Ari and I first met when a good friend and colleague, Iz Tennenberg, called saying that his grandson-in-law was in our field of practice and was looking to make a change from his present position. Iz and I go back to YU’S Wurzweiler School of Social Work. Iz was CEO/Administrator of a Jewish Home in Cherry Hill, NJ.
![[photo]](images/ari01.jpg)
Ari had been in the field of geriatrics for two years, having graduated from Wurzweiler in 2006. Coincidently, a social work position had opened at JHR and Ari was introduced to Susan Lilly, JHR’s Director of Social Services. As a result, Ari joined the social service staff in May of 2007. He has functioned extremely well as a member of our social work staff and our multidisciplinary team. The residents, families and staff have all grown very close to him.
In November 2008 I decided to bring someone on as an Administrator In Training (AIT) as has been done many times before. An offer was extended to Ari to take on this task in addition to his position as social worker. In NJ, one has to put in 1500 hours of training before being allowed to sit for the exam. This training had to be in addition to his full time position. Despite this additional obligation, Ari happily accepted the offer and, during the past 1.5 years, has managed very well in rotating through each of the departments of JHR.
In March, Ari was asked if he would be interested in assuming the role of Assistant Administrator, effective April 2010. Ari accepted this responsibility knowing that he had to complete his AIT and pass the licensing exam. The advantage of Ari being in this position full time is that all of his hours will now be counted towards the 1500 required and not just those after his normal work day. Ari will be able, within the next few months, to sit for this exam and a social worker was hired to replace him in the Social Services Department.
The response from staff, residents and families has been very positive and I look forward to working with him. We hope that you share your good wishes with Ari as well.