Editor's Notebook
Honorable Old Age
Is Priority One
MARK E. SCHLUSSEL SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
Much has been
written these past
few years about
our community
and its commit-
ment to the elder-
ly. I wanted to add
my voice to this
compelling issue.
The Talmud
tells us that each generation will
be judged by how it treats its
young and its old. I believe our
generation continues to acquit it-
self with a sense of real concern
for the health, welfare and dig-
nity of our most senior members.
We are a community in tran-
sition. Who we are and what we
demand of each other is quite dif-
ferent today than it was 30 years
ago. Our senior population is far
more vital and independent than
at any time in the history of our
community.
People consider themselves
young and active well into their
late 70s. They have the mobility
of health and vitality, and they
do not consider themselves old in
the traditional sense of the word.
These changes in lifestyle of our
elderly led to the dramatic
changes in the services being pro-
vided by the Jewish Home for
Aged.
The history of this institution
reflects the changes which have
occurred in serving our aging pop-
ulation. The JHA was once clear-
ly a home for the aged, where
most of its residents were rel-
atively independent and capa-
ble of caring for themselves. As
our senior population became
more independent, the aver-
age age and health condition
of the Home's resident popu-
lation changed from well el-
derly to sick elderly.
We, the Jewish community,
because of our concerns for our
seniors, had moved into the
nursing home business in fa-
cilities ill-equipped in size and
configuration to deliver state-
of-the-art, fully dependent
nursing care. While this was
going on, the Federation was
dramatically expanding its ser-
vices to our senior members. Five
Federation apartment buildings
were built, housing more than
600 senior citizens. In fact, the
Federation Apartments began
fulfilling the original role of the
Home for Aged. It was servicing
a senior population of well elder-
ly aging in place.
The average age of the resi-
dents of all the Federation Apart-
ments is only one year younger
than the average age of the resi-
dents of the Jewish Home for
Aged. The difference is these se-
Mark Schiussel is the chairman
of the board of the executive
council of the Jewish
Federation.
niors are more independent than
those in the JHA. In addition, the
Home for Aged added the Fleisch-
man Residence, a facility for con-
siderably more independent
living. The Federation, in con-
junction with the National Coun-
cil of Jewish Women, also started
the Meals on Wheels program,
which today serves over 200
seniors daily in their homes with
two kosher meals. The commu-
nity added programs through the
Jewish Family Service, the Jew-
ish Community Center and Sinai
Hospital — all intended to im-
prove the quality of life for our
senior citizens.
Thus, the organized Jewish
community, which once served a
few hundred senior citizens in the
Jewish home, now serves thou-
sands of seniors daily in numer-
ous settings. Our expansion of
services to the aged has been geo-
metric in its proportions, and the
resources which the community
will allocate to continue to im-
prove the quality of life of our se-
niors will be very significant.
People have asked why other
communities, such as Cleveland,
can continue to serve its aged
nursing home population and we
can't. The answer lies with our
state government and not with
the Federation. In Ohio, Medic-
aid reimburses a nursing home
at the rate of approximately $125
a day for each resident — one of
Borman and Prentis as free-
standing community facilities
was costing our community in ex-
cess of $300,000 per month or
$3.6 million per year, a cost way
beyond the collective resources of
our community. The decision to
close both Borman and Prentis
came after much deliberation and
heartfelt concern for our depen-
dent elderly. The leadership of
this community considers the ad-
monition of Psalm 71, "Abandon
me not when I grow old," to be a
cornerstone of the responsibility
we have to this community.
The decision to enter into af-
filiation with Menorah House and
the Health Care Retirement Cor-
poration was a decision designed
to ensure a continuing quality of
care for our dependent elderly,
while ensuring Jewish services
being available to those elderly.
In addition, community resources
will also become available to serve
all of our senior members — not
just those who unfortunately
need extended nursing home
care. The fact is the number of
beds available for nursing care at
Menorah House and HCR will be
386 beds, which is an increase of
almost 24 percent in available
beds over the 312 beds previous-
ly available to the Jewish com-
munity.
Our community also has just
completed a two-year study
which resulted in the creation of
the Commission on Jewish El-
derly Services (COJES),
which is designed to coordi-
nate all services to the elder-
ly in our community. We are
in the process of developing a
Jewish Community Trust for
the Elderly, which will give us
the resources to expand ser-
vices and provide a full-time
chaplain to visit our aged.
Hopefully, we are going to ex-
pand transportation for our
aged and move into programs
using cable television and oth-
er interactive mediums to en-
rich our senior citizens' lives.
