JCC’s Cathy Byrne speaks at Holocaust conference

Issue of August 29, 2008

Cathy Byrne, M.S. R.N., director of Older Adult Services at the JCC of the Greater Five Towns, was the keynote speaker at a conference for social workers in the field of geriatrics and Holocaust survivors on Aug. 11. The event was sponsored by the Conference on Jewish Claims Against Germany.

Addressing over 400 participants at the Jewish Federation building in Los Angeles, Byrne spoke about the benefits of social daycare programs in general, and specifically the importance of social daycare programs for Holocaust survivors with dementia.

“Social daycare is a comprehensive respite program that provides social programs in a protective setting, and includes transportation, lunch and all different services to help challenge and maintain the level of functioning of the participants,” she said.

She further explained that the JCC’s “Remember When” program is an increasingly popular social daycare that helps with memory enhancement and is embraced by a close-knit familial atmosphere.