By John George, Philadelphia Business Journal
Abramson Senior Care and Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) of Greater Philadelphia have completed their merger, uniting two nonprofits that together have provided more than 400 years of health care and social services in the region. The merger of Abramson Senior Care into JFCS, finalized earlier this month, did not involve any financial consideration.
Abramson Senior Care listed assets of $37.8 million and liabilities of $2.7 million in fiscal 2024. JFCS reported assets of $9.3 million and liabilities of $2 million in the same period.
Reported fiscal 2024 revenue was $14.6 million for JFCS and slightly more than $1 million for Abramson Senior Care.
The combined organization has 103 employees, and the merger is not expected to result in any layoffs.
The Abramson Senior Care Foundation, a separate organization with an endowment of about $30 million to support senior services, will remain an independent entity.
Robin Brandies, CEO of Bala Cynwyd-based JFCS, said the merger allows the organizations to combine their strengths, broaden their reach and “ensure even greater access to critical services for vulnerable older adults.”
Brandies, previously CEO of Abramson Senior Care, began serving as CEO of JFCS on Sept. 1 following the retirement of Paula Goldstein, who had led the organization for 14 years.
“I don’t think there was ever a thought that we needed to come together,” she said. “I think there was the thought that coming together, we would provide the best and most expansive senior services for years to come.”
The combined organization will feature both the senior care management offered by Jenkintown-based Abramson Senior Care and JFCS’s wide range of programs and services for people of all ages, including mental health and wellness support and assistance with basic needs such as food, clothing, utilities and rent for individuals and families in financial crisis.
JFCS already had a senior services division that offered many of the same programs as Abramson Senior Care.
“Our coming together reflects both institutions’ shared commitment to the health and wellbeing of older adults in the Greater Philadelphia community,” Neil Model, who had been chair of the Abramson Senior Care board until the merger closed, said in a statement.
Abramson Senior Care shifted its focus earlier this decade to personalized geriatric care management, care planning and coordination from direct health care services, led by its operation of a nursing home and home care and hospice programs.
Within JFCS, senior services will now operate as Abramson Senior Care of JFCS and serve as a “single, comprehensive resource” for older adults.
Brandies said the first phase of the merger will focus on integrating the two organizations under the JFCS brand. After that, she said, JFCS will look for opportunities to grow its services.
“We will explore where we can expand and how we can work even more collaboratively with other agencies in Philadelphia that also serve seniors,” Brandies said.
JFCS and Abramson Senior Care have worked together on a variety of programs for more than a decade. A recent example, Brandies said, is a support program for Holocaust survivors that includes providing access to nurse practitioner services.