About the project
The Golden Era Comprehensive Center for the Elderly was a $9 million project undertaken over nearly a decade to meet the multi-faceted needs of Jerusalem’s frail elderly population under one roof. The center was developed in phases by a partnership among the Jerusalem Foundation, the municipality, the Eshel Association for the Planning & Development of Services for the Aged in Israel, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany, the National Insurance Institution, the Idan Association of Community Based Services for the Elderly in Jerusalem, the State of Israel Ministries of Health and Labor & Social Affairs and the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. The first two wings, the Olga Levy & Irene Sala Day Care Center for the Mentally Frail Elderly and the Mary & Heskel Nathaniel Respite Home for the Frail Elderly, were completed in 1992. The day care center provides transportation, meals, social activities, family counseling and home-care services to individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, senility and related disorders. The respite home provides around-the-clock care to 20 individuals whose families are temporarily unable to care for them. Planning and fundraising efforts continued over the years, until the facility was complete in 1999 with three residential floors and community service and administrative wings to serve elderly who are able to live with their families and those who require full-time residential care for either physical or mental health disabilities. The entrance to the facility features a two-dimensional figural sculpture by Zadok Ben David and the center displays a collection of art by artists from the Artist Studios.
