Outreach
Activities
(
-r. Hyman S. Mellen,
Consultant to
Administration for
Medical Affairs
After close to 25 years of existence as a mem-
ber agency of the Jewish Welfare Federation, a
new milestone in community relationships was
reached this year by Sinai Hospital.
By resolution of th,e Board of Governors of Fed-
eration the hospital was asked to assume the
responsibility of coordinating the medical needs
of the various agencies of Federation and to uti-
lize its expertise in an advisory, supervisory or
actual care delivery manner to fulfill those needs.
Sinai Hospital has accepted this responsibility
and the process of implementing the program as
outlined in the mandate is beginning to take
shape.
Under the chairmanship of Dr. Hyman S. Mel-
len and the associate chairmanship of Drs. Milton
H. Goldrath and Peter G. Shifrin a large com-
mittee has been formed and is functioning. •
Professional and lay representatives from each
of the various agencies are in the process of
establishing priorities, searching for funds, and
implementing those requests which can be han-
dled without too much disruption of ongoing
routine.
Cooperation Exists ,
Already established is a cooperative program
with The Jewish Community Center in regard to
risk modification as far as heart and blood vessel
disorders are concerned. In addition, an educa-
tional program for members of The Jewish Com-
munity Center in regard to medical subjects has
been formed. This has been accomplished by the
scheduling of meetings called for this pUrpose
throughout the year.
An agency referral clinic has been established
at Sinai Hospital's Shiffman Clinic to handle medi-
cal problems that arise in the various agencies
and require services not otherwise available
through private sources or through regular Shiff-
man Clinic channels.
A means to facilitate care for psychiatric prob-
lems is being established through the offices of
the Department of Psychiatry of Sinai Hospital.
Although a close relationship has always been
enjoyed by the hospital and The Jewish Home for
the Aged, even a more cohesive structure is
being sought and will hopefully be attained in the
not too distant future.
At present, plans are being consummated for
an evaluation of the pharmaceutical services at
the home by the director of pharmaceutical serv-
ices at the hospital.
Ultimately, it is hoped that the drug profiles of
each resident at the home will be the subject of
monthly review. Development of a closer liaison
between the home and the hospital in other areas
such as the establishment of a meaningful educa-
tional program in gerontology and psychiatry in
the aged is under study.
Other Programs
Other "outreach" programs already well estab-
lished remain to be mentioned.
The Low Vision Clinic has been functioning for,
years as a part of the Department of Ophthalmo-
logy. It is available to the general community on a
fee for service basis and has gone a long way to
produce. "functional vision" in many whose vision
has been reduced to a "legally blind" status.
Secondly, the Sinai Guild has created a pro-
gram which is entitled "Service with Love" -- a
free daily telephone call to the aged of the com-
munity to help with their special problems. This
serves to reassure the aged that accidents and
illnesses will not go unnoticed and it offers a
means of coordinating community resources to
meet other needs of the aged.
A Tay-Sachs screening program in cooperation
with the Genetics Laboratory of the Henry Ford
Hospital has been ongoing in the community for
the past several years.
This program was initiated principally with the
financial assistance of the Jewish Community
Foundation and the cooperative efforts of numer-
ous service groups including B'nai Brith women,
Junior Division of Federation, various synagogue
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44 4.M ••■•-. 44.
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groups, as well as others too numerous to
mention.
Perpetuation of this program is anticipated and
is dependent upon further demand and appropri-
ate funding.
Shiffman Clinic has been reorganized into a
Primary Care Clinic. This change in pattern now
provides an atmosphere that more closely simu-
lates a private physician's office.
Each patient relates to an individual physician
who serves him on an appointment basis and is
available to him between visits.
Provision of total care is aimed at and con-
sultation is used for specialized care. "Fragmen-
tation" of the patient is avoided and every attempt
is made to treat the patient who is ill rather than
to treat the illness with which the patient happens
to be afflicted.
Through a joint venture, the medical problems
which may arise at the Jewish Federation apart-
ments in regard to eligibility for admission or con-
tinued residence are being handled by the
administrator of the agency in cooperation with
The Jewish Family Service and the Shiffman
Clinic.
Requests for assistance with medical problems
are being considered for The Jewish Family Serv-
ice, Resettlement Service, Fresh Air Society, as
well as The Jewish Vocational Service and Corn-
munity Workshop.
Programs in Offing
Finally, serious consideration is being given to
two other "outreach" programs. One is the estab-
lishment of an assocation with an out-patient facil-
ity already functioning in the West Bloomfield
area.
The second is the development of a chronic
disease facility which can be serviced by hospital
staff. Such a facility would help to relieve con-
gestion at the hospital, open beds at The Jewish
Home for Aged, and serve as a hospice when
such a type of care is indicated.
With all of these items on the agenda, the pro-
gram planning committee should find itself much
work to do in Sinai's second quarter century of
existence. Each of the items lends itself to the
search that all medical providers must address
themselves to -- a search for better service at a
lower cost. The hospital looks forward to assum-
ing more and more responsibility in attempting to
assist in this area by serving the community
beyond its walls.
SINAI HOSPITAL Supplement to The Detroit Jewish News -5