Two new social workers have recently joined the staff of the Jewish Home at Rockleigh. Ari Markowitz began work in May. He received his Masters in Social Work from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work of Yeshiva University. He comes with three years of work experience in two long-term care/sub-acute rehabilitation facilities. However, Ari’s experience in the field of long-term care is not limited to his professional training or employment history. His family worked in the geriatric field and he remembers fondly his life long involvement as a nursing home “volunteer” beginning at age 5. Through-out his childhood, he visited residents, played chess, and assisted in recreation programs. He always felt comfortable with older people and saw that his presence made a positive difference in their lives. As he grew up, he realized how meaningful it is to be an advocate for long-term care residents and their families.
![[photo]](images/socsv01.jpg)
Luba Itskova, who began work in August, also received her Masters from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work. Luba worked at the Jewish Family & Children’s Service of North Jersey as a Holocaust Services Case Manager and Social Work Intern. She also did an internship at the Hackensack University Medical Center’s Cancer Center. Luba was raised in St. Petersburg, Russia, immigrating to New Jersey in 1999. Although she studied to be a teacher in St. Petersburg, she decided to change her field to social work. She mastered the English language and completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Rutgers University in 2004. Luba was a caregiver for her grandfather who became a resident of the Jewish Home in 2003. She feels strongly that the Jewish Home gave her grandfather two and a half years of life, dignity and comfort until his passing in 2005.
We welcome them both and look forward to their contributions to the quality of life of our residents at the Jewish Home.