8 Friday, May 20, 1983

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Hospice Strives to Meet Religious Needs of Jewish Patients

By HEIDI PRESS

the facility "would be
Accommodations for kas- willing" to make ar-
hrut and other Jewish re- rangements to provide a
quirements are made for patient with a room in
Jewish patients at the Hos- which to light the Shabat
pice of Southeastern Michi- candles.
Rabbi Rosenbaum also
gan and their families.
According to Rabbi Stan- emphasized the hospice's
ley Rosenbaum of Cong. encouragement of family
Bnai Moshe, who serves on involvement, with the fam-
the hospice's advisory ily being "the basic caring
board, the "people there are unit" rather than the medi-
extremely sensitive . . . to cal facility.
Rabbi Irwin Tanenbaum,
individual needs."
For example, a kitchen is spiritual leader of Temple
available to patients and Beth Israel in Jackson and
their families so that food pastoral consultant to the
• from home can be brought to Hospice of Jackson, drew a
the patient. It can be parallel between the hos-
brought and cooked in the pice's view on family in-
family's own utensils with- volvement with a termi-
out destroying the kashrut nally ill member and the
of the food if the patient is Jewish view. In an article
entitled, "The Hospice,
kashrut-observant.
In fact, Rabbi Rosen- Terminally Ill and Jewish
baum says, the hospice Tradition" (Jewish News,
encourages the families March 5, 1982) he stated in
of patients to use the part:
kitchen.
"Both recognize the im-
Regarding
Shabat
observance, portance of the remaining
Rabbi Rosenbaum said days of the terminally-ill

individual in the sense of
quality. Alleviation of pain,
physical, spiritual, and
mental, is the primary con-
cern.
Aiding the family and
patient to face what is in-
evitable within a context
of warmth and friend-
ship, of caring and loving
people, is the object.
Jewish tradition and
hospice philosophy both
stress the necessity of
combining medicine with
psychology, technology
with plain decent human
contact, in order to
maximize the quality of
life, and to take the family
back to face continued
existence after the death
has taken place..
"One who is in a dying
condition is considered a liv-
ing being in all respects,
and must be treated as such.
Our tradition clearly indi-
cates that he is not to be
shut off from family con-
tacts; he is not to be

DENTURE WEARERS

Are you having trouble
with your dentures?

Having made a special study of denture
wearers and their problems for the last
15 years, I may be able to help you, if
you have any of the following problems:
looseness, sore spots, poor lower
ridge, even no lower ridge; "floating"
lower denture, incorrect bite, inability
to eat properly, teeth too short, or other
unnatural appearance.
No charge for consultation. Insurance,
Medicaid, Visa and Master Charge ac-
Dentistry for the
cepted.
entire family since 1960

MANUEL J. KANER, D.D.S.

29911 WEST SIX MILE (JUST W. OF MIDDLEBELT) • LIVONIA

261-4320

Detroit Chapter

THE

AMERICAN SOCIETY for TECHNION

ISRAEL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

program topic .
Israel Aircraft Industries
An Up-Date
Started in 1953 in a-desolute area not far from ancient Lydda, the Israel Aircraft
Industries now has 22,000 skilled employees providing 350 military and civilian
products and services marketed in 50, countries.
Designed and manufactured by men who actually use them, Israel Aircraft
Industries is an innovator and leader in a number of Land, Sea and Air Defense Systems
vital to Israel's security.

speaker . . .

SHMUEL NAGAR

• Director of Engineering Programs, Israel Aircraft Industries International
• Graduate, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Aeronautical Engineering
• Served in the Israel Air Force

film . . .

an Israeli documentary

chairperson . . .

Albert Newman

• Trustee, Detroit Chapter, American Technion Society
• President, Iron and Metal Products, Inc.

UNITED HEBREW SCHOOLS

21550 West 12 Mile Road, Southfield

Wednesday, June 1, 1983 at 7:45 P.M.

excluded from conversation
and daily affairs of the
house and business; and
surely he is not left to lan-
guish in a dark, forgotten
corner of the world, ignored
by family and friends. Home
is the place to be if at all
possible, surrounded by
those who love him and care
for his welfare.
"In short, one cannot
treat him as though he is
already gone. The grave
cannot be prepared in ad-
vance; burial garments
must not be laid out in prep-
aration for the funeral. In
addition, it is considered a
religious obligation to visit
the sick, to talk about him,
and to pray for his recovery.
A physician must be con-
sulted and treatment gi-
ven."
The Hospice of South-
eastern Michigan was
founded by the Quadrangle
hospitals (Grace Northwest,
Mt. Carmel Mercy, Provi-
dence and Sinai) and incor-
porated in November 1978.
Later other hospitals
joined the consortium. They
are: William Beaumont
(Royal Oak and Troy),
Henry Ford, Harper, Grace,
St. John, Children's, Bi-
County Community, De-
troit Osteopathic, River-
side, Botsford, East and
West Units of Michigan Os-
teopathic Medical Center,
Oakwood, Annapolis, Beyer
Memorial, Heritage, Outer
Drive, Seaway and Bon Sec-
ours. Each hospital corpora-
tion's representative sits on
the hospice board and chairs
various committees of the
board.
Located at 22401 Foster
Winter Dr., Southfield,
the hospice says in its
statement of purpose:
"The main purpose of
hospice care is to provide a
life affirming climate in
which the dying person can
maintain control over his
life, prepare for death in his
own way, and live his life in
comfort and with a sense of
personal worth. Care is also
extended to the family
through the provision of
emotional support,
encouragement of their par-
ticipation in patient care,
and support during the be-
reavement period."
The hospice provides in-
patient care for persons un-
able to be cared for at home;
home care for persons who
wish to remain home and
pain control via medication
and a cheerful environ-
ment, offering liberal visit-
ing hours, allowing per-
sonal belongings in
patients' rooms and plants
and a homelike atmosphere,
to help relax the patient.
Whatever pre-conceived
notions one enters -the
Southfield Hospice with,
they are quickly dispelled.
Public Relations Director
Mary Jane Muysenberg will
be happy to give a visitor a
brief tour. •
Strong bright colors
are used in the patients
rooms to provide a
cheery atmosphere. Ac-
cording to Mrs. Muysen-
berg, the bright colors
are used in an effort to

