THE PAST

Assessing History

When Sinai Hospital of Detroit opened its
doors to the community more than 25 years
ago — on January 15. 1953 — the facility
was already half a century old. For
underlying the bricks and mortar that went
into its construction were the hopes and
dreams of a Jewish community which had
worked tirelessly for its realization.

Sinai Hospital's tradition of medical
research, education and treatment and
service is evident in early records of the
Detroit Jewish community.

In 1900, under the auspices of the Ladies
Society for the Support of Hebrew Widows
and Orphans, a young Jewish doctor began
treating indigent patients in his office at
Woodward and Adelaide Streets. As the
number of patients increased, a small clinic
was opened at Brush and Montcalm Streets.
Soon after, a free dispensary and clinic were
established at the Jewish Institute, better
known as the Hannah Schloss Building at
Vernor and Hastings Street.

Eventually, through the offices of the
Maimonides Medical Society and the
Hebrew Hospital Association, the North End
Clinic was established on Westminister
Avenue near Oakland. Throughout this
entire period, the advantages and
disadvantages of a Jewish-sponsored
hospital in Detroit were discussed. Countless
dedicated lay and medical leaders were
rewarded when, in 1926, the North End
Clinic moved to the Leopold Wineman
Memorial Building on Holbrook. (The Clinic
remained there until 1959 when its
outpatient clinic completed a rewarding
38-year history and became an integral part
of the Sinai Hospital program.)

JULIEN PRIVER, M.D.

In the 1930's the movement to establish a
Jewish-sponsored hospital gained significant
strength. The active program for the
hospital's development moved forward and
in the summer of 1941. a number of Jewish
community leaders met, solicited and
obtained each other's assistance in planning
the establishment of a Jewish-sponsored
hospital in Detroit.

Soon after, the project received the
approval of other noted Detroit Jewish
community leaders as well as the approval
of the Jewish Welfare Federation of Detroit.

Supplement to the Jewish News

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