Amid extreme weather warnings affecting most of the country, seniors must protect themselves from the dangers of excessive heat. Heatwaves can be particularly hazardous for older adults, as they may be more susceptible to heat-related illnesses due to existing medical conditions and/or prescription medicines they take that may impact temperature regulation. To ensure the well-being of seniors during hot weather, here are six essential tips for seniors to stay safe in a heatwave.

Stay Hydrated

One of the most crucial tips to help seniors stay safe in a heatwave is ensuring they are hydrated. Seniors should consistently drink water and liquids containing electrolytes throughout the day, even if they don’t necessarily feel thirsty. Dehydration can lead to serious health issues, including heat exhaustion and heatstroke. Encourage them to carry a water bottle and set reminders to drink regularly. It is also advisable to limit the consumption of caffeinated and alcoholic beverages, which can contribute to dehydration.

Seek Air Conditioning

Air conditioning is extremely helpful for keeping seniors cool and comfortable during a heatwave. If they don’t have air conditioning at home, advise them to spend time in places that do, such as shopping malls, supermarkets, or public libraries. During peak heat hours — usually between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. — recommend staying indoors in cool, air-conditioned spaces. If they prefer to remain at home, suggest using fans and keeping windows and curtains closed during the hottest part of the day to keep indoor temperatures down.

Dress Appropriately

Proper clothing choices can make a significant difference in combating heat. Seniors should opt for loose-fitting, lightweight, and light-colored clothing that allows air circulation and reflects sunlight. Encourage them to wear a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses to protect their face and eyes from the sun’s harsh rays. If they need to go outside, remind them to apply sunscreen with a high SPF to protect their skin from sunburn.

Maintain a Balanced Diet

Eating a well-balanced diet can aid in keeping seniors healthy and resilient during extreme heat. Suggest light, cool meals that include fresh fruits and vegetables, such as smoothies and salads. These foods contain high water content and essential nutrients, which help replenish electrolytes lost through sweating. On hot days, it’s best to avoid heavy, greasy, or spicy foods, as they can contribute to discomfort and dehydration.

Monitor Medications

Many seniors take medications regularly, and some of these drugs can affect how their bodies respond to heat. Some medications may cause dehydration or impair the body’s ability to regulate temperature. Encourage seniors to consult with their healthcare provider or pharmacist to review their medications and understand potential heat-related side effects. It may be necessary to adjust the dosages or change the timing of medication administration during hot weather.

Check on Each Other

During heatwaves, community support is crucial, especially for seniors who live alone. Encourage seniors to check on their peers and neighbors, and ask family members and friends to do the same. Social interaction is vital for mental and emotional well-being, and regular check-ins can provide comfort and companionship during challenging times. If possible, help seniors establish a phone tree or a buddy system to ensure everyone’s safety.

Hospitalization and Post-Acute Rehab from Heat-Related Illness

In the unfortunate event that your loved one becomes hospitalized due to a heat-related illness such as a heat stroke or injury caused by heat syncope, they may require rehab to aid in their recovery. Skilled nursing facilities play a vital role in providing specialized care and support for seniors with complex medical needs in a safe and comfortable environment.

Remember, it’s essential to stay vigilant and attentive to seniors during heat waves, as they may be less likely to recognize the signs of heat-related illnesses. By following these tips to keep seniors safe in a heatwave, we can make a significant difference in the well-being of our elderly loved ones during the hottest days of the year.

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“Food brings people together on many different levels. It’s nourishment of the soul and body; it’s truly love.” – Giada De Laurentii

Don’t underestimate the power of a good meal. From the enjoyment that comes from eating with others to food as medicine, what’s for dinner—and lunch, breakfast and snack time—matters more than you might think. As people age, they lose their taste buds and their appetites often decrease. Yet proper nutrition for older people keeps their energy levels up and helps their bodies protect against and recover from all different types of illness. As you explore senior care options, the quality of the skilled nursing or assisted living food menu should be a key decision criterion.

This is why, at CareOne, we view creating delicious and nutritious meals as part and parcel of our commitment to high-quality care. Through our Signature Dining Program, our chefs give residents a taste of home or their favorite restaurant while catering to their specific dietary requirements. Each skilled nursing and assisted living food menu is designed to satisfy residents’ cravings and provides strong attention to detail with food presentation and fresh ingredients.

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Here’s how we make mealtime special and enjoyable for all residents:

Personalizing Meals to Meet Residents’ Needs

Our culinary team works with CareOne dietitians to create menus that support residents’ nutritional goals and leans into their preferences. They collaborate with our activity directors on the meals they’re planning for events, holidays and other special occasions. Examples of holiday staples include delicious whole grain stuffing with pecans and currants at Thanksgiving. For the holidays, our chefs will bake jam dot holiday cookies, or crispy matzah for Passover.

What’s even more unique is that CareOne recreates meals that residents would eat at home, whether they are vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, kosher and/or they have specific cultural customs. CareOne at Teaneck is a perfect example. The center is Glatt Kosher, Cholov Yisroel and Pas Yisroel under the kosher supervision of Star-K. Other options can range from specially prepared plant-based meat entrees to vegan potato-leek soup to twice-baked stuffed sweet potatoes. CareOne keeps residents’ favorite dishes in mind year-round and especially on birthdays.

For those with seafood aversions, we focus on preparing other sources of animal and plant-based proteins. We offer “meatless Mondays” but also offer vegetarian and vegan dishes all week long such as gnocchi with spring vegetables and avocado toast with chickpeas, sun-dried tomatoes, and spinach. We’ve got our carnivores covered, too. CareOne prepares high-protein meals featuring prime rib and other USDA-certified meat options. We also cook fresh soups and sauces from scratch.

At CareOne, meals are individualized to each facility’s needs. However, there is cohesiveness across buildings so that if residents transfer to another building, they will experience and have access to similar foods that include the same standard of presentation.

Our skilled nursing and assisted living food menu is also dynamic and continuously changing to provide variety and as many nutrients as possible while introducing new dishes that residents will enjoy.

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 Ensuring Patient Safety While Eating

CareOne ensures residents can finish their food in a comfortable and safe manner. Our culinary team works with our speech therapists—who help manage swallowing difficulties—to create meals residents can safely eat. The CareOne Perfectly Pureed Program is an accommodating program where pureed foods are prepared to look like traditional solid foods. A pureed diet uses the same meals on the CareOne menu but blends them until smooth so residents (such as those who have difficulty chewing or swallowing) can enjoy their food while getting the nutrition they need. Meals such as lasagna and pork chops are pureed to meet residents’ nutritional goals and are also appealing to taste buds.

 Combining Ingredients to Reach Nutrition Goals

At CareOne, the culinary team uses fresh ingredients to create meals from scratch. A fresh meal generally contains more nutrients, hydration, healthy fats and enzymes in comparison to a frozen meal. Through our partnership with Jersey Fresh, all New Jersey CareOne facilities receive fresh produce. This includes locally grown, organic and seasonal fruits and vegetables to incorporate into meals. When not seasonally available, our team integrates nutritious fruits and vegetables from other sources.

At every facility, infused water is housed in the lobby. The water contains fruits and herbs to keep staff, visitors and residents well-hydrated.

 Making Mealtime Memorable

Good food brings people together and evokes fond memories. Through our signature dining program, residents experience mealtimes in a cozy, restaurant-like atmosphere. Staff encourage residents to eat their meals in a shared space, so they can break bread, exchange stories and enjoy laughter with others.

Our restaurant-style dining supports our mealtime philosophy to nourish residents physically, mentally, and emotionally.

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Getting the Community Involved

Research shows that communal eating plays a critical role in facilitating social connection. The culinary team enhances this feeling of togetherness outside of traditional mealtimes by involving residents in the menu development process. We ask residents for input on upcoming menus. Additionally, they have opportunities to watch cooking competitions and live demonstrations, which many enjoy.

The culinary team also supports the surrounding community through meal donations to local organizations such as nearby colleges, senior centers, food pantries, firehouses and police stations.

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In a Nutshell

When it comes to senior care, good nutrition that tastes great is non-negotiable. CareOne is committed to delivering excellence at every meal, through wholesome ingredients, impeccable presentation and rich flavor.

The post Bon Appetit: What’s On the Skilled Nursing & Assisted Living Food Menu appeared first on CareOne.

Donating blood is one of the most under-appreciated acts of charity a person can perform. It’s something that is needed every single day. In fact, healthy blood samples are needed for a wide variety of life-saving medical procedures.

Most healthy, able-bodied adults are eligible to donate blood to eventually help those with an appropriate blood type. CareOne applauds everyone who has donated blood in the past. We also encourage those who are able to consider making a donation this year, in recognition of World Blood Donor Day.

World Blood Donor Day is an annual event held on June 14th. It’s an event that’s responsible for saving thousands of lives worldwide each year. This is also something we feel passionate about as many of the patients at CareOne’s acute care facilities and others have benefitted from someone who donated blood.

Even so, not everybody knows that World Blood Donor Day exists! With more awareness and more blood donors, more lives could be changed for the better. Here is everything you should know about being a blood donor and World Blood Donor Day.

What Are Blood Donations Used For?
There are many different ways that safe donated blood can be used to save a patient’s life. Patients suffering from chronic illness, severe trauma, or recovering from other medical procedures all rely on blood donations.

There are also different blood components that can be used for different procedures. Red blood cells, platelets, and plasma are all used in a variety of different medical procedures as needed.

Blood transfusions are often used to treat conditions in which the patient’s body is not producing enough blood on its own. Chemotherapy, for instance, can sometimes inhibit the production of new blood cells. Anemia and other blood conditions are also frequently treated with blood transfusions from donated blood.

CareOne patients may require blood after surgery or severe accidents. Patients who lose a significant amount of blood need donated blood in order to recover and restore normal blood levels. Blood transfusions often play a crucial role early in the recovery and post-acute rehabilitation process for many patients. Trauma victims and surgery patients are among the most common recipients of donated blood. Patients undergoing heart surgery or organ transplants in particular need healthy, compatible blood donations.

Why Are So Many Donations Needed?
The demand for blood donors seems to be greater than the number of blood recipients. The reason is that blood donations actually have an expiration date. Hospitals require a constant stockpile of all blood types for various procedures. But that supply is perishable, and some blood will spoil before it’s used. As a result, a steady supply of blood donations are required in order to keep up with demand.

Different blood components are preserved differently and have different shelf lives. Red blood cells are refrigerated and can last up to 42 days in storage. Blood platelets, which are used for certain special procedures, last just five days to a week in storage. Blood plasma can be kept frozen, and lasts for up to one year in this state.

Many facilities like those in the CareOne network rely on consistent blood donations in order to provide top-quality care. Blood transfusions are often urgent and highly important procedures. As medical professionals committed to providing world class compassionate healthcare, CareOne’s staff cannot stress enough the importance of safe blood donations.

Know Your Blood Type

While it is not essential for you to know your blood type in order to donate, it is good information to have. Compatibility is important in blood transfusion procedures, and certain blood types have wider compatibility than others. The four main blood types are A, B, AB, and O. O Positive and A Positive are the two most common blood types. AB Positive and Negative, and B Negative are the most rare blood types. In emergencies, any patient can receive Type O blood samples. However, doctors always prefer to use the proper blood type in all procedures. For this reason, if you have Type O, Type AB, or B Negative blood, there is even higher demand for your blood. You might give more consideration to donating blood if you have one of these blood types. Of course, all donations are appreciated.

How Do I Donate Blood?

World Blood Donor Day is organized by the World Health Organization. Specific information about this day can be found on the WHO website. The Red Cross also provides resources for those who would like to donate blood. The best way to donate blood is to find a donation center in your area and go in for an appointment. If you are determined to be fit and eligible, they will happily accept your donation! The donation process will take roughly an hour, which includes the pre-donation check, paperwork, donation, and recovery period.

Blood donors are eligible to donate blood once every eight weeks (56 days), if you would like to make repeat donations. It is always important to review the procedures and requirements for donating blood. It is critical that all blood donations are safe, for both the donor and any patients they might help.

The CareOne Difference

CareOne is committed to full-time, comprehensive healthcare for every patient we treat. In recognition of World Blood Donor Day, CareOne encourages all who are able to consider making a blood donation. Your donation could save multiple lives.

At every CareOne facility, blood, heart, and cardiovascular health are among our top priorities. Our aim is to provide healthcare across the spectrum for everyone we treat, whatever their unique health needs are.

Read more about CareOne’s services or contact us to learn how we can make a difference in the lives of you or your loved ones.

The post Donating Blood Saves Lives: Here’s How To Honor World Blood Donor Day appeared first on CareOne.

CareOne is celebrating National Nurses Week from May 6th-12th. This week is an important observance for us; because our nurses perform many roles in our wide spectrum of services, all of which are critical to our patients’ quality of life. Today we want to applaud our nurses by recognizing everything they do within all of our care modalities.

CareOne Staff and Residents Join In the Fun
Now more than ever, we at CareOne have reason to celebrate. We’re thankful for our staff’s efforts and for having a great resident community in the best possible health. And our residents especially were ready to rejoice with the staff they know so well and appreciate so much.

Some of our staff members weighed in on why Nursing Home Week is special to them and the people they care for. Many of them said it’s important to simply take time to relax and appreciate the people around them. And although our residents are always grateful for all the services our staff provides, during Nursing Home Week they are able to show their appreciation all together in a grand, organized way.

The Nursing Home Week parties at CareOne’s locations are a much-anticipated way for residents and staff to get together and share a good time. Some locations have unique special events – one of our facilities had the management team dropped in carnival-style dunk tanks and pelted with cream pies by residents, to the laughter of all.

Prioritizing Our Residents Year-Round
Above all, Nursing Home Week commemorates the things our staff do every other week of the year. Our residents and their medical, physical, social, and spiritual needs come first at all of CareOne’s facilities.

We’re always searching for the best talent and the most compassionate people who will be able to give CareOne residents the highest quality of care. If you want to apply to join our team and become part of an organization devoted to empathy and excellence, you can search our job postings or contact us about CareOne careers.

The post CareOne Celebrates Nursing Home Week appeared first on CareOne.

PARAMUS, NJ – “It makes my day when a good pot of soup makes someone else’s day.”

That’s pretty much Teresa Gaspar’s motto in life, and it works well for her as Director of Culinary Services for CareOne Livingston where she gets to share her passion for food with the residents.

“Food is a choice we all have, and in a lot of ways, it’s the last choice we have,” Gaspar said.

The executive self-proclaimed foodie said she began working for CareOne in Paramus and then three years ago, moved over to Livingston. Prior to that, she worked for a large hotel chain.

“There was money and prestige in that position, but I wasn’t happy,” she said.

It wasn’t until she got to CareOne that she felt like she was home.

She began asking residents what they wanted for dinner, and instead of relying solely on a menu for the week or even the month, she would whip-up what they want for that evening’s dinner.

“I ask the residents and their families for their recipes,” Gaspar said. “And then I cook it that way. It makes things so familiar for them.”

One resident had stopped eating, but Gaspar’s food inspired her to go from 76 pounds to 102. “Your mom stopped eating?” she asked the family member. “Not on my watch.”

Gaspar said she enjoys the praise: “Your food is amazing, they tell me.”

And the families are extra happy when they see their loved ones with a fresh hair cut or shave, courtesy of Gaspar.

“Sometimes, that little bit of extra love and care makes the resident feel so good,” she said. “Add a good meal to that, and you have happy people.”

During covid when residents were confined to their rooms to prevent rapid spread of the virus, which has proved especially dangerous for seniors, Gaspar said she would pipe music through the halls and bring an ice cream cart around.

“I thought, let’s make every day the best day,” she said. “No gloom and doom here.”

Even when she had her own doubts at the beginning of the pandemic, she was able to get through it with support from her boss. “Less was known about the spread of covid, and I was ready to give up and stay home.”

It was after an 11:30 p.m. call with her boss one night that she changed her mind.

“I had all the PPE I needed: masks, gloves, shield. And my executive director, Marianne Alfano, was on the phone with me one night. It was very reassuring. She helped me to keep going. She said, ‘you got this’,” Gaspar said. “I needed that support. Where else do you get that?”

Gaspar likes to have special meals, on occasion, like banana pancakes for dinner, or hotdogs for breakfast, as she says, “just because.”

She also recruits residents who like to help and be a part of the dining experience. One resident organizes the flowers each week. Gaspar goes out and gets them their request. “I like giving them what they want, it’s their dining room.”

Gaspar said she never regrets her move from the corporate hotel world to CareOne.

“It makes a world of difference when you can see people are happy, you see their clean plates,” she said. “When I see that clean plate, I think, oh my God, I’m so happy.”

So, apparently, are the residents.

Full Article Here

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It was the day before Christmas, Julie, a family friend invited me to bring gifts to the senior center that she worked at in Canada. As we entered the facility I had mixed emotions and the image of my grandmother came to my mind as I looked at each senior. (I was with my grandmother from 4th grade until High School before leaving for College.) For almost an hour we were exchanging laughter and thoughts about Christmas. I was really moved when they would share something about their life with me. When Julie bid goodbye she said to them “I’ll see you after Christmas”. One resident said “You mean, you’re not here tomorrow?” There was silence and the Julie explained that she had to spend time with her family. As I looked at the woman, she replied with two teardrops rolling down her cheek from her eyes.” That night I couldn’t sleep thinking about her.

