JGS Lifecare Receives $1M Bequest for Phase II of Project

LONGMEADOW — Longmeadow resident Paul Cohen, was so impressed with the new Sosin Center for Rehabilitation at JGS Lifecare, a leading health care system serving seniors and their families, he provided an irrevocable $1 million bequest to initiate Phase II of the Project Transformation Campaign.

JGS Lifecare opened the Sosin Center, the first Greenhouse^® certified facility in Western Mass., in December, redefining the way short-term rehabilitation is provided to elders using the “small houses” approach to care.

Cohen, co-founder and chief financial officer for Planned Furniture Promotion, said that when he first visited the Sosin Center, he expected a nice-looking medical facility with the traditional hallways, nurses’ stations and rehabilitation gym. Instead, he said he stopped in his tracks, took a full view of his surroundings and exclaimed, “Wow! This is like a five-star resort hotel! I could see myself enjoying rehab here!”

The Sosin Center provides physical, occupational and speech therapy in a warm, personal setting that’s designed to feel like home, and a team focused on helping each resident direct his or her own care. Residents enjoy private rooms and bathrooms and large communal kitchens and living spaces.

Cohen recognized that this model could also benefit long-term care residents at the Leavitt Family Jewish Home. “After seeing Sosin, I couldn’t believe how beautiful the facility was. It was like night and day compared to other nursing and rehabilitation facilities I know. The level of personalized care was also impressive. I quickly perceived that providing care in small houses was better for our elders. I knew that JGS Lifecare deserved my support.”

Cohen’s pledge will help JGS Lifecare renovate and modernize two 40-bed wings of the Leavitt Family Jewish Home into six “small houses,” and expand Wernick Adult Day Health Care to include a specialized Alzheimer’s program. In recognition of Cohen’s extreme generosity, JGS Lifecare dedicated one of the two houses within the Sosin Center as The Paul Cohen House.

Susan Kimball Halpern, vice president of Philanthropy, JGS Lifecare, said, “we are enormously grateful to Paul Cohen for embracing the vision of transforming eldercare and helping us create a compassionate culture of caring.”

She continued, “Planning is now underway for the A-1 and A-2 renovation projects. While much remains to be done to raise another $1.6 million to achieve our $11 million goal, we are confident that people who experience the Sosin Center firsthand will not only understand the impact it’s having on quality of care, but will also want to be part of the next phase of renovations.”