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A volunteer and a rabbi from a Jewish healing center visit an elderly patient in the intensive care ward at a San Francisco hospital.

The patient, "Ethel," is not responsive. She lies attached to monitors and life-support machines as her visitors talk to her and pray without knowing whether the ailing woman can even hear them.

The volunteer, Denah S. Bookstein, suggests they sing one of Ethel's favorite songs, "Sunny Side of the Street." Several verses into the song, the duo stops short, groping for the next line. Ethel opens her eyes and sings, "If I never had a dime…"

Against her doctors' expectations, Ethel recovered and returned to the care of Ruach Ami: Bay Area Jewish Healing Center.

Another elderly Ruach Ami client who had not been a servicegoer before her illness rediscovered a new zest for life after she began to attend worship programs, a phenomenon Bookstein has observed with other ailing seniors.

The devout have long cited the mysterious healing power of faith. Now a recent study pinpoints a direct correlation between regular religious observance and wellness among seniors.

In his study, psychiatrist and researcher Harold Koenig of Duke University in North Carolina discovered that older adults who attend regular religious services are twice as likely to have strong immune systems as those who don't.

Koenig determined that blood levels of interleukin-6, an immune system protein linked to age-related diseases, were lower in 1,718 test subjects over age 65 who attended religious services at least once a week.

"Those who go to church or synagogue regularly are physically healthier, mentally healthier and they have healthier immune systems," the researcher said in an Associated Press story.

The positive health impact linked to religious attendance remained even when Koenig accounted for such factors as age, chronic illnesses, ability to perform routine tasks and depression.

Those findings are not surprising to a number of Bay Area physicians, rabbis, psychologists and others who work with seniors.

Barry Barkan, founder and CEO of the Live Oak Living Center, a senior residence in El Sobrante, cited an autopsy study conducted on a number of nuns' brains. The researchers, Barkan said, discovered that the nuns showed marked physiological brain differences indicating a higher level of mental functioning than the brains of control subjects who were not nuns.

Though the nuns lived what some perceive as a solitary lifestyle, they were actually in a communal living situation enabling them to devote themselves to daily worship.

"There's a lot of literature about people who regularly attend services," said Dr. Bernard Blumberg, a medical consultant at the Jewish Home for the Aged in San Francisco. "It's been well known for ages. Whether it's a church or temple doesn't seem to be important — it's whether they believe in a higher being or not and [if] they feel comfort from it."

However, Blumberg warned against waiting until one is elderly to look for God.

"People don't start believing when they're seriously ill." The healthy effects of attending services, he said, are the result of longtime observance.

"It's not a thing for an older person to start to go to services in an attempt to prolong their life by a month or six."

But while Blumberg acknowledges the healing power of faith, he contends that the Duke study may not be enough to directly link religious observance and immunity.

More scientific studies are in order before such claims can be verified, he said.

However, Rabbi Malcolm Sparer, spiritual leader at the Jewish Home, said the Duke study is "on the mark." Through his work with elders, Sparer observes that those who have faith when facing critical illness are in a better position to cope.

Communal worship, in particular, he added, spurs seniors to be more engaged with life.

"Many people take pride in coming to the service. They dress. Women will put on their earrings and put on their pearls."

For others, taking an active religious role may help to keep them vital.

At Menorah Park senior apartments in San Francisco, Arthur Mellow, 95, takes pride in 18 years of leading weekly Shabbat services for fellow residents. Mellow said he had not been to a synagogue in 30 years when he first moved to the apartments. He discovered the need for a spiritual leader at the residence and rose to the occasion.

Many of the residents are Russian emigres and were not able to practice or learn of Judaism under their former Communist regime.

"I felt a sort of inner duty to keep Judaism alive among these Russians," Mellow said.

While health authorities say a sense of purpose promotes wellness, Mellow does not specifically link his religious duties to his strong lease on life.

So what is it, exactly, that seems to be improving the health of servicegoers? The power of human faith? God's sustenance? Prayer? All of the above? Even the experts don't really know, although many have taken educated stabs at an answer.

San Rafael psychologist Roberta Siefert contends an active faith in God probably has less to do with a servicegoer's well-being than simply interacting with other worshippers.

"There's a lot that we don't understand about the incredible [power] of whatever it is that makes us human, the force that moves in all of us," she said.

Siefert, who is Jewish, recalled a study indicating hospital patients recover from injury and illness at a faster rate when another person prays for them at their bedside.

But while she acknowledges the healing power of prayer, she says health and well-being have more to do with a connection of human spirit than anything supernatural.

Jewish healing activist and psychologist Joel Crohn of San Rafael agrees with Siefert on the benefits of human interaction. The communal nature of Jewish worship, in particular, lends itself to healthy aging.

"You can be a good Protestant on an isolated farm in North Dakota," he said, "but it's difficult to be a good Jew in isolation.

"[Community] is one of the healing things about Judaism."

Perhaps the best testament to the healing power of community takes place at El Sobrante's Live Oak Living Center, which has been championed by national nursing home reform groups for its innovative approach to elder care.

Live Oak residents are part of what CEO Barkan calls "regenerative community," giving the residents dignity by involving them in activities and encouraging them to grow.

The resident starts each day with a community meeting, where participants welcome new members, mourn recent deaths, make announcements and sing.

"We are weaving people together into the structure of community life, whether it's building a [kind of] neighborhood or a kitchen table," said Barkan, who is also a co-founder of the Aquarian Minyan of Berkeley.

"It's not rocket science. It's about creating venues for people to come together."

Residents who were living in isolation before moving to Live Oak break out of their shells and become involved. They become more interested and enthusiastic about life, he said.

While the nonsectarian home has its pocket of faithful, an elder's regeneration comes from a sense of belonging to community and the individual encouragement of human spirit, Barkan said.

"When we first looked at this model 20 years ago, I realized that this was the nature of Jewish community values and I wanted to apply this to a nursing home.

"Being part of something bigger than yourself is important," he said. "It enriches faith. Faith is life. That's got to feed into the immune system."