Big changes are happening at CareOne in Teaneck.

With Teaneck resident Laurie Kleid now at the helm, major plans are in the works to bring back regular minyanim as well as special holiday programming.

Situated in the heart of Teaneck’s Jewish community, CareOne is a glatt kosher skilled nursing facility for subacute rehabilitation and long-term care. With unparalleled care and state-of-the-art equipment, patients can receive any number of services including physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy, and are then sent home with a safe discharge plan. Those plans might include a variety of equipment, healthcare, nursing and social work visits at home, in addition to other services like Meals on Wheels.

Kleid started her career as the director of social work at CareOne at Teaneck back in 2009 and even trained there to become a licensed nursing home administrator. While she had a variety of roles within the company, she has been the administrator at CareOne at Valley since 2019. But one day, the call came in asking if she would come back to Teaneck, this time as the facility’s administrator, overseeing all operations in the building.

Installing Kleid, who understands the needs of the community as well as post-acute care, made perfect sense. In the short time that she has been at the Teaneck facility, she has already made contact with many people because of her deep connections here. Grateful to be in a glatt kosher facility that caters to the Jewish community, Kleid said the opportunity gives her “more of a sense of purpose and closeness with my community.

“CareOne in Teaneck has always been my home,” she said. She viewed her new role not only as a unique opportunity to breathe new life into CareOne now that COVID restrictions have eased, but also as a homecoming to the place where she first started back in 2009.

Because of COVID restrictions, much of the community connections to CareOne abruptly stopped. Besides restricting visitors, the facility’s shul closed along with the many minyanim and communal holiday gathering and festivities.

But with pandemic restrictions finally easing, Kleid is eager to reopen the shul and “put that Jewish life back into the building the way it used to be.” Before COVID, CareOne at Teaneck was home to a thriving minyan. A rabbi came every Shabbat, leading Kabbalat Shabbat and Shacharit. Afterwards shul goers stayed for the hot kiddush and warm atmosphere.

Because CareOne did not charge for seats on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the minyan attracted a lot of people, especially younger couples who couldn’t afford the expense of High Holiday seating at other local synagogues. Kleid called it a “win-win” situation for both the community and the residents as it gave them the opportunity to daven with a kehilla while removing some of the loneliness that can accompany a stay in a rehab facility.

But if Kleid has her way, it will be even better than before. Although the shul has been closed for the last two years, she is gearing up for a grand reopening right on time for Purim. A Megillah reading is planned with regular Shabbat minyanim soon to follow.

In fact, CareOne has already rebooted its free Shabbat challah giveaway. “People sign up and we bake the challah in-house. Then they drive up and we bring it to their car.” Around 40 people signed up last week.

There are also plans to partner with Areyvut for some Purim festivities. With Pesach on its heels, programming is already in the works for that as well.

“We want to reopen and invite people to come back in.” While a hot kiddush is not quite in the mix just yet, Kleid does plan to send shul-goers home with a kiddush box “They come and go home with a kiddush box. It’s a nice way to be a part of the surrounding neighborhood.”

Megillah times are 7:35 p.m. on Wednesday, March 16, and 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 17.

For questions or to set up a tour call the admissions department at 201-862-3300. For more information on CareOne at Teaneck please visit www.care-one.com