HOW WE WORK

Co-owners Casey Holstein (left) and David Katz

SYNERGY HOMECARE METRO NJ (973) 808-3475 Synergyhomecare.com

By Diana Schwaeble Photos courtesy of SYNERGY HomeCare

It’s never a good time to think about caring for an elderly or sick loved one. In fact, by the time a call is made, a person is usually stressed out and in crisis, says Casey Holstein, director of client relations and co-owner of SYNERGY HomeCare Metro New Jersey. It can be hard to determine what to do or even assess what needs to be done. The first thing Holstein does is listen.

“We are good listeners,” he says. “We listen because they are in crisis basically. I don’t know if you have ever had to deal with elderly loved ones; it can be very fraying.”

Co-owner David Katz, director of operations, says that people call because they’re looking for options. Previously, seniors went into nursing homes, but the modern way is to live those final years in your own home. He says that many people don’t know what his company does or the extensive services it

42 • BLP ~ SPRING 2020 provides. In addition to long-term care for seniors, it provides childcare services and respites for caregivers. Each situation is unique, and the staff will work to tailor services to clients’ needs.

“Unfortunately, 50 percent of the people don’t really understand what we do,” Katz says. “We are hands on. We are there in the homes, to keep the homes going. Cooking, medical reminders, cleaning, appointments. That’s what we do. We take care of the daily life.”

A RESOURCE IN TIMES OF NEED Holstein and Katz opened their office in 2009, after facing life-altering transitions in their personal lives. Holstein’s wife Robin succumbed to cancer. Katz realized that homecare helped his father-in-law die with dignity. They decided it was their mission to help people through difficult times. Now open over a decade, they’ve helped thousands of families, says Holstein. With a staff of more than 125, they have caregivers to address specific needs. Sometimes, it’s not an elderly relative. Sometimes, it’s a sick child who needs a babysitter, and both parents work. “It’s a small fraction of our business, but we do childcare,” Katz says. “We actually do a lot of backup care for emergency needs.”

SENIOR SERVICES Caring for seniors can be a long process, but it doesn’t have to be as daunting. Katz says that they will do an initial evaluation for free. Not everyone becomes a client after an assessment. Sometimes people are weighing their options. It can be alarming for an adult child to see that elderly parents aren’t grooming like they used to or unable to keep up with housework. SYNERGY works to restore balance. “Our program keeps people more in line with what they are used to doing,” Katz says. “We come in, and we bring the fresh air and the life back into the home.”

SYNERGY HomeCare Metro is a franchise with six offices in New Jersey and 165 nationwide. Because of the franchises, it can easily transfer care if someone moves, downsizes, or relocates to Florida during the winter. The company will remove the paperwork burden from families and do the long-term care insurance for them.

More important, it provides support at all times. Calls are handled directly by staff all day and all night. “We never use an answering service,” Katz says. “If a client or a caregiver has a need, one of us will get back to them at any moment.”

“Yes, it’s a business, but we come from the heart,” Holstein says. “We have a team of very dedicated people. Many of us have taken care of a loved one. Not only are we providers of the service, we are also caregivers.”—BLP

JERRY’S DRUG AND SURGICAL 455 Broadway (201) 339-1992 jerrysdrug.com Story and photo by Daniel Israel

Jerry’s Drug and Surgical, on the corner of Broadway and West 21st Street, has been the local family drugstore for more than 100 years since its founding in 1916.

Since 1990, Ira Bologh and his son Michael have been helping the Bayonne community stay healthy.

“Jerry’s is a throwback to the corner pharmacy that everyone remembers, where you’re not a number, but we know your name and you know ours,” Michael says. “And yet we have all the same technology as a modern pharmacy.”

In contrast to its homey, mom-and-pop feel, Jerry’s Drug and Surgical is keeping up with the times. Michael says the store has a smart phone app that allows customers to fill prescriptions using their cell phones.

The pharmacy can also fill prescriptions using its phone or computer as well as in person. Customers can have their prescriptions delivered right to their doorsteps.

But despite the technology, the corner store still has that neighborhood drugstore feel as evidenced by the array of surgical equipment on display throughout the store. Jerry’s sells everything from hospital beds that allow

people to change positions at home, to wheelchairs and motorized wheel chairs, and chairs that help people recline and stand.

“The equipment provides independence when people need some type of mobility aid to get around their house,” Michael says. There’s also an employee who will meet with potential customers at their homes to make sure that they get the mobility equipment that they need. Jerry’s offers vaccines for travel, flu, shingles, and pneumonia for customers and walkins throughout the year

But it also has the fun stuff like greeting cards at 50 percent off and gifts for every holiday, all in the traditional spirit of a mom-andpop corner drugstore.

A FEEL FOR THE COMMUNITY When you walk into Jerry’s Drug, Michael matches the homey environment of his store with his warm personality. He’s been working at Jerry’s since 1990. Before working at the family business, he was a CPA.

Ira, a career pharmacist, had been trying to talk Michael into working at the store. “We used to talk a lot about the business, and he wanted me to join for quite a few years,” Michael says.

After he decided to stop working for other people, Michael says he found value in being part of the healthcare system. He was drawn to the idea of a corner drugstore where local customers know the pharmacists, and the pharmacists know the customers by name.

Ira and Michael Bologh

“After working for a corporation, it’s a wonderful change to do something where you’re helping people and working for yourself,” Michael says.

Michael says that the store’s relationship with the community is reciprocal and very rewarding for both sides.

SUPER STORE IN A SUPERSTORM During Superstorm Sandy, Jerry’s Drug was committed to helping the Bayonne community get its medications, even when the power went out. Amid the chaos of the storm, Michael says the store was able to get a generator set up on the sidewalk to fill prescriptions during the power outage.

“You could see the gratitude on people’s faces, that even though everything else was down, they could at least still count on us and get their medicine,” Michael says. Jerry’s couldn’t bill insurance, but they were still able to fill prescriptions.

That act of good faith extends to the programs that Jerry’s runs to benefit the Bayonne community.

One program that Jerry’s Drug operates year-round is the distribution of free children’s vitamins to all kids ages two through 12. Those interested don’t have to be customers. Nor do they need to buy anything. Recipients need only be parents looking to help their children grow up healthy.

Says Michael,“It’s just another way of helping out the community.”—BLP