Code Bhte for Borman Hall?
Rose Dittman relaxes with a cup of coffee.
I
O
said that building was
too old to fix.
"Borman is not too old
to fix," Dr. Yeriam said.
"I am fairly optimistic it
will not close. A lot of
people are working very
hard to tackle a series of
problems in a short
time."
Midge Apple co-chairs
the Family Forum, a
support group which
meets regularly to dis-
cuss problems and solu-
tions at the Jewish Home
for Aged.
"We want the Jewish
community to be aware
we don't want this build-
ing to close," said Mrs.
Apple, whose parents
both are Borman Hall
residents. "We know
there are problems. Yes,
it is a shande. But we
want to fix it.
"I want to be able to
come here," Mrs. Apple
said. "Here there are
kosher meals. Here it is
Jewish. There is a big
need for the community
to support it."
Residents are fright-
ened by the situation.
"I thank God I'm here,"
said Resident Council
President Fay Goldstein.
"This is our home, and I
have no other place to
go. We need supervision.
That's really what we
need."
At a joint meeting of
the Federation and JHA
boards which followed
the state citations, a
straw vote showed the
majority of members
agreed it might be better
to close Borman than to
run it as is.
The same group quick-
ly changed its tune.
Two Federation com-
mittees have been
charged with supervising
the JHA project. The cri-
sis committee was
formed to help the Home
get through the day-to-
day clean up. The
options committee is
studying ways to better
serve the elderly at JHA.
"The question is not
whether or not we should
serve the elderly, but
how?" Mr. Aronson said.
Michael Perlman, JHA
vice president, is con-
vinced that efforts in
the last 90 days to clean
house at Borman Hall
will set the tone for
future endeavors.
"We can survive in
Detroit," he said. "Until
we come up with options
for providing beds out
in West Bloomfield, it
is our obligation to
the Jewish community
to provide the best care
we can for the frail elder-
ly."
Problems at Borman
Hall did not happen
overnight. Many believe
today's most serious code
violations in the areas of
quality of life, medical
care, infection control
and dietary service built
up over the past decade.
Most attribute the
troubles to years of mis-
management and lack of
community interest.
C
Cr)
CY)
ti
CC
LU
2
LU
15