H eadlines
Seniors Meet Needs in Bereavement Group
L OCA L
SOPHIE PANZER | JE STAFF
WHEN RHEA APPLEBAUM
joined a bereavement group in
February of 2018, dating was
the last thing on her mind.

She had lost her husband to
a sudden illness five months
earlier and hadn’t recovered
from the shock. She met with
about a dozen seniors who
were also mourning their
spouses and talked about how
she felt like she was losing her
memories of him, how she
couldn’t conjure his smell or
the feeling of his arms around
her anymore.

Mike Chernoff had joined
the group in July the previous
year, after his beloved wife
died. He and his dog felt lost
without her.

6 APRIL 22, 2021
“I remember one of the
saddest things was that he
would run up the steps looking
for her and not find her,” he
said. When the dog died soon
after, he turned to his peers for
support and met Applebaum
once she started coming to
meetings. The two Northeast
Philadelphia residents got to
know each other well in the
intimate group setting and
discovered they shared a love of
reading and music. Eventually,
Chernoff asked Applebaum to
accompany him to a perfor-
mance at the Philadelphia
Orchestra, and she said yes.

The bereavement group
created by Abramson Senior
Care and KleinLife greeted
the couple’s news with enthu-
siasm when they learned of
the relationship. Members feel
like a family, facilitator Brie
Yousaitis said.

The program was origi-
nally intended to serve seniors
grieving the loss of a spouse,
and later expanded to include
people mourning
other kinds of loss. It now acts as a
general support group for all
kinds of issues, from dealing
with the fear and isolation of
the pandemic to navigating
relationship problems.

“Since everybody started
coming, we’ve lost children,
animals, relationships have
started and ended,” said
Yousaitis, director of psycho-
social support for hospice and
palliative care at Abramson
Senior Care. “So we’ve been
through a lot, obviously also
with the pandemic as well.”
When the KleinLife facili-
ties closed at the beginning of
JEWISH EXPONENT
Mike Chernoff and Rhea Applebaum
the pandemic, the group had to
change course. Simply moving
the meetings to Zoom was not
an option due to technological
challenges for older members,
Yousaitis said.

They decided to restart in
August and hold meetings
outside instead. Chernoff
volunteered his lawn, but as
this was only viable in good
weather, they had to stop
meeting again in November.

They kept in touch via text and
social media, but processing
loss and the challenges of
life during the pandemic
just wasn’t the same without
face-to-face interaction.

Six members of the group,
five of whom are Jewish,
reunited at Chernoff’s house
after months of separation on
April 8. They brought lawn
chairs and fully vaccinated
immune systems.

Yousaitis said socializing
is especially important for the
senior population, which was
already facing isolation due
to decreased social activity,
leaving work and deaths of
loved ones. Then COVID-19
cut them off from family
and friends. While romantic
relationships can certainly take
off in support group settings,
most participants join to find
solace in friendships at a time
when their support networks
may not be as strong as they
used to be.

Courtesy of Rhea Applebaum
“When they lose their
significant other or someone
really close, it’s like losing part
of your own self. You have to
find yourself again. The way
to do this is socializing with
others,” she said. “As we get
older, we lose daily connec-
tions with people. There’s no
more work, sometimes family
is not close or you have a global
pandemic. Friends are passing
or live far away, so the social-
ization is so huge.”
In addition to reaping the
benefits of camaraderie from
the support group, Applebaum
and Chernoff have been
together for three and a half
years now.

“I just love the kindness of
him, his intelligence, how good
he is to everyone around him,”
Applebaum said. Chernoff
said his favorite things about
Applebaum are her personality
and the ways she embraces
Judaism. Applebaum
introduced Chernoff to her family and
they welcomed him with open
arms. Her grandchildren and
great-grandchildren now know
him as Saba Mike.

“He is the only great-grand-
father that they will know,”
she said. “He came for the first
Chanukah with the kids and
didn’t leave.” l
spanzer@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0729
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



H eadlines
Val Arkoosh Join Crowded Race for Senate Seat
L OCA L
JESSE BERNSTEIN | JE STAFF
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Board of Commissioners Chair
Val Arkoosh announced her
bid for U.S. Senate on April 5,
jumping into a race that is sure
to have national implications.