The senior citizens of our
community will be a continu-
ing priority concern of Feder-
the best reimbursement rates in ation. We are transitioning to
the nation. In Michigan, on the meet the needs of our seniors in
other hand, Medicaid reimburs- a dramatically changing world.
es a nursing home at the rate of It is my belief that this genera-
$75 per day per resident — one tion has a remarkable level of
of the worst rates in the country. concern for our elderly, whether
Thus, the Cleveland Jewish com- they be frail and in need of per-
munity receives from government sonalized care or they be well el-
subsidy for its nursing home res- derly enjoying an independent
idents $50 per day more (or lifestyle.
$18,250 per patient per year).
The Detroit Jewish community
Taking into account 312 residents can take pride in the fact that its
who resided in Borman Hall and Federation leadership has the
Prentis Manor, the Cleveland welfare of our aging members up-
Jewish community would have permost in mind as it continues
$5,694,000 per year of added cash to expand the services provided
flow to serve its nursing home for our senior community.
residents than would be available
From the wisdom of Ben Sira,
to Federation in Detroit.
"Shame not the old; we shall all
The cost to continue to operate be numbered among them." ❑
A Playground Rises;
Another One Slides
PHIL JACOBS EDITOR
Let's call this the Jewish children and African-
tale of two play- American children playing bas-
grounds.
ketball together or to see
Last Sunday, children of diverse backgrounds
many divergent on the play structure.
arts of our com-
It should be our hope, how-
munity con- ever this fire occurred, that the
verged on the community, in whatever way it
Weinberg Bibli- feels comfortable, offer its sup-
cal Playground port to Leonard Elementary and
at the JPM Jewish Community to the children of the communi-
Center in Oak Park. The effort ty. Let's not forget that the
to refurbish the two-year-old Leonard students also suffered
play facility was a wonderful from this fire, returning to
success.
school Monday to see their
There we provide such a won- brand-new play structure de-
derful lesson to our children. We stroyed.
seem to emphasize that it is pos-
How puzzling life can be
sible for Jewish children, be they when in one afternoon on one
Orthodox, Reform or whatever, side of the community, we see a
to be able to play together.
playground go up while close by,
On the very same Sunday we a playground burns down.
celebrated our intrareligious di-
"I'm a bit chagrined that the
versity in Oak Park on swings evidence is leading us to neigh-
and sliding
boards, there
was a lesson of
a different sort
to be learned
in Southfield.
Rhonda
Lefkowitz and
Stefanie
Zwick, both 11
and
sixth-
graders
at
Akiva, were
baby-sitting a Building ... and reb uilding.
neighbor's
child at the Leonard Elemen- borhood kids," said Southfield
tary School playground. Mo- Police Chief Joseph Thomas.
ments after the girls arrived "There's no doubt in my mind
with Chaim Levitz, they not that someone in the neighbor-
only smelled smoke, they saw hood knows who did this."
flames at the playground's
The chief said that indica-
brand-new play structure.
tions are the playground was
The girls quickly made sure burned by a neighborhood boy,
that Chaim, 31/2, was OK, and aged 12.
they went to a neighbor's home
Carol Pyke, the principal at
where they called 911. The play- Leonard for nine years, said the
ground fire sent a huge plume structure was fully insured and
of black smoke into the air will cost in the neighborhood of
which could be seen for miles.
$50,000 to replace.
The play structure, which is
She also said what is most
made of a synthetic material disturbing about the fire is that
and is complete with towers and indications are it could have
innovative slides, was practi- been deliberately set and was'
cally destroyed. It's sad to see probably ignited by an acceler-
the structure that our neigh- ant.
borhood kids loved to play on de-
"Many people were shocked,"
formed and ruined. Yellow tape said Ms. Pyke. "Parents were
keeps children away from using really angry. I felt very angry
the structure now.
about it. It's senseless. It would
"We were at the park, and all be different if it were acciden-
of a sudden we saw a fire," said tal. But there's no way it was an
Rhonda. "I don't remember accident. This had to be
what I was thinking. I was just planned, premeditated. Some-
scared that I saw a fire. And the one has to be very mean spirit-
first thing I wanted to do was to ed.
make sure that Chaim was OK,
"Not only the whole school
then call 911. I felt sad that the suffered, but the whole com-
munity suffered. This is not
playground burned."
While the playground at JPM something I want worked out in
brings together different parts community service. This needs
of our diverse Jewish commu- to be worked out to the full lim-
nity, the Leonard playground it of the law." Two playgrounds,
was a recreational mixing bowl two different feelings.
What a day we experienced
of sorts for the children of South-
field. It is not unusual to see last Sunday. ❑