St. John’s riding has to be considered a lock for Nahanni Fontaine, the current sitting MLA and Deputy Leader of the Party.
Election day is next Tuesday. Please go out and cast your vote.
