H eadlines
Abramson RBG
seniors in our community
wherever and however they
need us is unchanged,” Irvine
wrote in a letter posted to
the Abramson website. “Our
commitment to the families we
serve remains at the very core
of this mission, and we look
forward to continuing to be
here for you as you navigate
the aging journey with your
loved ones.”
Abramson Senior Care
encompasses much more than
the newly named Horsham
Center for Jewish Life.

The umbrella organization
provides services to roughly
5,000 older Philadelphians,
with additional locations in
Bryn Mawr, Bustleton and
Wynnewood, at Lankenau
Medical Center. There are
options for geriatric rehabil-
itation, hospice programs,
at-home care, palliative care
and other programs. None
of that will change, and no
location besides Horsham will
be affected by the sale.

Adjustments made in
the last few years within the
commonwealth’s policies on
long-term care and Medicaid
managed care were a major
impetus for the decision to sell.

“Her life’s work was to make
sure the court took note and
understood and comprehended
what happens to we women
when we are considered less
worthy, less equal, unable to
get equal pay for equal work,”
said Lynne Abraham, former
Philadelphia District Attorney.

“It has a corrosive effect on
every one of us.”
The Brooklyn, New York,
native and Washington, D.C.,
resident visited Philadelphia
many times and was honored
by the city’s cultural and educa-
tional institutions. She received
an honorary degree from the
University of Pennsylvania in
2007 and visited the campus
again in 2018 to celebrate 25
years on the Supreme Court.

In 2019, she became the 21st
inductee into the National
Museum of American Jewish
History’s Only in America
Gallery/Hall of Fame. She was
also named the recipient of the
National Constitution Center’s
Liberty Medal in August.

She was presented with the
honorary degree by her friend
Amy Gutmann, president of
the University of Pennsylvania.

The two met at an academic
conference and bonded over
their experiences growing up
in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neigh-
borhood. Gutmann was struck
by Ginsburg’s friendliness and
how easy it was to relate to her.

“She was, for me, as she
was for so many other women,
an inspiration,” Gutmann said.

“But it was also for me very
significant that we had very
similar roots.”
“There’s a saying that if you
can see it, you can be it. To see a
woman, a Jewish woman and a
Jewish first-generation woman
from Flatbush, Brooklyn,
achieve what she achieved
was just an inspiration to me,
and still is an inspiration to
generations of women,” she
continued. During her visits to
Philadelphia, Ginsburg enjoyed
Continued from Page 1
12 SEPTEMBER 24, 2020
Continued from Page 1
The Madlyn and Leonard Abramson Center for Jewish Life will change its name to the Horsham Center for
Jewish Life.

The changes meant that
Abramson lost the flexibility
it once enjoyed in determining
who would be admitted to
the ACJL, based on factors
like family support, income
level, clinical background and
Medicaid eligibility.

“We realized that the ability
for us to make that determi-
nation really changed,” Irvine
said, “because now, we have a
managed care company that
says, ‘Oh no, that individual
that you think should move
into the nursing home, we can
take care of that individual in
the community, we’ll add a
little more home care dollars,
we’ll do this, we’ll do that.’ But
we lost the ability to make that
decision.” The Abramson board’s
research confirmed the fears
— Arizona, Irvine said, had
implemented such policies
20 years ago, and has seen
Changes in Pennsylvania’s policies regarding long-term care were part
of the reason that the board of Abramson Senior Care voted to sell the
Horsham campus. 
Courtesy of Abramson Senior Care
more than a 50% reduction in
total nursing home beds. The
combination of that research,
the reality of a long-flat rate
of Medicaid reimbursement for
nursing homes, and growing
consumer preference for
at-home care led to one conclu-
sion: It would be prudent to
sell the ACJL facility. On Oct.

30, the strategic planning
committee at Abramson voted
to explore a sale, and the
campus was listed in January.

Criteria for potential buyers
included a commitment to
maintaining Jewish care, a
willingness to allow Abramson
to retain a role as the preferred
provider for certain services
for residents, and a pledge to
keep “the vast majority,” Irvine
said, of the direct care workers.

Susan Barker, director of
nursing for Abramson Senior
Care, has overseen those
workers for 15 years, and has
worked at Abramson for 17
years total. From the first time
JEWISH EXPONENT
she heard about Abramson, its
mission — to honor thy father
and thy mother — has meant a
lot to her. She has longstanding
relationships with residents and
nurses, and wants Abramson to
continue to provide the same
care that it always has. There
will be changes for her staff; not
every direct care employee will
be hired by the new owner, and
those who do will have a new
human resources handbook
to learn. Yet she and those
who remain are committed
to making sure that ACJL
remains ACJL, new name or
not, pending completion of
the sale.

“I understand the finan-
cial piece, and the business
that health care has become,”
Barker said. “And certainly,
that mission statement — the
world was a very different place
when I started.” l
jbernstein@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM