At its 8th annual Eight Over Eighty gala, health care, business and philanthropic leaders from across New York City joined The New Jewish Home to honor nine exceptional New Yorkers who continue to embody vitality, achievement and civic activism well into their 80’s and beyond – demonstrating what it truly means to “Age Like a New Yorker.”

An inspiring LGBTQ+ participant with a passion for helping others finds a welcoming community at The New Jewish Home’s Adult Day Health Care program.

Leeada Durant

Leeada Durant is a nursing leader with nearly 50 years of experience, who joined The New Jewish Home (TNJH) system in 2003 as Assistant Director of Nursing (ADON) at TNJH’s Westchester campus. In 2017, Leeada created the Sarah Neuman Nursing School Affiliation Program to train nursing students in providing excellent care to older adults while enhancing resident care and engagement. Leeada built the program on weekends and after work hours, partnering with local nursing schools and training 268 nursing students in 2022.

“At a moment when 75% of New York’s 614 nursing homes are unable to meet staffing minimums due to a shortage of nursing professionals, we are grateful for the State’s investment of $500,000 in The New Jewish Home’s SkillSpring program.  Through the leadership of State Senator Cleare, we secured funds in the FY24 budget toward a workforce development initiative that will help aging services providers address shortages while setting in place training infrastructure to support the next generation of caregivers.

The New Jewish Home mourns the passing of Harry Belafonte. We were grateful to have honored Mr. Belafonte at our 2016 Eight over Eighty Gala. Please watch this wonderful short video from the 2016 Gala.

Acute and post-acute care provide necessary medical treatments for patients but are delivered at different times and help with different stages of recovery.

As our parents and grandparents age—and, frankly, as we grow older along with them—we may miss golden opportunities to get to know them even better than we already do. What were they like in their younger years? There is always more to be learned from older adults just by asking.

Recovering from multiple heart surgeries, Anthony Vassallo came to The New Jewish Home, where he found dedicated health care professionals who helped him regain his strength. “When I left, it felt like I was leaving family behind.”