give the rooms less of an
institutionalized look.
Each room has a clock and

RABBI GROLLMAN

calendar to orient the
patient to time. Patients are
entitled to bring all kinds of
personal belongings to
make their room as
homelike as possible. Visit-
ing hours are liberal, there
are no age restrictions on
visitors and even pets are
allowed.
Mrs. Muysenberg said the
major function of the
facility is to control pain
and she said that is usually
accomplished within the
first 24 hours after a
patient's arrival: Equally
important is the support
given to the family and the
patient. She said if the pain
is not controlled, any sup-
port offered will not be
realized by the patient.
"Most people (patients)
want to go home," Mrs.
Muysenberg said. "We give
them that support . . . We
teach people how to take
care of the patients. Most
wish to die at home."
Expecting a depressing
scene, the visitor finds
the opposite to be true.
There is a lot of activity,
all geared toward the
dignity of the patient —
what Mrs. Muysenberg
calls the quality of life.
Patients are encouraged
to eat whenever they want,
and a small kitchen is
equipped and supplied for
their convenience. Volun-
teers offer goodies from a
tea cart to the patients and
their families and on Friday
nights there are parties
with entertainment. "We
try to make their (the
patients') lives full," Mrs.
Muysenberg said.
A non-denominational
chapel is available and a
family room outfitted with
furniture, stereo equip-
ment, toys, TV, a bar, books
and refrigerators is open to
the patients and their
families.
Although the hospice
trained nearly 300 volun-
teers in the past six months,
more are always needed.
There are two
classifications of volun-
teers, Mrs. Muysenberg
said. The primary volunteer
"gets close" to the family
and patient, almost becom-
ing a member of the family.
The other, a general volun-
teer, provides services.
"They choose not to become
deeply involved with the
patients," Mrs. Muysenberg
explained.
Among the biggest
problems the Southfield
hospices faces is space.
Although there are 38

patient rooms available,
many others have been
taken over by offices and
supply storage.
Mrs. Muysenberg said
community support also is
needed.
Upon walking out of the
facility, a visitor sees prep-
arations being made for the
admission of a new patient.
A bed with brightly colored
rainbow linens awaits the
incoming patient. A card,
created and decorated by an
office staffer welcoming the
new patient, is placed on the
waiting bed. There is no
sadness, only smiles.
Hospice Group
Hosts Seminar
Since the creation of the
hospice, an organization
has come into being, Hos-
pice Support Services, Inc.,
serving terminally ill
patients and their families
in their homes. It is not
linked to the Hospice of
Southeastern Michigan,
and it only provides home
care. Unlike the hospice,
this group provides its serv-
ices free of charge.
Based in Westland, the
support service has a
fully trained team of lay
and professional volun-
teers, usually including
the patient's own physi-
cian, to provide home
care.
The support service will
host an educational semi-
nar on grief and bereave-
ment June 2 at St. Edith
Church, 15089 Newburgh,
Livonia, at which Rabbi
Earl A. Grollman, who spe-
cializes in counseling the
dying and the bereaved will
be the guest speaker.
The seminar will begin at
12:30 p.m. with registra-
tion, and will feature three
workshops thorughout the
afternoon and evening.
They are: "Grief and Be-
reavement as a Process,"
"Grief and Bereavement as
It Applies to Hospice" and
"Children and Death."
Spiritual leader of Beth
El Temple Center in Bel-
mont, Mass., Rabbi
Grollman is chairman of
the Massachusetts Ecu-
menical Council on
Health and Morality, past
president of the Massa-
chusetts Board of Rab-
bis, chairman of the
United Rabbinic Chap-
laincy Commission and a
member of the Gover-
nor's Council on Action
for Mental Health,
Massachusetts Commit-
tee on Services for the
Aged and the Conjugal
Bereavement Team of
Harvard University
Community School of
Psychiatry.
He is a pioneer in the field
of pastoral counseling,
crisis intervention and
thanatology and is the
author of several books,
many focusing on death and
dying.
At 9 a.m. June 2, Rabbi
Grollman will address a
breakfast for clergy at
Schoolcraft College —
Waterman Center.
For application and in-
formation, call Hospice
Support Services, 525-4485.

C.

