Leaving Home
tention she needs," he said.
Mr. Hechier doesn't worry
that the move to another nurs-
ing home will harm his moth-
er.
"So long as the care is good.
I hate to be cold and blunt about
it, but she doesn't know where
she is. One place would be the
same as another,"
he said.
Others seem
similarly resigned
to Borman's fate.
Resident Ben-
jamin Atlas is a
retired CPA who,
like Jean Wall,
enjoys reading.
Peering through
spectacles, he
spoke softly and
bitterly. Will clos-
ing Borman tear
apart a tight-knit
family?
"No. That's a
foolishly sentimental approach,"
he said, but he added that each
resident harbors different sen-
timents.
Arthur Lipsitt, a 94-year-old
resident, expressed his feelings
about Borman Hall through one
of his 450 poems. In "A Nursing
Home" he wrote:
Don't look for the flaws
In a nursing home
And even when you find them
It is wise and kind
To be somewhat blind
And look for the good behind
them.
Borman Hall with any of its
faults
Is still one of the best to be
sure...
Mr. Lipsitt and his wife
moved to Borman in 1976 when
it served as a home for aged,
rather than a skilled-nursing
facility. He is the last survivor
of Borman Hall's original 212
residents.
"There is no
way that the
96,000 Jews in
the metro area
can let down
150 Jews (in
Borman Hall),"
Mr. Lipsitt
said. "We're ac-
customed to
one another.
When you're
94, you know
you're getting
pretty
close to the
end. To break
us up now ..."
N
idge Appel leads
the Family Forum,
group of con-
Mae rned relatives of
Borman Hall residents. She
makes frequent visits to see her
83-year-old mother, Frieda
Zabell.
"Families really want a Jew-
ish home. This is our extended
family — whether we're talking
about volunteers, residents or
staff;" Ms. Appel said. "We want
to stay here, but if we find an-
other place, we want it to be a
totally Jewish home."
Family Forum members
stress that Borman's kosher
N
'
Top left
Harry Weinsaft has grown disenchanted
with Jewish priorities.
•
Left
Family Forum leader Midge Appel strolls down a
Borman Hall corridor with her mother,
Frieda Zabell.
Top right
Poet Arthur Lipsitt is the only surviving
resident of Borman Hall's original 212.
Right
Resident William Rosen spends a relaxed
afternoon reading magazines.