Daughters of Miriam

Daughters of Miriam Center was founded in 1921 as a Jewish home for the aged and orphans. The Center is the only Jewish facility in New Jersey accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare. The facility is located in Clifton, New Jersey The center is a long-term care and subacute care 501(c)(3) not-for-profit facility dedicated to providing the highest quality care and broad-based services and a glatt kosher kitchen with dietary staff carefully monitoring meals prepared for specialized diets. 

During the years 1944-1948, Daughters of Miriam changed part of its focus and mission.  The Center gave the program for dependent children to a professional casework agency which placed the children into foster care or placed them for adoption.  The focus was set on providing better care for the aged.  A 60-bed nursing unit and staff building with a variety of services was added.  From 1952 to 1957, Daughters of Miriam merged with B’nai Israel Home for the Aged in Passaic.  The Home was transformed to a total nursing setting for the aged between 1957 and 1963.

Beginning in 1963, the Home entered into funding relationships with private philanthropies and the federal government.  The introduction of Medicare and Medicaid moved Daughters of Miriam toward greater dependence on third-party payment for services.  By this time, the Center was providing many levels of care for its residents.  The opening of the Rotherberg Building in 1966 raised the bed capacity to 300.  In 1967, the Brawer Building (Miriam Apartments) opened its doors, providing apartment residents with independent living combined with security and ready access to medical and social services.  With the completion of the Esther and Sam Schwartz Building (Miriam Apartments II), in the 1970s, the Center had an additional 150 units.  A major capital task, of upgrading older buildings and adding in-house services, continued through the twentieth century.