750

DETROIT

THE JEWISH N

29 KISLEV 5755/DECEMBER 2, 199 4

New Vows

Inside

Some local Reform
rabbis struggle with a
national trend to
bless same-sex
unions.

Stepping Down

Jim Alexander resigns
county GOP chairmanship.

In The Dark

JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER

The Palestinians, and
Israelis, are scrambling.

Page 64

Contents on page 3

PHOTO BY GLENN TRIEST

inda Robinson has strug-
gled with the loss of what
she calls the "white pick-
et fence dream."
In it, she pictures her
daughter, Marlowe,
dressed in a white gown,
getting married in the synagogue.
The next part of the dream features
Marlowe in a cute house encircled
by a white picket fence, with sever- Marlowe Robinson and Liza Beers plan a commitment ceremony.
al cats, a few children and a hand-
some husband.
"I grew up dreaming about a big wed-
Marlowe and Liza, who will change
Marlowe Robinson has pretty much
the same dream, with one exception. In ding. I wanted my picture in The Jewish their last names to Beers-Robinson next
News and to have everyone be happy year, are among the latest in a small
place of the man, she sees Liza Beers.
She is about to make that dream a for me. Starting a home and a family, group of homosexual couples in
reality. The lesbian couple will celebrate these are things I grew up thinking I metropolitan Detroit to request and par-
a commitment ceremony scheduled for was going to get," said Ms. Robinson, a ticipate in commitment ceremonies, the
December 1995. Rabbi Dannel Schwartz Ferndale resident. "And I still want closest a same-sex couple can come to be-
them."
of Temple Shir Shalom will officiate.
VOWS page 20

Big Plans

Sinai seeks $40 million expansion.

RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WRITER

S

inai Hospital has unprecedented plans
to renovate and expand its medical cam-
pus on Outer Drive in Detroit.
The 41-year-old institution, founded
by the Jewish community, filed three certifi-
cate-of-need applications with the Michigan
Department of Public Health on Dec. 1.
The applications seek state approval for en-
hancing Sinai's emergency room, labor and
delivery, as well as primary and outpatient
care.
The projected cost for the first phase of the
project is $40 million, which hospital officials
hope to raise through a tax-exempt bond is-
sue.
`The proposed program is a key element in
our continuing effort to find more efficient
ways of delivering quality health care that ad-
dresses the changing needs of the communi-
ties we serve," said Sinai CEO and President
Phillip Schaengold.
Mr. Schaengold said the emergency de-
partment expansion responds to growing pa-
tient volume. In fiscal year 1994, the
emergency room handled 42,540 patients, a
17.4 percent increase from 1993 and a 28.3
percent increase over 1992.
This year, the patient volume is expected
to reach 45,000. The emergency room was
originally designed for 25,000 to 30,000 pa-
tients annually.
Emergency room expansion plans are ex-
pected to cost $3 million dollars. The project
is slated for completion by 1996 and will in-
clude a larger "express care" area, upgraded
acute care facilities and a canopy for ambu-
lances.
Sinai also plans to reconfigure its labor-de-
livery-recovery and perinatal services. More
than 3,700 babies are born at Sinai. each year.
Hospital officials say they want to remain com-
petitive with other metro Detroit medical in-
PLANS page 8