Far Left: Jacob Hartman looks forward to services in the new sanctuary. Left: Faye Goldstein occupies new quarters. Above: Scott Aaronson and Norman Richman befriend. Finkelstein recalls afternoons at the New Orleans ball park with his Uncle Sam, whose penchant for baseball almost redeemed his gambling fetish. "I kept an eye on him," Mr. Finkelstein says. Still thinking, he recites the old Pelican's cheer: A funny bird is the Pelican His eyes can hold more than his belly can. Food enough for a week He can store in his beak But I don't see how in the hell-he-can. The ambulance stops at the side en- trance of Menorah House. The EMS crew rings the bell, but no one answers for about five minutes. An EMS worker tucks Mr. Finkelstein's coat tightly around his body. Finally, an attendant opens the nursing home door and issues a cheerful welcome. Nurses aides quickly prepare Mr. Finkelstein's unmade bed in Room 228. He is quiet, a bit flushed from the trip. Ruth Aaronson, a social worker, rushes in to say hello. Mr. Finkelstein's sisters, Yetta Wolf and Rose Dembs, enter to welcome him home. "A move of any type is a traumatic experience," Ms. Wolf says. "With some- one who's ill, it's much harder to handle." Although Ms. Wolf was happy with Borman Hall, she is comfortable with her brother's move to Menorah House. She likes the fact that he'll see familiar faces of other former Borman residents. In fact, Mr. Finkelstein's old roommate, William Rosen, remains with him at Menorah House. Ms. Wolf says her hopes are high. "What I particularly like was that when my brother told the nurse what he needed, he was listened to," she says. "That doesn't always happen. Sometimes we have a tendency to ignore people who are disabled or elderly. Hopefully, this will work out." threatened to close the facility. Over five years, the Jewish community allocated more than $15 million to the JHA. Most of the money went to help Borman Hall clean up its act. (The rest funded Prentis Manor in Southfield and Sparking Menorah Fleischman Residence in West Bloom- field, two other homes for aged affiliated Menorah House stands as the Jewish with JHA.) community's answer to troubles at the old Though Borman's state inspection Borman Hall. results improved toward the end of 1993, Built 28 years ago as a home for aged, the Jewish Federation decided that the Borman Hall evolved as a facility for the 212-bed facility was too costly. This fall, frail Jewish elderly. As its population grew Federation and the United Jewish Foun- older, demands for acute medical care in- dation, which owned the property, sold creased and so did costs. Borman Hall to the Heartland Group, a Unable to keep pace with stiffening fed- nursing home company based in North eral regulatory standards, the Jewish Carolina. Home for Aged (which operated Borman Federation officials will not discuss the Hall) struggled to improve operations after purchase price. the Michigan Department of Public Since early November, Federation and Health put a ban on admissions and the JHA have helped Jewish residents