The next morning we had Christmas breakfast and exchanged gifts with Julie’s family. Afterwards, Julie asked me, “Where would you like to go today?” I think Julie was shocked when I said “I want to go back and say Merry Christmas to your residents, I think that will make them happy.” “After that you can take me anywhere you want.”

When we arrived at the facility and Julie entered the hall, everyone was shouting for joy and some were even in tears hugging her. My eyes were looking for the lady I was thinking about all night. I found her in a corner and as I came closer and greeted her the same as yesterday, she whispered in my ear, “Thank you for coming back today, it’s worth more than the Christmas gift that you gave me yesterday.” I could see my Grandmother in her and it gave me goosebumps. I saw her still smiling when we left the room to go home.

This experience is why I’m in healthcare working for seniors. I immediately started attending free caregiver training and took courses toward my college education.

In August 2011, I was so happy when I was offered a position at CareOne at Cresskill in their Rehab Department. I enjoyed taking residents to the gym for their exercises, working with the Nurses assigned to them, making sure they’re up, dressed, and had their meal and medicine before going to therapy.

Later, I was transferred to the Activities Department and felt more like I did that Christmas in Canada. Every day is a happy day when I’m welcomed by my residents and I see them smile. I’m most amazed when I can make someone laugh or smile when they aren’t feeling well or in pain. Every night I pray that they feel loved, cared for and that I will see them again tomorrow.

This will be my 10th year here and I am still thankful to this facility who gave me the opportunity to share my talents and continue to be a part of making our residents feel that they are home every day.

The post Joey Hetalia’s Call to Service led him to CareOne at Cresskill appeared first on CareOne.

Training staff and quickly adapting to new coronavirus guidance from the federal government have been instrumental for CareOne’s success in treating and recovering more than 3,000 of patients during the current public health crisis.

“We didn’t know exactly what we were dealing with, but based on the information that we had, we gave our staff the tools to be prepared to deal with what was coming,” said Toya Cornelious, CareOne chief clinical officer, in a McKnight’s interview.

The New Jersey-based company, which operates a chain of more than 50 post-acute care and assisted living facilities along the East Coast, has taken care of about 4,000 coronavirus patients and had about 85% of them recover.

Early on during the pandemic, CareOne quickly began to provide additional staff training for specific units and buildings in preparation of taking in and caring for coronavirus patients coming from hospitals.

That meant staff members had to learn how to care for COVID-19 patients, bringing in more equipment, like negative pressure systems, and learning new methods of care for advanced respiratory conditions.

“A good portion of what we do is post-acute care and getting people well to go home on a regular day, pre-pandemic,” Cornelious explained. “So for that piece [staff] was already well-versed in. It was just applying that to the pandemic and caring for these people who some of us were just unprepared to care for.”

The success didn’t come without struggles. Cornelious explained there’s a continuous need to pivot as new information about the virus becomes available and federal guidelines change. She noted for example, that recommended methods of care and treatment for coronavirus patients are constantly changing.

Cornelious said CareOne’s leadership team wants to ensure “that we are always on top of and working even above the standards that are applied to this virus.”

“Of course, there were times where [staff members] were getting sick, so we had to make sure that we had enough support to care for the staff. With the support from our senior leadership, we were able to support our staff in making sure that we always had enough [personal protective equipment] and that we always had the appropriate amount of staff to care for the residents,” she added.

Executives also praised staff members for their dedication to help the thousands of patients recover.

“It’s been pretty extraordinary, the work that staff has done in terms of putting themselves at jeopardy and the sacrifices they’re making professionally and personally,” noted Thomas McKinney, senior vice president of CareOne in a McKnight’s interview. “I just want to make sure we underscore that.”

He added that as the virus continues to move throughout the country, it will be important that the industry “look to those providers who have had significant experience dealing with the virus to hopefully learn and continue to improve our approach within the post-acute care industry.”

The post East Coast operator leads more than 3,000 COVID-19 patients to recovery appeared first on CareOne.

CareOne COVID-19 Guidelines for All Patients.

For all patients click to download PDF for additional information.

