Elated administrators and board members say the challenge
continues to maintain high standards.

G

RUTH UTTPAANN STAFF WRITER

ood news...finally.
manage and maintain the sys-
Borman Hall, the
tems we have established."
212-bed Jewish nursing
One problem area is interde-
home in Detroit, passed
partmental communications.
its latest state inspection after
For example, nurses must bet-
failing three times in 12
ter communicate with dietit-
months.
cians and cooks who prepare
In July, the Michigan De-
meals for residents with special
partment of Public Health cit-
needs, administrators say. The
ed the Home for four top-level
Home's new bowel and bladder
code violations, as well as over
program also was cited as defi-
100 less serious deficiencies.
cient.
With its license and Medi-
"We knew we didn't have it up
care/Medicaid funding on the
to speed, but it's a start. The sur-
line, Borman Hall went into cri-
veyors said the program is just
sis mode, trying to clean up its
not complete," Mr. Steele said.
act before the arrival of anoth-
Denise Bortolani-Rabidoux,
er inspection team.
executive director of the Jewish
But Friday, when the MDPH
Home for Aged, credits mem-
surveyors finished their unan-
bers of staff and management
nounced four-day re-in-
spection, the outcome
was uplifting. Dozens of
staff members, who
gathered to hear the
state officials annour .,..
the survey's results,
shed tears of relief.
The Home was cited
for no top-level violations
and only 10 minor in-
fractions. Administra-
tors hope the state will
lift the ban on admis-
sions, thus enabling the
daily resident census,
which stands at 166, to
climb.
"(Borman
Hall)
showed dramatic im-
provement to the extent
that we are recom-
mending they continue
in the Medicare pro-
gram," said Dr.-Richard
Yerian, chief medical
consultant for the Bu-
reau of Health Systems
in Lansing. "Now they
must show that their
corrections last." Ad-
ministrators at the Resident Harry Weinsaft hopes "ini be forever."
Home express similar enthusi-
with the latest success.
asm, but also stress the need for
"They worked really hard,"
ongoing improvements.
she said. Since August, the
"I think that we now have an
Home provided many in-service
outstanding team and tremen-
and training programs. Elmer
dous teamwork with a renewed
Benson, a monitor who acted as
spirit and commitment among
liaison between Borman and
the staff to want to do a good
the MDPH, offered advice on
job," said John Steele, director
how to comply with state codes.
of the Home. "The challenge
About five nurses and eight
now is to address a few more
aides were replaced.
problem areas, implement mea-
Nearly a year after $2.95 mil-
sures to correct them, then
lion of United Jewish Founda-

tion monies paid for the Home's
fast-track clean-up, Jewish Fed-
eration officials are commend-
ing Borman Hall for its
turnaround. Since August, the
Home expended about $75,000
for the clean-up. Ms. Rabidoux
said she hopes Federation will
foot the bill.
Robert Aronson, Federation
executive vice-preside; it, said,
"Over the past few months, un-
der Denise Rabidoux's direction,
the Home, its management and
staffhave done an outstanding
job of addressing problems at
Borman Hall. What we must
now address is ongoing con-
cerns about our community's
ability to underwrite the enor-
mous costs of running
Borman Hall while pro-
viding the highest qual-
ity of care for our
elderly."
The JHA board,
chaired by Robert Naf-
taly, met Tuesday for
a debriefing. The same
evening, members of
the Elder Care Op-
tions Committee,
chaired by Mark
Schlussel, discussed
the community's
role in caring for
the frail Jewish
aged. Will the Jewish
community stay in the
nursing home business?
"I believe that the de-
cisions the community
needs to make were not
and should not be driven
by the state's actions, but
should be driven by what
is best for the Jewish
community and the aged
within it," Mr. Schlussel
said.
Federation officials
have said they neither
plan on closing Borman Hall
nor abandoning institutional-
ized elder care. Relatives of Bor-
man residents say the Jewish
community must do its part.
"Staff can only do so much,"
said Midge Appel, whose moth-
er lives at Borman Hall. "The
staff brought everything up to
code, but I think it has to be a
community effort. We don't
want it to ever happen again."0

Guide Helps Collect
Holocaust Memories

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSISTANT EDITOR

M

artin and Laura Kohn
don't believe in keep-
ing a good thing to
themselves.
Last year, the two helped co-
ordinate a collection of Holo-
caust memories and
observations by members of
Temple Emanu-EL ...And So We
Must Remember was published
in September and has since sold
more than 600 copies. It con-
tained passages by survivors
and their relatives, accounts of
visits to the death camps and
writings by men and women
who watched their families
murdered. It

workshop on the subject at the
62nd General Assembly of the
Union of American Hebrew
Congregations.
"It's important that this pro-
ject not be in a vacuum," Mrs.
Kohn said. "A lot of Jews feel
connected to the Holocaust and
they don't know how to respond.
"This kind of information
about the Holocaust — this gold
mine -- will be available for only
a few more years.
"We didn't see the book as an
end in itself," she added. "We felt
we had a mission to share."
The Kohns estimate they
spent about two years working

hoto by Glenn Triest

Home for Aged Passes
State Health Inspection

Laura and Marty Kohn remember.

was a way to remember and to
end uneasy silences — parents
who didn't know how to speak
of their death-camp experiences,
children who did not know how
to ask.
"This project," said Howard
Kloc, whose mother and father
both wrote pieces for .. .And So
We Must Remember, "opened
doors that had remained closed."
Now the Kohns, of Hunting-
ton Woods, have written a guide
they hope will help other con-
gregations throughout the coun-
try produce similar collections.
"How Your Synagogue Can
Create Its Own Holocaust Re-
membrance Book" will make its
formal debut later this month
in San Francisco when Mrs.
Kohn and Temple Emanu-El
Rabbi Lane Steinger present a

on ...And So We Must Remem-
ber, from its earliest stages of
development to its publication
last fall. Everything they
learned along the way is in their
new booklet.
Sections offer guidance on
how to find and form a commit-
tee, how to solicit material, the
cost of everything from postage
to printing, and publicity.
One of the most important
keys to success when working
on a book like .. .And So We Must
Remember is attracting differ-
ent people to do the myriad jobs
required on such an extensive
project. There must be someone
willing to do the typing, anoth-
er who can edit, a third knowl-
edgeable about art work and
design, Mrs. Kohn said.