4110101111060..040111WIIINNIMIN01101.1111110110. 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. Millions Sought ADVERTISEMENT 2001 SUBARU OUTBACK WAGON *FULLY EQUIPPED* -c Savings :111jIzIGFtA [3 ° 1G iGe eravY rtr 561 EpVee Ex • Treadmills •-Home Gyms • Elliptical Machines • bikes - • Weights & More 36 MO. 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As a result, some Holocaust victims or their heirs never received their assets, the corn- mission said. The commission recommended that a foundation be formed to identify assets taken from victims of the Holocaust that came into the posses- sion of the U.S. government. ❑