The families of patients who are facing the final chapters of their lives find an endless wealth of support from the professionals at Stein Hospice, which is an agency of The Oscar & Ella Wilf Campus for Senior Living in the Somerset section of Franklin.
Last month, the hospice welcomed Elizabeth resident Chana Zablocki as its new medical director. She is certified by the American Board of Family Medicine.
Zablocki earned her doctoral degree in 2002 from Hadassah Medical School in Israel and completed her internship and residency in the JFK Family Medicine Residency Program in 2008, when she also earned a resident teacher award and chief resident award.
A family practitioner at Faith Family Health in Plainfield, she is also a consultant for the city of Elizabeth’s health department. She has lectured at Amal College in Israel and served as a commander for two years in the Israel Defense Force.
“Stein Hospice is really going to give me an opportunity to focus primarily on alleviating patients’ suffering,” Zablocki said in a prepared statement. “As physicians, we focus so much on our other capacities, such as helping to find cures. But, this position will give me the chance to dedicate my energy solely on ways to ease the suffering that patients endure.
“The different modalities I have trained in which have helped make me a better physician at other workplaces will help me in my work as hospice medical director as well. My position is not based on a time factor such as when I would see patients in my office from one hour to another. This is a 24-7 position in which nurses, who see hospice patients, call me to get suggestions about the patients’ care (medications, other measures of comfort care to help them).
“I meet with the nurses every week to discuss the patients formally so that no one falls through the cracks. I often I visit the patients, so I will go to their homes, nursing homes or assisted living to tend to their needs.”
In her new position, Zablocki hopes to be the type of physician who can bridge the gap between other physicians in the community who are referring patients to a hospice and Stein Hospice itself.
The Oscar and Ella Wilf Campus for Senior Living is composed of Stein Assisted Living with the Jaffa Gate Memory Care Neighborhood, Stein Hospice, Wilentz Senior Residence, Wilf Transport, Wilf At Home and The Foundation at the Wilf Campus. For more information, call 732-568-1155, email info@wilfcampus.org or visit www.wilfcampus.org. To contact Stein Hospice call 732-227-1212, email hospice@wilfcampus.org or visit www.SteinHospiceNJ.org.
