CARING FOR OUR ELDERS, ENRICHING OUR COMMUNITY

OUR FOUNDATION’ S

FOCUS

Supporting Resident Enrichment and Care

Residents’ lives are enriched by a variety of programs and services funded through the Louis Brier Jewish Aged Foundation.

Vancouver Coastal Health provides basic funding for many services required in a seniors’ facility. We are fortunate to have a community of donors who recognize that life is not solely about a bed, food, and medicine.

With the support of our valued donors, the Foundation is able to fund many programs and services that enhance quality of life.

  • Music Therapy

    There are wide range of Music Therapy programs offered at Louis Brier that meet the diverse needs and abilities of the residents living here. This includes one-on-one individualized sessions and small to large group programs.

  • Rehabilitation

    From specialized wheelchairs to fall-prevention equipment. Residents also have access to in-house rehabilitation, physio, and massage therapy services.

  • Recreation

    Programs and activities are designed to support residents’ interests and abilities. With an average of 350 robust programs offered monthly, residents are encouraged to attend the programs that are of interest to them anywhere in the facility.

  • Special Companion Program

    Special companions provide one-on-one care to our residents who may require extra help with personal care, meal support, or other needs

  • Volunteer Program Coordinator

    The coordinator plans and oversees a team of 250 trained volunteers who assist with a vast range of programs and services that improve the lives of residents

Be part of the Brier’s journey to excellence.

Jewish Life & Culture

The visionary founders of Louis Brier wanted to ensure that Jewish people had a place to call home, a place rooted in Jewish culture and values, with programs and activities reflecting Jewish traditions.

Although the Home is not limited to Jewish residents, the Home is completely kosher, with separate kitchens for meat and milk, a mashgiach (kashrut supervisor), an on-site synagogue, a Jewish Values and Traditions Coordinator, and a Chaplain who supports life-cycle events for residents and their families, and conducts religious services.

All of these services are funded by the Foundation.

“My job as your chaplain is to be with you when you look beyond yourself and, perhaps, consider your spiritual relationship. There is comfort and strength in the bonds we create with others and with God, but we often need help to reach out. That is why I am here.”

CHAPLAIN ROB

The Louis Brier Synagogue is lovingly referred to as the “biggest little shul in the world.”

There are many regular shul-goers at the Louis Brier. Residents have started a weekly Torah class. The class is held across from the Louis Brier Synagogue (which if you haven’t visited is located conveniently in the centre of our home, on the first floor).

All the books needed to conduct a study class are permanently housed in our shul. Before class one day, one resident asked if he could help shlep the study books across the hall. He carried them in the basket of his walker. We created an official designation for this duty called “chumash-shlepper”.

For most people, a synagogue conjures images of prayer services, Kaddish, and maybe the occasional schnapps. The little story above demonstrates how residents become participants in the large and small activities that make our shul part of their daily routine.

Our synagogue is the centre of prayer for many residents. Beyond this, there is a wide range of activities for all others to enhance their knowledge of Jewish values and traditions. Our chaplain co-chairs the campus’s ethics committee which helps residents, families, and staff work through ethical dilemmas and difficult decisions.

It is important that residents have spirituality at their doorstep. It is the duty of a chaplain to encourage involvement and reach out to all residents. The chaplaincy is more than a job. It is a calling to support ‘Yiddishkeit’. The feeling of Jewishness that pervades the Louis Brier is the essence and purpose of chaplaincy work and an important validation of our community’s responsibility to support our Jewish home for seniors.

Your donations to the Louis Brier Jewish Aged Foundation make the synagogue, chaplaincy, and connection to Judaism and spirituality available for our residents. Thank you.

Louis Brier is pleased to welcome our newest team member. Cantor Rob Menes joined Louis Brier in August 2019 to provide spiritual support and guidance to residents of any faith.

Help us continue bringining Jewish life and culture to our residents.

Innovation + Continuous Quality Improvement

Infection Control (IPAC) & Quality + Risk (QRM)

Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) develops, implements, and provides ongoing management of the IPAC programs to prevent the development of new infections and the spread of existing ones and to minimize the risk of healthcare-associated infections in residents, families, staff, and visitors. It also develops and maintains a surveillance system for the timely collection, tabulation, analysis, and reporting of communicable diseases.

Communications

In September 2021, Louis Brier was able to hire a new Communications Coordinator. Since then, staff, family, and resident engagement and event participation have tripled with the help of increased internal and external communications and promotions.

Since October 2021, Louis Brier has had a consistent rise in its social media, online presence, and newsletter readership.

Louis Brier will launch its new mobile app in 2023, and since then we have been gathering feedback from our families, residents, and staff, to ensure that the app meets the needs of the organization. With the guidance of the CEO, and the generosity of Mr. Horatio Kemeny, a donor through our Foundation, our Communications Coordinator has been leading the development of a new Louis Brier app.

Nursing Education

Louis Brier is strongly committed to ensuring our nurses and nursing staff have access to solid ongoing nursing education, current research, and professional counsel to support the achievement of professional standards. Our nursing educators provide monthly nursing practice and education meetings centred on best practices, innovative research in the field and preventative measures. Additional education is provided by our medical director, Vancouver Coastal Health initiatives and other healthcare experts.

As a teaching facility, Louis Brier regularly hosts students from accredited nursing schools. This helps us consistently keep on top of current best practices.

Support the team that cares for our seniors.