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History

129 Years and Counting

Jacob Rohrheimer served as Montefiore's first president when the Home opened in 1882 at Woodland Road and East 55th Street. The first residents were 40 "old and poverty-stricken Israelites."	1882: Montefiore is founded as the Kesher Home for Aged and Infirm Israelites by a Jewish fraternity, the Order of Kesher Shel Barzel, to house persons from a nine-state area who are 65 and older, reasonably healthy, and in need of shelter.
	1884: Marking his 100th birthday, British philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore makes a contribution to the new home of 250 English pounds, and the Montefiore name is added to the name of the Cleveland institution.
	1900: The home has become engulfed in the combustion of city life, and agency leaders begin to think about relocation to a healthier, more tranquil environment.
	1904: As an original beneficiary agency of the Federation of Jewish Charities (now the Jewish Community Federation), Montefiore receives an allocation of $3,200 – nearly 10 percent of the Federation’s initial disbursements.
Montefiore's elegant new home in Cleveland Heights in 1919 accommodated 8 couples and 45 single people in mainly private rooms. A small vegetable farm and garden enabled residents to do light work and enjoy the outdoors.	1918: With the Woodland neighborhood continuing to turn more commercial and congested, Montefiore moves to the 5.5 acres it purchased for $30,000 in 1917 on Mayfield Road in Cleveland Heights.
	1921: Armin Berger, the home’s first executive director, begins a 20-year tenure.
	1923: The agency name is shortened to The Montefiore Home. Residents still need to be healthy to be admitted; just one nurse is on duty during the day for accidents and colds.
	1932: Nearly all produce consumed by the residents is grown on the property. The payroll for nine regular employees is $225 a month.
In the 1940s, Montefiore began to transcend simply care-taking and entered an era of comprehensive services. In 1947, Montefiore became the first home in the country to care for residents with dementia.	1941: Dr. Julius Weil takes the professional helm of Montefiore in 1941 – soon joined by his wife Helen in social services – and residential care quickly expands to areas such as occupational therapy, recreation activities, and skilled nursing.
	1949: By providing students field work training at the home, Montefiore enables Western Reserve University’s School of Applied Social Sciences to become the first graduate school in the country to offer geriatric casework.
In 1954, Eleanor Roosevelt stated, “The Montefiore Home in Cleveland Heights is perhaps one of the most advanced experiments for old people.”	1955: To respond to the doubling of its population in the past 15 years – to more than 120 residents – Montefiore expands and updates its 36-year-old building and constructs a garden unit.
	1957: The Montefiore Auxiliary is established to enhance the quality of life of residents and clients, to raise funds, to help maintain Montefiore’s Jewish identity and to foster interest in Montefiore throughout the community.
	1965: The bustling home now accommodates 164 residents and 30 additional seniors in the day care program. To meet the needs of the increasing number of individuals with physical and mental impairments, Montefiore gains growing recognition for its full-time nursing care for non-ambulatory patients and expanded therapy and social programs.
"For All Our Tomorrows," the capital fund raising campaign launched in 1988, sparked donations from 2300 contributors and generated $12 million for the new building in Beachwood.	1970s-1980s: Under executive directors Bernie Stregevsky, Ira Robbins, and Ed Vinocur, Montefiore continues to enhance medical and social service programs. Meanwhile, through short-term care, the agency enables many individuals to rehabilitate themselves and return to independence at home.
	1991: The new Montefiore located in Beachwood opens, housing 240 residents and offering specialty services such as short-term rehabilitative care and convalescent care. The new kitchen operates under strict dietary laws.
	1992: The National Council of Jewish Women commits funding through a bequest from the Sadie and Maurice Friedman Foundation to Montefiore’s new hospice program, the first nursing home-based, Jewish hospice licensed by the state of Ohio.
	1995: The Montefiore Foundation is created to build the endowment and expand Montefiore’s financial independence.
	1999: Montefiore leaders plan The Weils, an active senior living community, on 46 acres in Bainbridge, OH and receive a $2.5 million grant from the Cornelia Schnurmann Foundation to advance the project.
	2000: Montefiore enters the new millennium with a new professional leader, Keith A. Myers, charged with continuing to raise Montefiore’s quality of care, its overall scope, and its reach into the community.
	2001: Seeking approval from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations for the first time, Montefiore receives outstanding evaluations in all five areas of resident care.
