Inside the VJCC

Start of the Venice Japanese Community Center

By Tiffany Yoshikawa

Like many people, I am fortunate to have the Venice Japanese Community Center as an important part of my life. There are so many people who have had the opportunity to join clubs, play sports, and go to events at the Center. The Center is not only an important place to learn new skills, learn about the Japanese heritage, and form friendships, but it is also an important landmark. There are many people that are so used to driving by the Center and using the Center as one of the landmarks when they give people directions. It would be hard to imagine the Center being anywhere else besides its present location at 12448 Braddock Drive. But, the Center was not always located at its present site.

In February 1921, thirty-five families became a part of the Venice-Palms Industrial Association, which is now known as the Venice Japanese Community Center, Inc. The Venice-Palms Industrial Association was located at 12801 Jefferson Boulevard in Venice. Some of the people who helped establish the Association included Fusakichi Amauda, Harukichi Utsuki and Toyoichiro Yoshikawa.

Then, three years later, in February 1924, community leaders Eizo Maruyama and Tomohei Mikawa formed the Venice-Palms Japanese Language School, which is now known as the Venice Gakuen. The Language School was located at Jefferson Boulevard and Centinela Avenue. At the time, there were thirty-five students enrolled in the classes. In 1929, the Language School signed a ten-year lease when it moved to its new location on the corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Mozart, which is now McConnell Avenue. At this time, the Venice Celery Association, which was composed of farms in the Culver City, Palms and Venice areas, donated money to help the Language School.

 

In 1936, Venice-Palms Industrial Association changed its name to Venice Japanese Community Association. When the Language School’s lease expired in 1939, the Association, in a joint effort with the Language School, purchased the land on Braddock Drive—the present location of the Center. At this time, California continued to use the Alien Land Law, which stated that aliens ineligible for citizenship were not allowed to own or lease land. The title for the land was in the names of Nisei--who were American citizens of Japanese ancestry--Ryohei Nojima, Koji Okamoto and Fumi Utsuki.

In addition to the Language School, the Venice Seinen Kai (Young Men’s Association) was one of the first organizations created at the Center. On May 10, 1925, the Venice Seinen Kai, which is now known as the Venice Judo Club, was established. It started out with fifteen young men and was headed by Shiro Bunya. During a meeting on October 29, 1925, they decided to build a Seinen Kai Hall. Before World War II broke out, in 1941, the judo club moved its dojo from its location on Jefferson Boulevard between Centinela Avenue and Lincoln Boulevard to its present location on Braddock Drive.

Venice Japanese Community Association Picnic dated July 12, 1941

There was a lot of success and participation with the Language School and the Venice Seinen Kai. The Center seemed to be doing well and growing in membership. Then, on December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Following this event, the United States declared war against Japan. World War II changed everything. The lives of the Japanese Americans would never be the same.

Note: This is 1 of 4 articles on the History of the Venice Japanese Community Center. Keep an eye out for future articles by our 2007 intern, Tiffany Yoshikawa

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Senior Moments

Medicare and Skilled Nursing Facilities

By Dianne Kujubu Belli

Source Information: Nikkei Health Matters - Sharing Perspectives on Health and Aging  www.keiro.org

Dianne Kujubu Belli, Chief Administrative Officer, Keiro Senior HealthCare

Shawn Miyake, President & CEO, Keiro Senior HealthCare

Many people have questions about how to pay for nursing home care.  Frequently, the question comes up in a crisis situation when a family member suddenly requires hospitalization.  The following “blog” was posted on the Keiro Senior HealthCare website, as a public service by The Institute for Healthy Aging at Keiro and Keiro Senior HealthCare.

Question:

My mother is in the hospital and the hospital staff is advising us to choose a nursing home for her.  Does Medicare cover nursing home care?

Answer:

Medicare is the national health insurance program for those 65 years and older and for certain people younger than 65 with disabilities, and it will cover a stay in a nursing home if certain criteria are met.  These criteria include:

• The nursing home (skilled nursing facility) is certified by Medicare.
• The patient has been hospitalized for at least three (3) consecutive days just prior to entering the nursing home.  (A three-day hospital stay within the 30 days prior to entering the nursing home will qualify if the hospitalization was for the same condition as the patient needs nursing home care).
• The patient must need “skilled” nursing or rehabilitation services on a daily basis. 
• The skilled services must be ordered by the patient’s physician.
• The skilled services must be medically reasonable and necessary.
• The nursing home must be the most efficient and economical means of providing the needed services.

But what are these “skilled” services that a patient must need to receive on a daily basis?  Medicare defines “skilled” services as those that require the special skills of technical or professional staff, such as a registered nurse (RN), a licensed vocational/professional nurse (LVN/LPN), physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech pathologist or audiologist.  The patient must require these services on a daily basis.

Realistically, most of the services that people in nursing homes need are considered “custodial,” not “skilled.”  “Custodial” care would include assistance with the activities of daily living such as bathing, eating, going to the bathroom, and getting in and out of bed. Medicare will not cover someone’s nursing home stay if the patient needs only this “custodial” care.

However, if a patient requires “skilled” care and meets all the other criteria above, Medicare will cover nursing home care and the patient will pay:

For people enrolled in Medicare HMOs, the HMO will also cover “skilled” care in nursing homes for up to 100 days.  The co-pay amounts may differ among HMOs and some may not require the three-day qualifying stay.

If you have other questions about nursing home care, retirement home care, or long term care, please attend the Venice Japanese Community Center Committee on Caregiving’s seminar on Long Term Care Insurance on Saturday, October 13, 2007, from 1:00 pm, with guest speaker, Linda Loera of the Center for Health Care Rights.  Or, please feel free to call Dianne Kujubu Belli, Chief Administrative Officer, Keiro Senior HealthCare, at (310) 989-8629 or dbelli@keiro.org.

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