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 Molly
Forrest, CEO/President of Los Angeles Jewish
Home for the Aging, elected new chair for
Association of Jewish Aging Services
NEW ORLEANS, March 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The
Association of Jewish Aging Services (AJAS) -- the pre-eminent
professional organization for senior housing, facilities, programs
and services from Jewish not-for-profit organizations in North
America -- at its annual national conference has elected Molly
Forrest, CEO/president of the Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging,
as its chair, it was announced today.
Harvey Tillipman, AJAS president/CEO said,
"We're looking forward to having Forrest bring her extraordinary
expertise in the not-for-profit world to our organization. She will
be focused on driving consensus with our member agencies in creating
real change for the better in all of our endeavors."
Forrest said, "Nonprofits lead the industry in
innovative designs and programs to meet emerging and continuing
community needs. As leaders in the provision of senior housing,
programs and services, all AJAS members need to be aggressive in
staying at the forefront of envisioning senior care and partnering
in designing solutions to senior needs. I'm looking forward to
fostering the sort of collaboration that will ignite communities
throughout North America to deal with historic demographic changes
coming nearly everywhere."
In congratulating Forrest on her new role,
Jewish Home board of directors Chairman Robert Hirsch called the
election "a magnificent reflection of her distinguished career here
at the Home over the past decade. Her wealth of experience will help
guide AJAS in dramatic new directions to help meet the rapidly
emerging challenges we all face."
Under Forrest's leadership, the Jewish Home has
seen incredible growth and revitalization. It has expanded
independent-living Neighborhood Home accommodations from 17
residents to 50, opened an award-winning 96-bed skilled nursing
Alzheimer's special-care facility, and has recently completed
construction of the Joyce Eisenberg-Keefer Medical Center with a
10-bed acute psychiatric hospital and 239 skilled nursing beds.
To
help make all of this possible, the nonprofit Home increased annual
donor support from $4.5 million in 1996 to $10.5 million in 2006 and
recently completed a $72 million capital campaign to reposition and
modernize present campuses and increase capacity.
A graduate of Oregon State University, Forrest
is active in a variety of community organizations including the
Association of Jewish Aging Services, the California State
University Northridge (CSUN) Professional Health Care Administration
Committee, the CSUN Alzheimer's Association Center Advisory
Committee, the Geriatric Education and Research Organization, and
the Council of Agency and Federation Executives.
She is a recipient
of the Jewish Communal Professionals of Southern California Allan J. Kassin Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement and the San
Fernando Valley Business Journal Health Care Leadership Award.
Forrest is a frequent guest speaker regarding geriatric issues for
various leading healthcare, eldercare and nonprofit organizations.
The Association of Jewish Aging Services was
founded in 1960 as the central coordinator for homes and residential
facilities for Jewish elderly in North America. A nonprofit
organization, AJAS is a unique forum that promotes and supports
elder services in the context of Jewish values through education,
professional development, advocacy and community relationships.
Founded in 1912, the world-renowned Los Angeles
Jewish Home for the Aging is one of the foremost continuing
residential-care facilities for seniors in the United States and is
the largest single-source provider of senior housing in Los Angeles.
Each year, nearly 1,000 women and men are sheltered on two village
campuses (spanning 16 acres), which feature independent-living
"Neighborhood Home" accommodations, residential care, skilled
nursing care, Alzheimer's disease and dementia care, and hospice.
Healthcare professionals from around the world consult with the
Jewish Home in an effort to improve eldercare in their home
countries. The Home is a nonprofit organization that relies upon
donations from individuals, corporations and foundations to continue
its remarkable work. Further information regarding the Home can be
found online at www.jha.org or by calling 818-757-4407.
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