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Not all heroes wear capes. These are just a few of our healthcare heroes, those who have stepped up in the face of adversity; from preparing a special meal for their patients, to treating residents to a spa day, to caring for their individual healthcare needs. Join us as we celebrate these real life superheroes.

The post Celebrating CareOne’s Healthcare Heroes appeared first on CareOne.

Daniel Straus’s conference room probably would lend itself to a metaphor — but to come up with it, a visitor would have to stop gawking at the view first.

The office is high above the George Washington Bridge, on the Fort Lee side. It offers a hypnotic view of traffic; on a good traffic day you watch as cars, trucks, and buses shoot from the bridge and hurl themselves at the spaghetti bowlful of lanes. On a bad day — a day, say, for traffic problems in Fort Lee — you’d get to see a panorama of fuming drivers from your Olympian perch.

The most compelling thing about the inherently mesmerizing view is that it is of constantly changing motion within an unchanging structure. It’s a dance of fluidity and solidity.

Meanwhile, the conference room smells scrumptiously of brand-new furniture, all leather and polish. It’s not a new room or a new office, Daniel Straus of Englewood said. He’s been there for years. But the conference room has just been remodeled. “The key is to keep it new,” he said.

And there’s the metaphor. Mr. Straus, who has come to care a great deal about health care, particularly as it applies to the elderly, has run many successful businesses, moving from field to field but always retaining a focus on the elderly, on the health care system in general — and on the Jewish community.

He’s not a doctor; he is a lawyer but he doesn’t practice as one. Instead — and as well as being a generous philanthropist, a highly successful venture capitalist, a real estate developer, an owner of a basketball team, the Memphis Grizzlies, and an unstoppable entrepreneur — he owns CareOne, a big tristate area rehabilitation and senior living company whose well-tended buildings are visible all over northern New Jersey.

Mr. Straus also is an Orthodox Jew, deeply tied to his community; he’s the son, the brother, father, and most recently the grandfather of a family that is rooted in the American Jewish life.

Mr. Straus was born in 1956 in Boro Park, Brooklyn. His father, Joseph, was born in 1912. In 1922 Joseph Straus and his mother fled to Brooklyn from Uman, the legendary town that attracts hordes of chasidim every year as they follow the trail of Nachman of Bratslav. The Strauses were not Braslavers. Instead, they were refugees from the Bolshevists.

When they arrived in Brooklyn, the Straus' were reunited with Joseph’s father, who had left first. His father drove a laundry truck; Joseph was the first in his family to go to college. He graduated from the then-almost-brand-new Yeshiva University with rabbinic ordination and then went on to NYU’s law school.

During World War II, Joseph Straus was a chaplain, not for the armed forces but for the USO, stationed in Ogden Utah, and then in Cheyenne, Wyoming. “He was a conscientious objector and a vegetarian,” his son said. That was unusual for his time; he came home with many stories.

Joseph Straus’s wife — Daniel’s mother — also had stories. Born Gwendolyn Goldstein in 1918, she grew up in Williamsburg, lived through the Depression, and uncharacteristically for her time and place, she went to college, graduating from Brooklyn College. Her family owned a hat factory; “they were fairly prosperous until the Depression, when they weren’t any more,” Daniel said. (The hat company still exists, he added; cousins own it now.) She earned a bachelor’s and then a master’s degree in teaching, and taught second and third grade in Brooklyn public schools.

After the war, Joseph and Gwendolyn married and moved to Boro Park, where he practiced as a lawyer, tried his hand as a politician, and began to develop a reputation as someone who knew everybody and therefore was useful for everybody to know. “He was very involved with the Democratic party, and he ran for office a couple of times,” Mr. Straus said. “He was well known in Brooklyn at the time.

“He was a general practitioner, which means he was like the community lawyer for Boro Park,” he continued. “You try to explain what a general practitioner is today, and nobody can understand it.” Just as general practitioner physicians used to take on all cases, sending patients to specialists only when it was necessary, so too general practitioner lawyers would take all the cases that came their way. Their expertise was broad, and their relationships were deep.

“It’s not like today where you have to turn people down because you don’t agree with their ideology,” Mr. Straus said. “He would represent the very Orthodox, and the Conservative.” In fact, he added, his father’s college roommate went on to become a Conservative rabbi, and the two remained friends. It wasn’t so long ago, but the world was different then, Mr. Straus said. It was less divided. “My family was strictly Orthodox, but it’s not that the rules then were more relaxed — they weren’t — but people didn’t look down on everybody else.”