	2002: Montefiore reflects on its historic roots and recent innovations as the home celebrates its 120th anniversary… committed to moving forward “from strength to strength. The Weils, an active senior living community opens in Bainbridge offering 75 spacious one-and-two bedroom suites, scheduled transportation, 24-hour staffing, life-enrichment programs and activities and three-chef prepared meals a day.
	2004: Montefiore embarks on a $10 million renovation and expansion to overcome space constraints, update the facility and markedly increase and enhance the physical, occupational and speech therapy areas. Its capacity increases to 272 resident rooms including a new 60-bed post-hospital care center.
	2006: Rehab Road™, the Mandel Rehabilitation Pavilion and Post-Hospital Care Center opens. This indoor simulated neighborhood – the only one of its kind at any skilled nursing facility in northeast Ohio is designed for inpatient and outpatient rehab and includes a replica bank, restaurant, grocery store, movie theater, putting green, mailboxes and automobile. This innovative 6000 square foot pavilion features steps, ramps, turnstile, checkout line and ATM, as well as a simulated kitchen, bathroom and bedroom to prepare residents to maximize their independence.
	2007: New outdoor gardens, courtyard, patio with seating areas, fountains, sculptures, children’s playground and a therapeutic healing garden for dementia residents are all part of the “new” Montefiore. The Montefiore campus offers wireless Internet access for laptop users and adds a Shabbat elevator which is programmed to automatically stop on every floor during Shabbat and other selected observances. Montefiore’s kitchen, pantries and dining rooms come under the strict supervision of Cleveland Kosher, offering residents the highest level of kashrut, in an effort to encourage and welcome the most observant of the Jewish community. Montefiore welcomes Lauren B. Rock as its new president and CEO. The wealth of experience she brings in healthcare, hospital and nursing home management will enhance Montefiore’s ongoing vision for excellence in senior health care.
	2008: Montefiore culminated its 125th anniversary year with a fundraising gala, which established The 125th Anniversary Fund of The Montefiore Foundation, to ensure support so that Montefiore can continue providing the highest quality of care today and tomorrow. Montefiore’s active assisted living community, The Weils, located in Bainbridge, breaks ground to expand its campus and build a 29-bed rehabilitation pavilion and residential care facility.
	2009: Montefiore launches a palliative care consult program thanks to a generous grant from the Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation with support from the McGregor Foundation.The Friedman Chapel and Treuhaft Auditorium are renovated thanks to the generous support of Milton and Tamar Maltz. This beautiful new space has the latest technology and offers great flexibility for programs and activities. This beautiful and newly renamed space – now called the Maltz Chapel/Auditorium — has the latest technology and offers great flexibility for programs and activities.The Pavilion at The Weils features 29-beds for rehabilitation therapy and skilled nursing and puts an emphasis on healing in a warm and soothing environment. In addition to assisted living, we offer memory-care in a comfortable safe environment.
	2010: Montefiore opens a dedicated nine-bed orthopedic rehabilitation therapy wing for post-hospital care through the generosity of The Norman and Lenore Berke Orthopedic Annex Fund. All rooms were refurbished and include a flat screen TV and DVD player. Montefiore Home Health Care and the NCJW/Montefiore Hospice receive a gold seal of approval from The Joint Commission. Created new medical leadership model with co-medical directors and nurse practitioners.
	2011: Received a significant gift to endow the hospice and palliative care program and awarded a generous grant from The Cleveland Foundation for chronic disease management. Launched Electronic Medication Administration Records (E-MAR). Developed two new community-based programs: At-Home Sleep Apnea Testing & Therapy Program and Wheelchair Clinics. In May, the name of the Hospice was changed to Vinney Hospice and Palliative Care of Montefiore after the Montefiore Foundation and the Jewish Federation of Cleveland announced a $1 million endowment to benefit Montefiore’s Hospice and Palliative Care programs. The endowment was established as a project of the Centennial Initiative for Jewish Cleveland through a generous grant from the Jules and Ruth Vinney Philanthropic Fund. Due to the initial success of our first orthopedic rehabilitation therapy annex for post-hospital care, a second annex was opened in June. In December, Montefiore added a transitional care suite for rehab patients. The suite provides several amenities including private bathroom with shower, dresser, dishwasher, microwave and refrigerator – all to help patients ease into the transition from rehab to life at home.

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