Sinai - MC Merger

gion was outlawed. As a result, more and
more Jewish physicians populated the staff
rosters of all area hospitals.
Dr. Gass said the reasons for which the
hospital was created — to provide Jewish
doctors with a place to practice and to give
patients a Jewish environment complete
with kosher meals — aren't relevant to-
day as both are available in other hospi-
tals.
"The issue is no longer an issue," he said.
But the change, seen as inevitable
for the viability of Sinai, brings a sense
of apprehension, particularly with the staff
Among the more senior doctors, there
is a feeling of unease as they await the
changes and reductions that are sure to
come with combining staff between Grace
and Sinai hospitals. The notion that the
secular hospital organization will follow
an "out-with-the-old-and-in-with-the-new"
mentality in the reduction of staff gives
some of these doctors pause.
"I wonder what their reaction is going
to be," Dr. Sugarman said. "I am not a
young kid. I feel like a young kid, but I am
not."
Conversely, younger doctors, many of
whom have never known the sting of dis-
crimination against Jews in their field, see
the merger as an opportunity filled with
the greater possibilities of networking and
mentoring.
Dr. Joanne Sandler-Goldberg, a third-
year obstetrics/gynecology resident, chose
Sinai in part because of its Jewish iden-
tity, in part because she grew up in the
area and was aware of its reputation.
"My grandparents went to Sinai as did
my parents," she said.
She and the other residents feel good
about the merger and its perceived effect
on future services.
"We think the merger will be positive
for us," she said. "With the DMC, some
of the services will pick up. It will be bet-
ter for us in the long run."
Phillip Schaengold, the president and
chief executive officer of Sinai, said Sinai
doctors have little to fret about because
changes that occur will most likely impact
nonmedical employees.
Staff will remain at current levels un-
til the close of the sale at the end of Jan-

uary. For 90 days after the acquisition is
complete, employees are guaranteed full
benefits and wages.
In the next few months, work groups
made up of staff from Grace and Sinai will
determine which departments can be
merged to make the combined operation
more cost-effective. Mr. Schaengold con-
ceded that completely combining Grace
and Sinai hospitals at this point would be
impossible.
"They cannot both fit in one building,"
he said, adding that the concept of closing
one hospital in the future has not been
ruled out. "That is a possibility but a long-
term possibility."
Joining the staffs will be harder. Sinai's
clinical chairmen will retain their titles for
a minimum of two years, during which
time they and their counterparts at Grace
will determine the structure of combined
operations.
Other Sinai doctors most likely will con-
tinue at Sinai, Grace or one of the other
DMC-affiliated hospitals.
"Everyone needs to step back from this
and look at the big picture," he said.
Easy for him to say, reply nonmedical
staff. Although no figures have been set,

Far right:
Joanne
Sandler
Goldberg,
M.D., and
Karen L.
Schwartz,
M.D.,
OB-GYN
interns at
Sinai Hospital.

Right:
Phil
Schaengold,
CEO. of Sinai
Hospital.

Below:
Dr. Marcus
Sugarman

some of those staff mem-
bers will most assured-
ly lose their jobs when
the final plans are an-
nounced.
Because of this, the
anxiety level among the
nonmedical workers, including nurs-
es and support staff, is palpable.
"Hey, I have been here for a long,
long time. What is going to happen
to me? Am I going to have a job?" said
one woman, who asked not to be
named.
Others, having invested a career
at the Detroit hospital, are concerned
about issues of seniority.
One member of the lay staff told
Dr. Sugarman, "Look, I have been at
Sinai for 12 years. What is going to
happen to my seniority?" Still more
are concerned about the changes that
will happen if they remain in the sys-
tem.
Debbie Silverman, a nurse in the
cardiac intensive care unit, received
her training at Sinai's Shapiro School
of Nursing and has spent 18 years as
part of the hospital's nonmedical
staff. If the merger means she would
have to go to another DMC hospital,
she would prefer working in a Jew-

ish environment, perhaps at Huron Val-
ley in Commerce Township when the star
is combined into its logo and a Jewish fla-
vor is added to its mix.
"I have been here forever, and it is home.
I don't know if I would go to Huron Val-
ley." she said. "It is hard to start all over,
work straight days, worry about rotation."
Ms. Silverman also worries about the
loss of a Jewish feel to the hospital. When
she was in training, Ms. Silverman worked
at both Providence and St. Mary's hospi-
tals, where priests and nuns populated the
halls She also attended classes at Madon-
na, where morning prayers were offered
at the start of each day.
At Sinai, she has been able to work di-
rectly with a larger population of the Jew-
ish ill as well as their families than she
feels she would have contact with in a sec-
ular institution.
Just last year, Ms. Silverman was as-
signed to care for a dying Jewish man.
When the decision was made to discon-
tinue life support, the family, along with
their rabbi, gathered at his bedside to pray.
They asked Ms. Silverman to stay with
them as the man breathed his last breath.
"It was very sad. The family was going
through a lot," she said. "They were real-
ly glad that a Jewish nurse was there to
care for him." ❑