The Straus family “went to the Young Israel of Boro Park,” Mr. Straus said. “My father was very involved with the religious Zionists, and my mother was very involved with Amit. She used to volunteer all the time.”

Because of his parents’ involvement, “we had parlor meetings in our house all the time, where dignitaries would come to talk.” The subject often was the still-new state of Israel, which always took up a big part of the Straus family’s collective heart.

Mr. Straus went to the Yeshiva Eitz Chaim in Boro Park for elementary school, and then to BTA, YU’s Brooklyn-based high school. College was at Columbia, and then law school at NYU.

Just as he followed his father’s lead by going to law school at NYU, Mr. Straus entered the business his father had found congenial — nursing homes (as they were called then. Today there are skilled nursing, assisted living, and independent living facilities). His father, introduced to that world because he represented nursing home owners, bought some in Connecticut and New Jersey; when he died unexpectedly in 1978, Daniel — who had been working as a lawyer at Paul Weis in Manhattan — and his brother Moshael took them over. “We formed a management company” — Multicare Companies — “to operate the nursing facilities that our father left us,” Mr. Straus said. “Over a period of 12 years, we built it up. It was sold in 1997 as a publicly traded company.” (The buyer was Genesis Health Systems.) That year, Mr. Straus pointed out, the New York Times quoted a health care analyst, Peter J. Sidoti, as saying that the Straus brothers’ firm was “a jewel in the nursing home business, in quality of care and quality of management measured by earnings growth and stock price appreciation.”

“It was sold for a princely sum,” Mr. Straus said. (According to the Times, it was $1.06 billion, in cash.) Repeating his quote in the New York Times, “We made a lot of money for a lot of people,” he said.

Mr. Straus was only 40 years old —barely middle-aged — when Multicare was sold; the drive and energy that had gotten him so far would not allow him to retire then. “I have been a serial entrepreneur ever since,” he said. “A lot of the businesses I operate are in health care. I’m also in real estate, and some of that is in health care — I buy and build my own nursing homes and assisted living homes, pharmacies, a hospice, a home care agency. I am also the principal owner and chairman of a large medical insurance company in Puerto Rico, and one in California. I have owned doctor’s practices.”

The medical insurance company, InnovaCare Health, is a managed health plan that is “committed to providing quality health care by creating sustainable, cost-effective models that are fully-integrated with today’s most advanced technologies,” its website says.

And of course there is CareOne, which he founded soon after selling Multicare. CareOne, which has facilities throughout the Northeast, and particularly in New Jersey, is the region’s largest provider of housing, rehabilitation, medication, and other services for the elderly.

“A lot of the investing I do is not in health care, but it started that way,” Mr. Straus said.

Some of his investments are entirely unrelated to health care. Mr. Straus owns real estate, including brownstones right next to Manhattan’s Whitney Museum, which he is turning into spectacular (and spectacularly priced) high-end apartments. And to turn to something completely different — not only is he a minority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies, he also the team’s vice chairman. But “I have always believed that the best way to influence social policy is through changing the world by good business practices, by best practices,” he said. “I try to influence public policy in health care by some of the things that I do in business.”

To that end, Mr. Straus published an op ed in the New York Observer at the end of January. “Free the Doctor: To Fix ACA, Trump Must Restore Physician Authority,” he headlined it. He does not think that Obamacare lives up to its promise, and he believes that it must be overhauled. His argument, which he presses passionately, is that the real problem with the American health care system is that hospitals, with what he sees as their bloated bureaucracies, are more interested in enriching themselves than looking after their patients. The way to restore the system is to put physicians — actual human beings caring for other actual human beings — back in charge.

As he put it, the Affordable Care Act’s fundamental error was in the “shift in patient care decision-making away from frontline physicians and toward hospitals and insurance companies…. Hospitals are the most expensive and many times inefficient venue for the delivery of care and have contributed to rising costs while also failing to improve the quality of patient care.”

“Americans don’t just want health insurance,” he said, back in his Fort Lee office. “Americans want health care. You can say that you are insuring the uninsured, but if they don’t have health care because you have created a system that is unaffordable, you have accomplished nothing.

