DECEMBER 23 • 2021 | 15

and their families contribute to Jewish 
Hospice and the remainder of its bud-
get — just over $2 million annually — is 
covered by other donors and founda-
tions, including the Jewish Fund.
Jewish Fund Executive Director Margo 
Pernick says the Jewish Fund has pro-
vided more than $1.5 million in grants 
over the years to Jewish Hospice and 
Chaplaincy, mainly for programs and 
capacity building. A recent grant will be 
used for training rabbis. 
Pernick says that Jewish Hospice 
“aligned super well with the Jewish 
Fund’s goal of focusing on the health 
and welfare he Jewish community. The 

organization is healthy and 
well-run. They don’t charge 
for services, which is not 
typical, but they’ve been suc-
cessful.” 
Krakoff is especially proud 
that the Jewish Fund has 
twice honored JHCN with 
its Robert Sosnick Award 
of Excellence, most recently 
with its 2021 Award for its 
LifeLinks and enrichment 
programs. Jewish Hospice is the only 
Jewish agency to receive this award 
twice. 
Pernick concurs with Krakoff’s 
description of Jewish Hospice services — 
that it’s about achieving the highest qual-
ity of life regardless of the stage a patient 
is experiencing — not about dying.

UPCOMING TRANSITION
Now Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy is 
going through a transition and expan-
sion. This January, Freedman will retire 
from his CEO position and serve as CEO 
emeritus and senior advisor. Three other 
JHCN rabbis — David Nelson, Avie 
Shapiro and A. Irving Schipper — are 
retiring as well.
Krakoff will become CEO of JHCN 
and three new rabbis — Shalom 
Freedman, Davey Rosen and Rachel 

Shere, representing a range of 
Jewish movements, will join 
its staff. Freedman will help 
train the new rabbis and focus 
on building an endowment 
for JHCN. In addition, he will 
seek ways to spread the JHCN 
model to other Jewish commu-
nities.
Shalom Freedman will focus 
on operations, marketing and 
development. Rosen will con-
centrate on education and outreach with 
community members — expanding part-
nerships with synagogues, and temples, 
clergy and Jewish communal organiza-
tions, and others.
Shere will be starting a bereavement 
program, conducting several different 
types of bereavement groups for 
JHCN. She will also lead study sessions 
focused on Jewish belief and practice 
surrounding death and escorting the 
soul. 
Krakoff believes these changes — 
dubbed the JHCN 2.0 Model — will 
help ensure the organization’s successful 
future for the next 20 years and beyond. 
Techner, JHCN’s founding 
president, who continues as a board 
member, describes Jewish Hospice 
as a “wonderful organization with an 
amazing team.” 

Rabbi Joseph H. 
Krakoff

When an individual learns 
of a severe or terminal ill-
ness, the patient and family 
members may be over-
whelmed with anxiety and 
sadness about the future, 
as well as the potential 
need to arrange special-
ized care, medical equip-
ment and other supportive 
services. 
 Ellen Kirshenbaum of 
Farmington Hills and her 
parents connected with 

Jewish Hospice when her 
parents, both in their 90s, 
had terminal diagnoses. 
She needed advice and 
help. “They came right out 
— they were so responsive, 
so helpful at the end of 
life. They offered a better 
quality of life and more 
time,” she says. Initially 
her parents were part of 
Hospice’s palliative care 
program. They received 
help at home, including 

music therapy, which they 
both enjoyed. Pastoral 
care was provided weekly 
or every other week. “We 
were very grateful for their 
great response.”
Mitchell Bleznak of 
Birmingham contacted 
Jewish Hospice to help him 
with his late father, Richard, 
who lived in Arizona and 
had “significant dementia 
issues.” The distance made 
it difficult to manage his 

care. Bleznak says Jewish 
Hospice staff provided 
“emotional support to 
make good decisions and 
provide dignified care” for 
his father. “Family mem-
bers want to think they’re 
doing what their parents 
would want. The beauty is 
that (Jewish Hospice) they 
are able to help the fam-
ily satisfy their needs by 
providing resources in the 
community.” 

Family Members are Grateful for 
Jewish Hospice Services at a Difficult Time

Carole Lasser enjoyed JHCN’s music 
enrichment program. Here she is in the 2016-
2017 JHCN Annual Campaign brochure.

DECEMBER 23 • 2021 | 15

MONNI MUST

