Over a Century and Counting
Founded in 1912 by 13 Jewish women, JGS Lifecare began as the Daughters of Zion Home for the Aged in Springfield. Over the past century, we have undergone several transformations as we have responded to the changing needs of the elderly in the Pioneer Valley area, and we’re still reinventing ourselves!
What started as a stand-alone home for the aged is now a family of services, agencies and programs:
- The Leavitt Family Jewish Home moved to its Longmeadow campus in the early 1970s. We expanded in the early 80s, bringing total bed capacity to 200, making it one of the largest nursing homes in western Massachusetts. In 2013, we established the Frances B. Cohen Palliative Care Program, helping people better manage life-limiting illnesses. 2014 ushered in the expansion of our clinical capabilities and therapy coverage for our rehabilitation services.
- We established Wernick Adult Day Health Care in 1984 , one of the first adult day health centers in Massachusetts.
- On the Harold Grinspoon Campus, we opened the Genesis House, now Genesis Lifecare, in 1984, offering affordable, independent living housing for elders. We added more units in 1992 and 2003, bringing total units to 109.
- In 1994, we created Spectrum Home Health, bringing skilled nursing into the privacy and comfort of patients’ homes. We added our certified hospice program in 2007.
- We opened Ruth’s House Assisted Living Residence for seniors of all faiths in 1998, providing a homelike residence for people who need assistance with day-to-day activities. It also includes a secure neighborhood for residents with mild to moderate memory disorders.
- Bringing music therapy into the lives of our residents, we launched the Music & Memory Program in 2014.
- We opened the Sosin Center for Rehabilitation, the first Green House® certified facility in western Massachusetts, in December 2016, ushering in a new model of short-term rehabilitation care in a home-like environment.
Learn how you can support our mission into the next century.