Jewish Community Center
of Metropolitan Detroit

ificeog
Ito due

and

Elkin Travel of West Bloomfield

ty of cultures he saw
among both patients and
fellow dentists. And after
a 41-year career during
which he treated very few
Jews, Dr. Bittker enjoyed
the frequent contact with
Jewish patients.
Although he speaks
only English, he said vol-
unteers are coached in
basic Hebrew and Rus-
sian. The language gap
was sometimes an obsta-
cle. "Basically the only
Hebrew I knew when I
went there was to say: 'I
don't speak Hebrew.' But
I ended up learning
enough to get by. Once
though, I confused the
(Hebrew) words for open
and close, and I had my
hand in the patient's
mouth!"
"DVI dentists have to
meet very strict compe-
tency standards," said
program coordinator Dr.
Don Simkin. "Without
question, these are very
capable people."
As a liaison with
Israel's Ministry of
Health, Dr. Simkin
reviews volunteer creden-
tials and provides certifi-
cation and licensing infor-
mation. On a personal
level, he characterizes his
own volunteer work with
DVI as "the most positive
experience I've had in 20
years of dentistry...the
appreciation the children
offer us is truly heart-
warming."
The recruits have
included professionals
from Denmark, France,
Holland and New
Zealand. In many cases,
the dentists are not
Jewish.
"It's nice to see people
who are not Jewish, help-
ing our Israeli people in
need," Dr. Bittker said.
"They reaped the same
emotional rewards as I
did," he added.
Dr. Bittker and Dr.
Gerald Freedman, anoth-
er Detroit participant,
are planning their next
volunteer stints. "Maybe I
was naive not to realize
what volunteerism has to
offer," Dr. Bittker said. "I
did it because I thought I
was helping somebody. I
didn't think I would get
more out of it than I gave.
I ended up better as a
result." ❑

present

A

JEWISH HERITAGE TOUR

of

ARGENTINA & BRAZIL

August 12 - August 23, 1993

• 4 nights Rio de Janeiro
• 4 nights Buenos Aires
• 1 night Iquassu Falls

Round trip via Varig
Brazilian Airlines

HEALTH & EXERCISE
EQUIPMENT

at

WAREHOUSE PRICES!

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..AM

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(I)

TROTTER

For information and brochure call
Rayna Kogan at 855-9750

FITNESS PRODUCTS

Yale P. Halpern, M.D., P.C.

is pleased to announce the

S uff

New Location

' al Medicine practice;
of his Intern

RFORMANCE BODYBUILDING EQu,_

44

"-.4

HIGH PE

Effective May 10, 1993

Beaumont Medical Building

6900 Orchard Lake Road, Suite 303
West Bloomfield, Michigan 48322
(313) 737-9770

Certified - American Board of Internal Medicine
Member - American College of Physicians

A LPINE

LIFE SPORTS

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NOW OPEN!

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thousands of health-conscious people who
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WE HOPE TO SERVE YOU AS WELL!

Everything
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and
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EXERCISE WAREHOUSE

GRAN D PLACE COMMONS

_

40100 Grand River Bldg "A"

(Between Haggerty and Meadowbrook)

NOVI, MICHIGAN

(313) 476-0111

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