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Life's Journeys
A message from. Dottie Deremo,
President/CEO, Hospice of Michigan
H
ospice of Michigan is a
unique organization. Those
who join our staff admit it is
as much a calling as a career. At a
time when medical personnel are
in short supply, I am personally
gratified to know our people have
a rare sense of commitment.
The Care Coordinator of our
South Oakland Team, Jeffrey
Paquette, RN, is an example of our
remarkable staff. Jeff has been with
Hospice of Michigan for six years.
He oversees patient care. If this
meant merely assigning one
Hospice of Michigan worker to one
patient, it would be fairly simple.
But because our specialty —
palliative care — is so complex,
Jeff's job is more (and these are his
words) "like a ringmaster's."
This analogy explains why Jeffs
title includes the words "Coordinator"
and "Team." When a patient or a
family calls Hospice of Michigan, it
is the beginning of a process. Let
me emphasize that it is a speedy
process, one that can he completed
within 24 hours. There is an initial
sign-on visit by our Access Center
staff, followed by an assessment by
one of- our Hospice of Michigan
nurses.
Teaming up for care
Once it is clear that the patient
qualifies for hospice care, Jeff takes
charge. His team includes nurses,
social workers, spiritual caregivers
such as Rabbi Bunny Freedman,
home health aides, home service
aides, volunteers and grief support
counselors. A medical director
oversees the team and occupational
or physical therapists are available
if needed. The team designs a care
plan to meet the individual needs
of each patient and family.
Respite
Patient comfort is very important
to Jeff. So is caregiver comfort. He
is a strong advocate for respite, or
time-off, for caregivers. Respite can
he provided by placing the patient
in a care facility for a brief time to
give the family caregiver a rest.
According to Jeff, many people
don't realize that Medicare includes
a provision to pay for respite care.
When a family needs respite, Jeff
matches patients with appropriate
nursing homes in this area. He has
familiarized himself with, not just
the administrators of these facilities,
but also with their staff members.
He is sensitive to what sites satisfy
a family's cultural requireMents.
, Patient needs - have changed
during Jeff's tenure at Hospice of
Michigan. He notes that he once
BIG BLUE
worked almost exclusively with
elderly cancer patients. Now he
coordinates care for many patients
in their 40s and 50s along with
Alzheimer's patients and people
suffering from heart or renal failure.
In contrast, he has fewer AIDS
patients because of improved treat-
ment and medication. Regardless of
the diagnosis, Jeff and his team
convey confidence that they can
assuage their pain. "We are experts
in pain management," he assures
patients and. families.
If you talk with Jeff, you, will learn
why he is personally committed to
Hospice of Michigan. As a young
man, he was an airplane mechanic
in Canada. Later, he enrolled in
nursing school and discovered he
was much happierworking with
people. He became a nursing
supervisor. His wife is also a nurse.
Knowing when to say when
Jeff shares one frusfration with
the rest of his staff in that often
people don't know when they
should call Hospice of Michigan.
His answer is, "When the burden of
care becomes too much for the
patient or the. family, call us. We
know how to help."
Hospice of Michigan is the
biggest and most widely recognized
hospice in the state. We have an
open access policy that makes it
possible for all who need hospice
care to qualify for enrollment. You
may call Bobbie Blitz, our Jewish
liaison specialist, at 248-443-5907 or
page her at 248-966-8262 to learn
more about our services.
Part of a machine marked with the
letters "IBM" is on permanent display in
the United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum in Washington. It was used in
census-taking in Germany in the mid-
to late-1930s. The museum does not
know where the machine was actually
used, a museum spokesperson said.
In the Dachau concentration camp
alone, however, there were 24 IBM
sorters, tabulators and printers,
according to the lawsuit.
IBM Response
IBM long has contended that it cut
, ties with its German subsidiary in
1941, but both the lawsuit and the
book try to show that IBM's relation-
ship to Nazi Germany was longer and
deeper than it previously appeared, or
than the company has admitted.
IBM was a lucrative trading partner
with the Nazis, Black said. .
IBM recently sent a memo to its
employees alerting them about
Black's book and its accusations that
the company provided data-process-
ing technology to the Nazis. "If this
book points to new and verifiable
information that advances under-
standing of this tragic era, IBM will
examine it and ask that appropriate ,
scholars and historians do the same,"
-
the company said.
Michael Hausfeld, lead attorney for
the plaintiffs in the IBM lawsuit, said
his firm has identified 100 U.S. corn-
panies that had operations in
Germany during the Nazi era. He
would not say if he thought any of
the other cases merited legal action.
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The amount of money demanded by
the plaintiffs is not specified, but it is
believed to be approximately $100
million. The lawsuit does not ask for
compensation to be paid to individu-
als, but rather asks that any money
won be used to promote human
rights and assist future victims of
human rights violations.
A presidential commission examin-
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