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