Hebrew SeniorLife getting new president

The newly named president of Hebrew SeniorLife says NewBridge on the Charles could become a model for how elders are being cared for, though he notes there's still work to be done at the just-opened housing campus in Dedham.

Louis Jay Woolf, who takes over at Hebrew SeniorLife on Oct. 15, says Len Fishman, his predecessor as president, "has scoured the country for progressive models on ways to care for elders in a continuum of care that really optimizes their respect for them, their engagement, their vitality."

"The mentality is all about improvement, and about change," he says. "What NewBridge on the Charles is right now is an incredible advancement in elder care, but it's not done yet. It's a model that's going to continue to evolve, continue to improve."

Fishman, president and CEO of Hebrew SeniorLife since 2000, announced yesterday the appointment of Woolf, who has long experience in health care management. For the past six-and-a-half years he has been executive vice president and chief operating officer at Partners HealthCare's North Shore Medical Center.

Fishman will continue to serve as CEO of Hebrew SeniorLife, the largest nonprofit provider of senior care in New England. Fishman said the new structure, with a separate president, "allows us to be organized in the best possible way to meet the challenges that lie ahead."

The position was also created to better support the nonprofit's recent significant expansion, including the rollout this year of NewBridge on the Charles, a $485 million development that ultimately will be home to 800 seniors in a variety of independent and assisted living and long-term care settings.

Woolf, 55, will oversee all of Hebrew SeniorLife's operations, including its flagship Hebrew Rehabilitation Center in Roslindale, its Institute for Aging Research, and six housing sites in Greater Boston. He says he will be involved at all of the locations right away, but his sense is that early on NewBridge and the rehab center in Roslindale "may get a lot of attention."

Many residents and employees will be moving from the Roslindale site to Dedham.

Fishman, meanwhile, will focus on Hebrew SeniorLife's strategic vision, philanthropy, and its community, government and media relations. Woolf says he will work with Fishman on the strategic vision, but, "I'm mostly going to be focusing on the operations and ensuring that we are delivering our mission to our patients and residents and community as best we can."

Woolf grew up in Newton and Worcester, receiving a bachelor's degree in economics from Brandeis University and a MBA from Columbia University. He lives with his wife, Sarah, in Newtonville, and they have two grown children.

Woolf's career began in consumed packaged goods management at Gillette Co. and General Mills Inc. He later spent eight years in the leadership of the CareGroup Healthcare System, including serving as the executive vice president and chief operating officer of New England Baptist Hospital.

Working in the same roles at North Shore Medical Center, which is a large community hospital system, Woolf played a key role in integrating the operations of North Shore Children's Hospital, Salem Hospital and Union Hospital.

That experience of working collaboratively in a complex institution and "bringing best practices together" will be directly applicable at Hebrew SeniorLife.

"As we move forward with health care reform and the need to use our resources more effectively, I think the idea of working more closely together and seeking out those best practices is really beneficial," Woolf says.

Daily News staff writer Edward B. Colby can be reached at 781-433-8336 or ecolby@cnc.com.