MAJOR NATIONAL JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS COME TOGETHER AROUND SENIOR LONG-TERM CARE ISSUES

New York – July 18, 2001 – This morning, a broad spectrum of 23 leading national Jewish organizations announced they have come together to form the Jewish Coalition for Long Term Care.  The Coalition grew out of a national consultation organized by the United Jewish Communities, and will work to improve the provision of health and well-being for elderly Jews and other older Americans.

According to a letter circulated by the coalition to members of the U.S. Congress today, the delivery, availability, and affordability of long-term care is an immediate and pressing concern for the American Jewish community.  The coalition points out that one in five American Jews already is over the age of 65, a rate nearly twice the national average.  A copy of the coalition’s Congressional letter can be accessed at http://www.ujcdc.org/Coaltionlongterm.htm.

The coalition will focus on issues such as ensuring federal funding for senior housing, creating a universal Medicare prescription drug benefit, advancing wellness programs, and finding solutions to the chronic staffing shortages affecting health care providers.

This is the first time such a broad and diverse group of advocacy organizations, service providers, and the religious movements within the Jewish community have come together around care for the elderly.  The coalition members are: Agudath Israel of America, Association of Jewish Aging Services, Association of Jewish Family & Children’s Agencies, B’nai Brith International, Brookdale Institute of Gerontology and Human Development, Central Conference of American Rabbis, Haddasah, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, International Association of Jewish Vocational Services, Jewish Community Centers Association of North America, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, Jewish Labor Committee, Jewish Women International, National Council of Jewish Women, Orthodox Union of America, Rabbinical Assembly, Rabbinical Council of America, UJC Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, United Jewish Communities, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, and Women of Reform Judaism.

United Jewish Communities (UJC) represents 189 Jewish Federations and 400 independent

communities across North America. UJC reflects the values and traditions of education, leadership, advocacy and social justice, and continuity of community that define the Jewish people.  Last year, 700,000 people contributed over $2 billion to enable the UJC to provide life-saving and life-enhancing assistance to millions of vulnerable Jews and non-Jews through a wide range of social service delivery programs.

The following letter was issued by the Jewish Coalition for Long-Term Care, of which the JCPA is a member.

Dear Senator/Representative:

The Jewish Coalition for Long Term Care is an ad hoc partnership of national Jewish leadership organizations that has recently convened to work cooperatively on issues in support of long term care and supportive services for the frail and elderly. The agencies involved share a vision and mission to safeguard the quality of life of our frail and elderly community based upon common religious precepts and time-honored traditions to care for our parents in old age.

Today, one in five American Jews is 65 or older, including a significant component of our refugee population. This percentage is nearly double the national average, which is not expected to reach this benchmark for another 30 years. Consequently, we have a special and immediate interest in an array of necessary health and social services for the elderly that make up the continuum of care provided by institutions or in home and community-based settings. The goal of the coalition is to work in concert to secure the financial and human resources necessary to achieve this common cause. While each of our organizations may not work on all of the following issues, they are high among the long term care objectives we want to achieve as Congress looks towards securing and improving the Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security systems and other services for the aged:

• Ensuring federal funding streams to maintain and expand the range of options and availability of safe, secure, and affordable housing for the elderly and the related essential supportive services;

• Creating a universal Medicare prescription drug benefit, so that seniors don’t have to choose between obtaining drug therapies and other essentials to daily living;

• Advancing wellness programs, such as preventative medicine and parity in mental illness treatment, so that our seniors not only live longer, but live better; and

• Finding solutions to the chronic staffing shortages affecting health care providers, including those aimed at recruitment and retention and raising the level of regard for the front-line workers who care for our seniors.

Each of the agencies that make up this partnership has proven experience and expertise in a variety of discrete areas, which, coupled together, comprise a broad range of knowledge and understanding of the pertinent issues facing the continuum of care spectrum. We believe that in coalition, we can contribute meaningfully to solving many of the current and emerging challenges facing America’s long-term care delivery system.

We look forward to meeting with you and your staff during the 107th Congress on issues of mutual concern. Should you like to learn more about the working group or to set up a meeting, please contact Robert Goldberg, the working group coordinator, at 202-736-5881.