Baycrest Health Sciences & Baycrest Foundation Publications
Issue link: http://baycrest.uberflip.com/i/955158
12 BrainMatters SPRING/SUMMER 2018 A LEGACY OF CARING, a future of innovation B aycrest Health Sciences got its start in 1918 as the Jewish Old Folks Home located in a relatively small semi-detached house on Cecil Street near Kensington Market in the heart of Toronto. A century later, it has grown from its modest beginnings to become an internationally recognized centre for care, education, research and innovation in brain health and aging. The Baycrest story is inspiring. For the past 100 years, the organization has met the needs of an aging population with compassion, holistic care and a forward-thinking approach. The Baycrest of today is located on a sprawling campus in north Toronto that includes: • Long-term care home • Residences for independent older adults • Adult day programs • Complex continuing care and rehabilitation hospital • Outpatient clinics • Support groups • Community centre • Centre for Education and Knowledge Exchange in Aging • Rotman Research Institute • Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation • Fully affiliated with University of Toronto • …and much more As Baycrest moves into its next century of care, it's building on the incredibly strong foundations already in place and will continue to transform the journey of aging in Toronto and around the world. IN THE BEGINNING In 1913, a women's mutual benefit society known as Ezras Noshem was formed in Toronto to provide dues-paying members with financial support and assistance with household chores during times of illness or injury. An active member of the society, Slova Greenberg, met a 90-year-old woman named Pearl Fieman who was extremely unhappy living in a city-operated institution. The public home wasn't able to provide her with kosher food, religious care or medical attention in a language she understood. Greenberg realized that many people faced similar barriers to living well in their senior years, and led the society in a fundraising campaign to establish the Toronto Jewish Old Folks Home. Fieman was among the first residents who arrived in 1918. She lived to be 100 years old. Toronto Jewish Old Folks Home on Cecil street 1918. Slova Greenberg