EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK
Taking Care
Of Our Elderly
7
outside the community.
he Jewish News has of
The Community Trust, estab-
late been a forum for
lished with generous gifts from area
heated debate about the
philanthropists, will provide operat-
Jewish community's
ing dollars for programs that directly
response and responsibility to its
serve
older adults — in-home care
older members.
services, senior transporta-
Each time we print a
tion and adult day care for
story about state inspections
Alzheimer's
patients, to
of the area's two kosher
name a few.
nursing care facilities or the
Established with $63
progress of the Federation's
million
in proceeds from
Commission on Jewish
the
sale
of Sinai Hospital
Eldercare Services (COJES)
to
Detroit
Medical Center
or anything else related to
last
year,
the
Jewish Fund
eldercare, we receive a host
will
bolster
those
programs
of responses from readers.
and also address the
Some decry the Federation's
JULIE EDGAR healthcare and social needs
alleged indifference to the
News Editor
of other populations. It
elderly; others blame us for
will
help close gaps in ser-
generating bad vibes by
vices
by
becoming
a revenue stream
reporting on violations of state regu-
for
organizations
that
serve at-risk
lations at nursing homes.
adults
in
the
Jewish
community
and
There are no easy solutions to the
for
Sinai-DMC
programs
that
serve
challenges of caring for the elderly.
the larger population. Many of those
The issues of aging — medical, soci-
programs
help people maintain their
ological, political and economic —
independence
so they are not ware-
are complex and ever-changing. Our
housed
in
nursing
homes and other
population is graying and, conse-
institutions.
quently, resources must shift with
The choices that the 22-member
demographic tides.
Jewish
Fund board made last week
So, I was quite pleased to report
when it awarded $1.8 million in the
that the Jewish Community Trust for
first round of grants reflect a wisdom
the Elderly and the Jewish Fund are
grounded in reality.
up and running. We should swell
The 33 programs that received the
with pride, once again, that the
grants
form a tight network of criti-
Jewish community not only takes
cal
services
for people who have,
care of its own, but extends itself
mental
illness,
who are at risk of
beyond ethnic and religious borders
institutionalization,
who do not have
to provide for the needs of people
a place to live, and who need a place
to go. The largest of the grants, in
the amount of $350,000, will help
fund day care centers for 120-140
people suffering from dementia-
related disorders. The money will go
toward renovations of the Jewish
Vocational Service building in
Southfield to create a new center and
the establishment of another adult
day care center on the Jewish
Community Campus in West
Bloomfield.
could become cannon fodder for the
Christian apocalypse that Mr. Besser
envisions.
Mr. Besser finds a way to demean a
marvelously supportive group and the
political friends that Israel and Prime
Minister Netanyahu are fortunate to
have. Furthermore, many American
Jews do not agree with the anonymous
quote used by Besser that the present
American administration is "friendly to
Israel." The Conference of Presidents of
Major Jewish Organizations has just
issued a statement asking Mr. Clinton
to stop pressuring Israel into unilateral
concessions.
Unfortunately, readers of The Jewish
News are subjected weekly to the delib-
erate machinations of James Besser. May
we please have a balancing Washington
correspondent's opinion so that Detroit
Jewry has some chance of maintaining
their natural loyalty to the duly elected
representative government of the State
of Israel?
Dr. Jerome S. Kaufman
Bloomfield Hills
,
Benyamin Netanyahu
Netanyahu was treated to a standing
five-minute ovation before he even
spoke and tremendous applause when
he finished. There was absolutely pros-
elytizing. There was no attempt to
herd Jews into Israel so that they
The Jewish Fund
and COJES
are making
strides.
The Fund, board Co-Chairman
Mark Schlussel explained, will pro-
vide a way "to do things that could
not be afforded by the community
otherwise." The board, whose other
members are Robert Sosnick (co-
chairman), David S. Aronow, Robert
P. Aronson, Joel Dorfman, Merle
Harris, Dr.- Samuel Indenbaum,
Selwyn Isakow, Wilbourn A. Kelley
III, Dr. Richard Krugel, Michael W
Maddin, Mervyn H. Manning,
Florine Mark-Ross, Dr. Robert S.
Michaels, Robert H. Naftaly, George
M. Nyman, David K. Page, Dr.
Emanu-El
Feeds Hungry
I am writing to let the community
know of a simple yet effective way that
Oak Park's Temple Emanu-El is taking
care of the hungry.
For the last 10 years, our religious
school children have been bringing cans
of food in addition to weekly tzedakah
every time they come to temple on
Sunday. The food is collected in our
Chaveet Barrel and then donated to des-
ignated charitable institutions.
This year, Wellness House and
Eduardo Phillips, Richard E Roth,
Jerome L. Shostak, Robert Slatkin,
and Ira Schlussel, is intent on
making careful assessments and
evaluations of the programs it will
fund.
Schlussel made a point which I
think is a good one: He said that
despite accusations that the Jewish
Federation has abandoned the
Jewish elderly because it no longer
owns and operates nursing homes
(Prentis Manor shut its doors in late
1996), it is doing more now to
address the needs of the elderly than
it ever has.
"If you look at what is provided
for the aged in the community
today, including hundreds of Jewish
Federation Apartments, the change
in management but not in the provi-
sion of beds in nursing homes, the
expanded programs at Jewish Family
Service and Jewish Vocational
Service, you would be hard-pressed
to say the Federation is not doing its
job," Schlussel said.
The Jewish Fund, along with
COJES, shows that the Jewish com-
munity is keeping pace with demo-
graphic realities and changes in
Medicaid and Medicare coverage.
It shows that the Federation, which
administers the Fund, is not aban-
doning the community's older
members but is finding novel
ways to address the needs of our par-
ents, grandparents and great-grand-
parents.
❑
Freedom house come to pick up the
canned goods. Volunteers take turns
going from classroom to classroom, col-
lecting the cans and thanking the chil-
dren for their thoughtful remembrances;
or children walk collectively and deposit
their cans into the Chaveet Barrel in the
foyer.
I challenge all other community
organizations to take up the Chaveet
Barrel as a simple way to solve the
problem of hunger in our communi-
ties.
Jo Rosen
Social action chair, Temple Emanu-El
Other Sources
For Help
As a member of the community, I
would like to compliment you on your
2/6
1998