She’ll face stiff competi-
tion from state Rep. Malcolm
Kenyatta and Lt. Gov. John
Fetterman, among others, in
the Democratic primary.

The 60-year-old physician
and mother of three enters the
race with governing experi-
ence, name recognition in
the always-key Philadelphia
suburbs and the support
of at least 30 southeastern
Pennsylvania officials. The
Philadelphia Inquirer, taking
the temperature of Democratic
officials and strategists a few
weeks ago, labeled her “a
formidable contender.”
“As a commissioner for
six years, I have worked with
commissioners from all 67
counties, large and small, and
have a real understanding of
the challenges Pennsylvanians
are facing across the common-
wealth,” Arkoosh said. “I have
worked with commissioners
of both parties to bring those
challenges in front of our
legislature on a bipartisan
basis. It is clear through those
conversations that there are
many shared problems facing
our communities, including
outdated infrastructure that’s
holding back economic devel-
opment, inadequate access to
mental health services, and the
impact of extreme weather on
our communities.”
Since the pandemic began,
more than 65,000 Montgomery
County residents have tested
positive for the virus, and more
than 1,600 people have died as
of April 19, according to The
New York Times.

Arkoosh faced vocal criti-
cism from some parents over
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Val Arkoosh
Courtesy of Val Arkoosh for U.S. Senate.

the Board of Commissioners’
decision to pause in-person
education last fall, as reported
at the time. But as the
pandemic wears on and her
campaign begins, Arkoosh told
the Inquirer, combating the
virus will remain her priority.

“I just want to be very clear,
I’ve taken two oaths in my life,”
she said. “The first was an oath
to be a doctor. The second was
as county commissioner and, in
both cases, I always pledged to
put the people I’m serving first.”
Arkoosh, a graduate of
Northwestern University and
University of Nebraska Medical
College, moved to Philadelphia
in 1986. She spent four years
at Presbyterian University of
Pennsylvania Hospital and
Jefferson Medical College,
and has spent years serving
patients and students. Locally,
Arkoosh taught at Jefferson,
Drexel University College of
Medicine and the Perelman
School of Medicine at the
University of Pennsylvania,
and held a leadership position
at the Hospital for Women on
City Line Avenue, according to
MONTCO.Today. As her profile rose, Arkoosh
took leadership roles with
national medical organiza-
tions, serving as president
for the Society for Obstetric
Anesthesia and Perinatology
and senior policy adviser for the
National Physicians Alliance.

In between, Arkoosh squeezed
in a master’s in public health
from Johns Hopkins University
and raised three children with
her husband, Jeff Harbison.

As she prepares to run for
Sen. Pat Toomey’s soon-to-be-
vacant seat, Arkoosh is finding
inspiration close to home.

“There are a number of folks
whose public service both here
in Pennsylvania and elsewhere
I admire, but more than any
sitting politician or leader,
my family, particularly my
dad, and those I worked with
in my medical training, have
taught me so many important
things — from being prepared
to looking at the entirety of a
challenge before jumping to
conclusions,” Arkoosh said.

“And in more recent years, the
constituents I have worked with
as commissioner have taught me
about the importance of showing
up and listening, and having the
humility to know that no single
one of us has all the answers.”
Arkoosh’s first bid for
public office came in 2014,
when she came up short in
her campaign to represent
the since-redistricted 13th
Congressional District. She
finished a distant third, behind
Marjorie Margolies and the
victor, Brendan Boyle.

Within a year, Arkoosh
was back on her political
feet, appointed to fill Josh
Shapiro’s vacated seat on the
Montgomery County Board
of Commissioners. Arkoosh
was elected to a four-year term
later in 2015, and reached her
current position at a November
2016 election.

After spending years as a
physician, she found that
taking charge of the third-
most populous county in
Pennsylvania was a role that
suited her well. In particular,
Arkoosh is energized by issues
related to the health of her
820,000-plus constituents.

“There are so many issues
on Pennsylvanians’ minds,
from the rising cost of prescrip-
tion drugs and growing our
economy, to getting out of
this pandemic and rebuilding
our infrastructure,” Arkoosh
said. “And as we tackle those
issues, we must never take our
eyes off of building a more
inclusive and just Pennsylvania
and country that makes life
fairer and more equitable for
everyone.” l
jbernstein@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740
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