What nerve! What spirit! What chutzpah!

Nursing Homes, August, 2004 by Sandra Hoban

Imagine traveling 6,000 miles to view the history of one's heritage, faith, and homeland for the first or possibly the last time. Imagine also that you're 70, 80, or 90 years old, might need help with every-day tasks, and rely on a walker or wheelchair to get around. With such limitations, most people would balk at visiting the Holy Land, especially in these unsettling times, but ten elderly nursing home residents had the heart, desire, and courage to seize the opportunity because they carried within themselves a secret ingredient for success--chutzpah, the Yiddish word for nerve or supreme self-confidence.

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Inspired by a Rosh Hashanah service last year, Daniel Reingold, executive vice-president of The Hebrew Home for the Aged at Riverdale (New York), hit on a novel idea: He thought it would be wonderful to take a group of residents to Israel as a show of solidarity and an inspiration to others. "Our facility already shows its support for Israel by purchasing Israeli goods. We also set up an online flower shop where we buy flowers from Israel that families can give to residents. I immediately began thinking of all the reasons why this trip would be impossible," recalls Reingold. Dismissing all the negatives involved, Reingold started to plan his sales pitch.

Making the Impossible Possible

Key staff members thought Reingold had lost his mind when he presented his idea to them, and yet they were intrigued. The Hebrew Home's board of directors didn't flinch when he approached them with the idea. In fact, they were unanimously supportive and immediately offered seed money to get the project going. As word of this venture spread, donations were received from residents' families and other well-wishers outside the Hebrew Home community (The trip cost approximately $36,000, which was covered by donations). With the thumbs-up from staff and administration, and funding in place, the first-ever nursing home Chutzpah Mission was no longer a possibility; it was going to happen in March 2004.

"The first planning meeting was loaded with questions," Reingold remembers. Who can go? What if someone gets sick? Staff addressed every situation that might arise. Lists and logs were kept by everyone so a template for future excursions could be designed.

"All for One ..."

To assess residents who expressed interest in the trip, Charlotte Dell, director of Social Services, met with care teams. "The residents had to be cognitively intact, able to dress themselves with assistance, and mobile, either independently or with walker or wheelchair assistance," says Dell. The idea still took some getting used to, though; resident Julie Miller, 86, was invited on the trip and remarks, "When a social worker came to get my passport, it was the first time I thought she might be serious."

After the ten suitable candidates for the trip were chosen, the purpose and parameters of the Chutzpah Mission and the proactive steps needed to ensure residents' health and safety were explained to each family. "An individualized checklist was prepared for each resident, which included resident disclaimers, diagnoses, advance directives, medication regimens, pertinent lab work, EKGs, and emergency notification information," says Dell, adding, "Each person's meds were blister-packed and carried in separate carryon luggage for easy access."

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To escort the residents, staff who brought different skill sets to the mission were selected. Among those chosen were a staff physician, two nurses, one CNA, one orderly, a development staff member fluent in Hebrew, and two social workers.

With the list of Chutzpah missionaries in hand, Debbie Drelich, director of RiverWalk (one of Hebrew Homes' senior apartment communities), made the travel and tour plans. "We worked with a travel agency to put the tour together," explains Drelich, noting that "accommodations and dining requirements were arranged with the King Solomon Hotel in Israel." She also retained a guide to escort them to selected sites. Additional wheelchairs were secured through Yad Sarah (an Israeli organization that lends durable medical equipment) for those who might need them on the more strenuous ventures scheduled.

"Everything the residents did to get ready became an activity," comments Reingold. Securing passports, shopping, and packing were just a few of the events tied to this nine-day sojourn. And finally--planned, publicized, and prepared for--the journey's day of departure arrived.

Sharing the Mission

"On the day we left," says Drelich, "the entire facility held a farewell breakfast to send us off on our adventure." Although most of the facility's residents remained in Riverdale, they shared in a virtual pilgrimage via the daily e-mails and photos describing each day's events and impressions. Families remained in constant contact with their loved ones through the Social Services department.

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And, while the group may have been small in number, it carried the hearts and wishes of many. Prior to their departure, a replica of the Western (Wailing) Wall was erected in the Hebrew Home and, as is the custom, everyone was invited to place written wishes and messages within its cracks. Later, these papers were removed from the replica and carried to Jerusalem, where residents and staff placed them in the true Wailing Wall. As an emotional Sadie Hankin, 91, placed her message in the Western Wall, she remarked, "You think of the ones who have gone and you say a prayer for them."