Jewish HomeLife Closes Cohen Home

After years of trying to make ends meet at The Cohen Home, Jewish HomeLife closed the 42-unit Johns Creek senior assisted living community on May 31. All 29 Cohen Home residents and even all staff were offered relocation to JHL’s other assisted living property, Berman Commons, in Dunwoody.

“The decision, from a management perspective, and then to go and have to get board support for the business decision to close The Cohen Home, was very emotional for this organization,” said Jewish HomeLife president and CEO Jeffrey Gopen, who emphasized that no other JHL properties are closing. The Cohen Home “had great culture there, great families, great residents, and truly was a special property in many, many ways. It was very hard to make this decision,” he added.

The effects of the COVID pandemic, experienced by the entire senior care industry, played a significant part in the home’s financial troubles. For more than two years, the pandemic and subsequent lockdown made it nearly impossible for the facility to replace the dwindling population of home residents.

According to JHL’s chief marketing and communications officer, Shari Bayer, very few people wanted to move into a community based on a virtual tour, and even when regulations permitted in-person tours again, very few people toured during the pandemic years. Only families in crisis pursued moving loved ones into a senior living building, while others simply learned to manage for as long as possible, she explained.

In truth, according to Gopen, The Cohen Home has always been a challenge to keep financially afloat due to its small size. Jewish HomeLife, which operates a network of senior care facilities, including Zaban Tower and Berman Commons, as well as rehabilitation and hospice services, acquired the Johns Creek community in 2009 from another Jewish non-profit that was struggling to keep it open.

Jewish HomeLife past board chair Steven L. Berman and current board vice chair Candy Berman, namesakes for Berman Commons, walked the Torah around the lobby area so all the residents and families could see and touch it.

JHL did a multimillion-dollar upgrade project in 2017 in order to keep the facility as attractive as possible in Atlanta’s highly competitive assisted living market. For a short time prior to the COVID-19 shutdown in March 2020, the home enjoyed as much as a 95 percent occupancy rate. But small properties, under 100 units, are expensive to operate because they still require the higher salaries of the upper management roles needed for a well-run, high-quality community, Gopen explained.

“The math for small buildings doesn’t work well to begin with,” said Gopen. “For us, with 42 units to get close to break even, we had to be close to capacity every single day.” He added, “It created a very big issue and ultimately a very big financial hole for this organization. Though we are a mission based not-for-profit, you have to still look at sustainability long-term.”

Now the 5.5-acre Johns Creek property on Jones Bridge Road is on the market. Although Jewish HomeLife had quiet conversations in advance with leadership in the Jewish community, including Jewish Family & Career Services, the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, and several synagogues about offering the property to another Jewish organization, Gopen said for various reasons nothing materialized.

The math for small buildings doesn’t work well to begin with. For us, with 42 units to get close to break even, we had to be close to capacity every single day…It created a very big issue and ultimately a very big financial hole for this organization. Though we are a mission based not-for-profit, you have to still look at sustainability long-term.

Cushman & Wakefield is listing the property for an undisclosed amount. Said Gopen, “I am happy with the offers coming in because that money will also support JHL programming and capital needs in the future.”

Gopen said planning and great care was taken to transition Cohen Home’s residents and staff to Berman Commons, a larger facility consisting of 90 units total – 58 assisted living and 32 memory care units. Due to the same decline resulting from the pandemic, that building could accommodate the 24 Cohen Home residents who chose to relocate to Berman Commons.

“Everybody was able to tour, look at units they wanted. We put in place movers, and everything was packed and unpacked. We made it as painless and seamless as possible for residents,” said Gopen, at no cost to families.

Additionally, 60 percent of Cohen Home’s staff took jobs at Berman Commons, helping to fill open positions and eliminate the need to hire agency personnel, a much less desirable way to staff, added Bayer.

Now, resident occupancy at Berman Commons exceeds industry average, according to Gopen. The more populated building exudes a more active environment, which, combined with recent management changes, makes the senior community even easier to market.

According to Berman Commons executive director Denise Richards, the facility has added a new chef, director of nursing, and additional team members to facilitate more engaging activities. They have also expanded dining options with the addition of a Kosher-style menu (no pork, no shellfish) alongside the existing strict Kosher menu. The nearly nine-year old building is also scheduled for renovations and freshening up.

Cohen Home residents relocating to Berman Commons were warmly welcomed into their new home. On June 2, residents and staff celebrated the joining together of the two communities with a family Shabbat dinner and Torah dedication ceremony during which Berman Commons namesake Steven L. Berman and JHL CEO Gopen walked the Torah around the room.

The Cohen Home Torah cover was donated in 2002 by Chabad of Alpharetta’s Rabbi Hirshy Minkowicz and his late wife, Rashi. The Berman Commons Torah was originally housed at The William Breman Jewish Home before coming to Berman Commons at its 2015 grand opening.

The Torah ceremony idea originated with former Cohen Home resident Rachelle Lipman. Lipman commented that evening about how positive and welcoming the move to Berman Commons has been. “We were all moving to this beautiful new place. It just made sense for us to bring the Torah with us. It’s part of our Cohen Home family, too,” she said.

During the ceremony, Gopen introduced the organization’s new director of Jewish life, Rabbi Hayyim Kassorla, who delivered a short D’Var Torah about the joyous occasion of dedicating a Torah. Following the ceremony, residents and families enjoyed a Shabbat sing-along and a traditional meal of brisket, chicken, matzoh ball soup, and dessert.

Atlanta Jewish Times freelancer Susanne Katz Karlick contributed to this report.