JANUARY 13 • 2022 | 13

T

he Dorothy and 
Peter Brown Jewish 
Community Adult Day 
Program reopened its Southfield 
location Jan. 5 after a nearly 
two-year hiatus due to the 
COVID-19 pandemic. 
While staff had pivoted to 
virtual programming to keep 
vulnerable seniors engaged 
and as active as pos-
sible, the Southfield 
center remained 
closed until a critical 
number of both vac-
cinated participants 
and available staff was 
reached. 
The Brown Program’s West 
Bloomfield location was able 
to reopen slowly beginning in 
June 2021, with some previous 
Southfield attendees able to get 
transportation to the location. 
Through in person and virtu-
al offerings, the Brown Program 
provided services to 67 people 
living with dementia; and 103 
care partners received in-per-
son, virtual and/or telephonic 
supports from October through 
December 2021. The Brown 
Program is a joint initiative 
of Jewish Senior Life and JVS 
Human Services, which has 
been offering innovative and 
stimulating programs for more 
than 20 years for those living 
with dementia, as well as pro-
viding support to their families.
“We have families and partic-
ipants who have been waiting 
very eagerly to return in-person 
to Southfield, and we are so 
excited to welcome them back,
” 
said Debi Banooni, program 
director. “We have kept in con-

tact and have offered outreach 
to our families, but there is a 
big difference between virtual 
programming being offered for 
an hour compared to a full day 
of programming being offered 
in person. Now family members 
can get on with their schedule 
knowing their loved one is 
having a meaningful and 
engaging experience.
”
The Southfield 
location will be 
initially offering 
services from 11 
a.m. to 4 p.m. week-
days, ramping up to 
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Strict 
COVID precautions are in 
place. The program is only open 
to fully vaccinated people from 
fully vaccinated households; 
participants must wear a mask; 
participants require a negative 
PCR test on the first day of 
attendance; social distancing is 
practiced (limiting the number 
of people who can be served); 
and all participants have a 
health screen at the start of the 
day. Family members are not 
permitted inside the program.
“The risk of negative impacts 
of isolation for a person living 
with dementia is significant, so 
our reopening will offer a better 
quality of life for our vulnerable 
seniors,
” Banooni said.
Activities include music, quiz-
zes, art projects and discussions, 
and participants are provided 
with lunch. For more informa-
tion on the Brown Program, 
call (248) 233-4000 (Southfield) 
or (248) 661-6390 (West 
Bloomfield) or email info@
brownadultday.org. 

Metro Detroit seniors living with 
dementia welcomed back.

Brown Adult Day 
Program Reopens

ALISON SCHWARTZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

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In this theatrical concert performance, professional 
Broadway singers Chuck Cooper (Tevye) and Loretta 
Ables Sayre (Golda) star alongside phenomenally talented 
U-M Musical Theatre students to create a special event 
that features the first live performance of John Williams’s 
orchestral arrangement of the movie score. 

Supported by: Menakka and Essel Bailey, The Lester Family, 
Don and Judy Rumelhart (
(exclusive supporters of music director 

Andy Einhorn), and Elaine and Peter Schweitzer 

For tickets call 734.764.2538 or visit ums.org

Fiddler on 
the Roof 
in Concert

Sat Feb 19 // 8 pm 
Sun Feb 20 // 4 pm 
Hill Auditorium

