Aliyah Services for Seniors
Aliyah and Returning Citizen (Toshav Chozer) Support
Israel is a wonderful place for seniors, but setting everything up can be complex and overwhelming, requiring careful thinking and advance care planning. The team at B’Lev Shalem has over 10 years of collective experience supporting senior Olim and Toshavim Chozrim, and offers expert, personalized guidance, before and after arriving in Israel to ensure a successful transition.
Our dedicated Aliyah & Returning Citizen service for seniors will provide your family with personalized guidance every step of the way, whether helping your elderly parents prepare to leave their home, managing the Aliyah process, or arranging for medical or home care in Israel.
You can count on our experience and guidance, both before and after the move, including:
Before you arrive…
- Pre-Aliyah financial review to consider estimated cost of living for various living arrangements in your desired geographical area.
- Pre-Aliyah review of home country insurance policies (life, long-term care, etc.) to understand their applicability in Israel.
- Pre-Aliyah review of prescription medication and assistance in transferring prescriptions to Israel.
- Assistance in organizing required documents and completing the Aliyah application process with Nefesh B’Nefesh, the Jewish Agency and additional relevant agencies.
- Assistance with securing an appropriate living arrangement, including accompanying your family to tour senior residence facilities (”diyur moogan”) or nursing homes (“bet avot”), and helping to ask the right questions and understand costs.
Once you are in Israel…
- Assistance in registering and interfacing with all government agencies.
- Assistance with setting up your loved one’s new home to ensure maximum safety, such as appropriate doorknobs and lighting switches, secured rugs, stair and bath railings, good lighting, emergency call buttons.
- Assistance in obtaining specialized medical or safety products and accessories.
- Assistance with finding qualified and legal part-time and full-time caregivers, including important information and guidance on hiring an Israeli or foreign caregiver.
- Assistance in choosing a “Kupah” (health care service) and support in securing a primary care physician as well as referrals to qualified health care specialists.
- Referrals to qualified financial and legal advisers, assistance in establishing Israeli financial accounts, and guidance on legal documents such as wills, advance directives, and powers of attorney.
- Guidance on benefits that may be available through Bituach Leumi (National Insurance), Misrad Habriut (Ministry of Health), and the Foundation for Holocaust Survivors in Israel.
- Referrals for community-based support including intellectual, social and volunteer opportunities.
- Assistance with end-of-life matters such as hospice, spiritual counseling and burial.
B’Lev Shalem’s Aliyah and Returning Citizen Services are managed by Avigail Buiumsohn, MSW.
Avigail holds an MSW from Yeshiva University and has over 20 years of working with older adults in Israel, including as the Aliyah Specialist for Retirees at Nefesh B’Nefesh. She is uniquely knowledgeable about the complexities of senior Aliyah and is skilled in navigating information regarding older Olim support, both before and after Aliyah.
Please reach out to Avigail at avigail@blevshalem.com