History

The New York Foundation for Eldercare (NYFE) was founded in 1966 as the New York Foundation for Nursing Homes.  An early and prominent leader of the Foundation was Margaret Tietz, a well-known, much beloved and influential person in the social work field, first in her native Germany and then in the United States after the Second World War. Tietz championed social causes and served on the Boards of several well-established social welfare organizations.

In 1971, the Foundation built a nursing home in Jamaica Hills, Queens, recognized for its personal and compassionate care of its residents and as a special home for Holocaust survivors and Nazi persecutees. This facility was re-named in 1975 as The Margaret Tietz Center for Nursing Care in her honor.  From 2003-2007, the Foundation was known as The Margaret Tietz Center Foundation reflecting the close association of the Foundation and the nursing home.  

When The Margaret Tietz Center for Nursing Care changed hands in 2007, the Foundation changed its name to the New York Foundation for Eldercare and refocused on community initiatives that educate and improve the quality of life of older New Yorkers through community programs, medical services, technical support and direct health care.

One grant of note was funded by the Leo and Julia Forchheimer Foundation in 1982 and 1992; it established fellowships in geriatric medicine and funded a unique collaborative geriatric psychiatry program involving professionals from the Montefiore Medical Center and a skilled nursing facility. More than 100 Program Fellows have rotated through the program over its 40+year history, and many of them are now leaders in geriatrics.