Supplement to The Jewish News Until 1920, records and minutes of the Home's board of directors were kept in Yiddish • Volunteer Maxine Canvasser and resident Ann Shapiro at the L Butzel Center. About Our Trip to Butzel -D :3y Irving Pfeifer (from The Resident News) This was the best trip ever!!! Everything was wonderful, the :food, the weather, the staff members and the volunteers. There was marvelous entertainment, too. Everyone won prizes when volunteer Leo Sampson played `Name That Tune." We all loved Cantor Adler and Max Sosin and Eric Rosenow. David Mittelman playing accordian and guitar was wonderful. We played frisbee, sang, danced, heard stories, drank cocktails, had indoor Olympics, went boating and more. Nurses Betty Kemnitz, Barbara Typinski and Annie Sullivan with Rose Barth. 0. T. Barbara Evangelista assists Sadye Dudkin. Respite Care Sometimes an elderly person needs short-term nursing home care. Perhaps a chronically-ill person is being cared for at home by his or her children; they really need a vacation, but want to make sure their parent will be looked after in their absence. Perhaps a senior adult who lives alone has been in the hospital; he no longer needs round-the-clock medical attention, but is not yet capable of returning to an independent lifestyle. To serve this segment of the aged population, the Jewish Home for Aged recently began a program called respite care. Patients are accepted for respite care for a period of 2 to 17 weeks. They get all the nursing care they need and are able to participate in the Home's regulaf activities as much as they can. There is often no waiting list for the respite care service. We had .a surprise visit from Sheri Traison, former staff ember of Prentis Manor, and other staff members visited also. Prentis resident Rebecca Bonder sang beautifully for us. . and Mrs. Irving Pfeifer won the "Couple of the Year Award." There is much more to say, and we must thank Marcia Fink, who coordinated the vacation with the help of Cheryl Riskin,' volunteer Marilyn Fishman, and many many people who made the trip just marvelous. I can't wait for the next one. Thanks o all! Second Seder by Sadie Sandweiss (from The Resident News) I was elated to bless the holiday in the beautiful atmosphere of Borman Hall, with the beauty of the menorah and the tall candles, and the beautiful flowers and silverware on the tablecloths, and the corsages on the sparkling white uniforms. Elijah's cup impressed me with the observance and the symbolism of Judaism. Everyone who sat at the table displayed human dignity. The two dining room staff, Theresa and Violet, our hostesses, gave me the feeling that it was their home and they wanted to please us. The combination of the beauty of Passover and the devotion of the dining room staff made me grateful for such a beautiful human relationship. rr-fect Visits From the Humane Society Harry Aronovitz with a furry friend. "Everybody responds to music, even those who seem totally out of touch," says Ellen Morehouse, a music therapist who devotes several hours- a week to the residents of Prentis Manor and Borman Hall. Morehouse has a regular group of wheelchair-bound residents who meet in the lounges. She plays the piano or the guitar and the residents join in by singing, accompanying her on rhythm band instruments, or simply clapping or tapping their fingers in time to the music. The Borman Hall group likes Yiddish songs, while the Prentis Manor residents seem to prefer classical music, she says. "The people I work with are more isolated than most of the Home's residents, and the music therapy sessions give them an opportunity to have some choice about what's going on in their lives," Morehouse says. "They can choose the songs and an instrument to play. Julia Sender makes a new acquaintance Studies have shown that older persons, even those who seem to be very confused, often respond to animals. So for the past year, the Humane Society has been bringing kittens and puppies to Borman Hall for the benefit of the residents. "One resident, who hadn't spoken to anyone in quite awhile, held a puppy and said, `How cute,"' says Program Director Carol Rosenberg, noting that the Humane Society's visits have become very popular. Music Reaches Out to Residents "And the music brings back memories for them. I meet people who are so out of touch they don't know their names, but when they get into the music group, they can speak about the songs and their feelings. Volunteer Carole Kaplan works with Borman Hall residents. Learning is Lifelong Last spring, the Jewish Home for Aged held its first "graduation" for participants in a series of adult education classes. The classes, on a variety of subjects, were conducted by instructors from the Detroit Public Schools and the Midrasha/College of Jewish Studies. The graduation program, complete with certificates for the students and a guest speaker, was a huge success. Some of the participants, whose formal education hadn't gone beyond elementary school, were greatly moved by their first-ever graduation. The adult education program has been expanded this year, and plans are already being made for the next graduation ceremony, to which family and friends will be invited. 5 "I've had to learn the Yiddish songs, but I still don't know what the words mean — and that's good. I ask the residents, and they tell me about the songs." Morehouse also works with a few severely impaired patients at their bedside, using a portable electric piano. "One woman was totally unresponsive to everything around her," Morehouse says. "But the staff knew that music had always been an important part of her life. I've been playing and singing for her, and I can see a whole range of emotion cross her face when she hears the songs. She watches me intently, and she's even spoken a few times. "My accomplishments are mainly small things like that. I don't expect to perform miracles. But I do whatever I can to help keep people's minds alert."