Tasteful & Timeless

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Drasnin-Reuben Photography

R ETIR EMENT LI V ING

Beautiful, maintenance-free apartment homes
are available now at Fox Run.

The Brighton Large one bedroom

JHCN CEO Rabbi Bunny Freedman shares a laugh with Stanford University profes-
sor Robert Sapolsky and JHCN Senior Director Rabbi Joseph H. Krakoff at JHCN’s
2016 Shenkman-Weisberg Caring Coalition Conference.

Living Area
12’3” x 17’9”

can teach by example the art of caring
for each patient on their own unique reli-
gious, ethnic or cultural terms.”

Linen

Bedroom
12’4” x 13’0”

Walk-In
Closet

DW

Bath

Kitchen
8’7” x 8’1”

W/D

The McKinley Extra large two bedroom

New
design

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Bedroom
11’11” x 20’11”

LifeLinks Helps
Bridge The Gap

Living/Dining Area
14’0” x 22’8”

Bedroom
11’5” x 13’6”

Walk-In
Closet

Walk-In
Closet

Closet

Linen

DW

Closet

Bath

Bath

Kitchen
7’4” x 5’10”

Pantry

Laundry
W
D

Call 1-800-917-8169 for your free brochure
or to schedule a personal tour.

11330693

Novi | 1-800-917-8169 | EricksonLiving.com

12 May 12 • 2016

A PERFECT FIT
When Joey Krakoff was in rabbinical
school, he did a rotation at Memorial
Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New
York City.
“I thought I was ready,” he said. “The
very first person I saw had just gotten
a prognosis of a week to live. I was not
ready, but I got drawn in, and we talked
for three hours.
“When there is nothing more to do for
the body, the real work begins in healing
the soul,” he said simply.
“I was always drawn to this; I’ve always
had an affinity for helping those who

are ill,” Krakoff said. “It’s an honor and a
privilege to be let in, to be trusted. You
never know what you’ll find.”
What Krakoff found is a perfect fit.
After leaving Congregation Shaarey
Zedek in Southfield in July 2014 after
16 years, he heard from Freedman that
August asking him about doing work
for the Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy
Network.
“I didn’t walk in with any more than the
thought of exploring this,” Krakoff said. “I
threw out some questions, and we decided
to see how we could work together. The
relationship evolved and grew organically.
“I was deeply impressed by the team of
rabbis — all streams of Judaism, men and
women — who got along and respected
one another, and who are passionate

2061700

Individuals given a terminal diagno-
sis are often initially confused and
understandably afraid; they and their
families often have nowhere to turn.
Rabbis Joseph Krakoff and E.B. “Bunny”
Freedman of the Jewish Hospice &
Chaplaincy Network (JHCN) in West
Bloomfield created LifeLinks to deliver
resources directly to their doors.
Many homebound Jewish patients
diagnosed with terminal illness have
pain and symptom management needs
but choose not to enter hospice for vari-
ous reasons, including fear and uncer-
tainty.
Others would choose hospice care but
are deemed ineligible by new, stricter
government regulations that create bar-
riers to entry.
Over the last three years, more than
400 of these patients have come to
JHCN not yet ready for hospice but
needing advice, guidance, solace and
comfort. JHCN offers them supportive
care, including navigation/advocacy,
spiritual care/access to a team of rab-

bis, social work and volunteer services
as well as Jewish community and heath
care resources.
While working with supportive care
patients, JHCN discovered many could
not access adequate symptom and pain
management — a gap existed in care
delivery for these homebound patients.
When a patient is referred to LifeLinks
by a medical practitioner, a nurse prac-
tioner who specializes in palliative care
can visit, make an initial assessment and
then establish contact with the referring
doctor and make suggestions for treat-
ment and/or prescriptions as needed for
the patient’s care and comfort.
Eligibilty for LifeLinks includes indi-
viduals who have a terminal illness and/
or progressive decline that may include
chronic illness, uncontrolled pain or
symptoms, and being frail and elderly.
Since June 1, 2015, about 180 patients
have been aided by LifeLinks. There is no
charge for services.
For more information, contact the
Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy Network at
(248) 592-2687 or go to www.
jewishhospice.org.

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