JUNE 29 • 2023 | 31
for a Jewish communal profes-
sional.
I sat down with Proghovnick
Edelstein to learn how she dis-
covered — and maintains — her
zeal for helping older adults, as
well as how we can all better our
chances of aging in comfort and
dignity.
“It’s very possible that you will
need some type of support in
your life, and prior to that, you’re
most likely going to be some
type of caregiver. We want peo-
ple to know, ‘You can do it.’”
Here she is in her own words:
‘AN AFFINITY FOR THE
OLDER ADULT POPULATION’
My grandmother was quite young
when she became ill, so I grew up
going to the Farmington nursing
home every weekend and dancing
for the residents. That was normal
to me. I just had an affinity for the
older adult population.
When I look back, my grand-
mother wasn’t even what we con-
sider an older adult today — she
passed away when she was only
72. (And I always say she didn’t
have gray hair!) So, it’s a different
profile today of what an older
adult is to many people. But when
you’re not well, you’re not well at
any age.
‘THIS COULD BE A
REALLY GOOD THING’
I was working in a nursing home
in Detroit. I ran into Barbra
Giles at a Young Adult Division
event [a forerunner of NEXTGen
Detroit]. I happened to have a
Jewish resident at an assisted liv-
ing facility in Detroit — her name
was Esther — and she wanted to
be with other Jewish people. So,
I said, “Barbra, do you have any
openings?” And she thought I
meant for a job! She said, “I’m
actually hiring.
” And I thought,
‘This could be really a good thing.
’
‘IT’S HARD TO MOVE
HOMES AT ANY AGE’
I started off at the Fleischman res-
idence. I helped when a resident
was coming to move in with us
— I went with our nurse and did
the assessment. We determined
how we would care for them, and
I helped them and their family
through the whole process of
moving in.
It’s hard to move at any age.
It’s a lot when you’re not feeling
well, or maybe there are some
cognitive impairments. There are
also family relationship dynamics
— we now see that role reversal
of the adult child becoming the
caregiver. There’s just a lot to it.
The Jewish community rec-
ognized that a social worker was
really relevant for that position.
If you look at other senior com-
munities in Michigan, you won’t
see many social workers. I think
that speaks a lot about how we
take care of people and take you
seriously.
‘I ALWAYS THINK OF
MYSELF ON THE OTHER
END OF THE PHONE’
Jewish Home and Aging Services
merged in 2009 with Jewish
Apartments and Services. We had
what we called One Number — a
community-wide number for
older adult services — in partner-
ship with Jewish Family Service,
the JCC and Gesher Human
Services. The phone rang at my
desk, and I would help get it to
the right agency, the right person.
[One Number was a predecessor
to Jhelp].
I always think of myself on the
other end of that phone … when
you’re vulnerable or just some-
thing’s not right. The person who
answers the phone — how they
react, how they treat you, how
their voice sounds — that’s going
to help you de-escalate and get
continued on page 32
“There is a lot of
competition in the senior
housing world, much
more than when I started.
We’ve been around
since 1907, and we feel
that we provide the best
services.”
— Tracey Proghovnick
Edelstein
People are living
longer and are living
healthier longer.
They sometimes
wait to make
decisions like this
until they feel it’s
right for them.”
— Tracey
Proghovnick
Edelstein