“It is my belief that doctors should be in control of these accountable care organizations. “What is happening today is that hospitals are flush with money, so they are merging, and what they tell the public is that they’re going to have better buying power because they are bigger, but they don’t have more buying power. They are getting rid of their competition, and as a result they are driving up costs. They are buying physicians’ practices, and as a result the physicians are just employees, who don’t have the same relationships with their patients that they used to have.”

Mr. Straus criticizes hospitals in general, but he does not criticize all hospitals. He works closely with Holy Name Hospital and Medical Center in Teaneck, which honored him at its Founders Ball at the Pierre Hotel in Manhattan in December, and he has nothing but praise for it.
“One of the reasons I agreed to be honored by Holy Name is because it is run by the sisters, it is a local hospital, and it is very forward-thinking and progressive in terms of its patient care,” he said. “It has not succumbed to the need to merge, or the need to own all its doctors.”

Holy Name has been wonderful to his own community, local Orthodox Jews, he said. (He and his wife, Joyce Gabel Straus, belong to Congregation Ahavath Torah in Englewood.) “I think it is very important to express gratitude for that,” he said. “When I accepted the honor, I wanted to say that, representing the Orthodox community. Holy Name is absolutely non-denominational. It is Catholic, but it does such a wonderful job reaching out to everybody. I just wanted to say thank you.”

Holy Name Hospital has a special sensitivity to all ethnic and minority groups, he added, not just to Jews.

Mr. Straus’ philanthropy goes to other organizations as well, not only by providing funding but also by leading fundraising activities that can provide even more aide. CareOne helped many victims of Hurricane Sandy, and has led fundraising projects for organizations that help children who have cancer, and their families, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He also raised money — and also gave much of his own — to fund breast cancer research.

Daniel and Joyce Straus have three children, Joseph and Lizzie, who work in the family business, and Julia Baruch, who is a yoetzet halacha — she is trained and authorized by the Orthodox community to provide halachic answers to women on specifically women’s issues. The Strauses also have four grandchildren.

Michael Maron is Holy Name’s president and chief operating officer, and he is unstinting in his praise of Daniel Straus.

“Daniel owns and operates CareOne, which is the majority of the nursing homes in northern New Jersey,” Mr. Maron said. “We have partnered with him recently in a number of endeavors, trying to deliver value-based care through new experimental payments, called episodes of care.”

What does that mean? “Traditionally, if you came to Holy Name for, say, a knee replacement, you would be evaluated by a physician, you would be treated by a surgeon, then stay at the hospital, and then go to a rehab center, and then home.

“Traditionally, those fragments were just that. Fragments. They would not be well coordinated, and they would not be paid in a coordinated way. We treat these new episodes of care as one episode, physicians, surgeons, hospital, sub-acute care, all in one bundle. We tell everyone, ‘Guys, you have to work together to care for the patient.’

“Daniel has been a thought leader in working with us in advancing this model. We wanted to applaud him for his leadership, and also his connection to the community.

“We wanted to express Holy Name’s desire to be embraced by the Jewish community, and also to express our gratitude to someone who is a real thought leader in terms of how the health care system can be improved.”

The philanthropist Angelica Berrie of Englewood presented Mr. Straus with the award, standing alongside Mr. Maron. She, too, praised Mr. Straus. “He really is an innovator,” she said. “And it’s obvious how his interest in the health care field has been from the humanistic point of view. He also has a generous worldview that he brings to the culture of his company. Beyond your own personal philanthropy, corporate philanthropy is the way you can expand your own personal giving.

“They have a corporate culture that has a passion for successful fundraising, and that is a signal that comes from the top.”

She is particularly struck by the way that Mr. Straus would donate not only money but huge amounts of time and attention to give her foundation pro-bono advice on investments. “He didn’t get any business from us, from the committee — his business is not what we invest in — so it is a different kind of philanthropy, that he did to help us succeed with our investments, so we could make more to do more. He does it with no thought of compensation or reward.”

In 2015, Ms. Berrie funded the Institute for Simulation Learning at Holy Name. It’s based on an Israeli innovation, a high-tech/low-tech kind of role-playing approach that trains caregivers to see more clearly and respond more appropriately. CareOne now is working with Holy Name to train its employees using the method.

Ms. Berrie thinks that trying simulation training is typical of Mr. Straus’s approach. “It is more than generosity of spirit, although it also is generosity of spirit,” she said. “It is the spirit of innovation, the desire to bring excellence to whatever business he is in. And I feel that the example of his philanthropy will inspire the community.”

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