Sinai Imegacy
Donors help maintain the mission of Jewish hospital.
_
Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital President Robert Yellan, a Troy resident, and Board
Chair Merle Harris of Bloomfield Hills look at the stereotactic breast biopsy equip-
ment donated by the Sinai Guild.
Shari S. Cohen
Special to the Jewish News
S
inai is the heart of our hospital;'
reads the plaque in the Intensive
Care Unit at DMC Huron Valley-
Sinai Hospital (HVSH). The signs were
posted after the Commerce hospital
installed extensive new telemetry equip-
ment to monitor cardiac patients, a gift
from Metro Detroit's Jewish Fund.
Created from the proceeds of the sale
of Sinai Hospital of Detroit, the Jewish
Fund continues Sinai's mission through
grants to DMC hospitals, Jewish agencies
and other local health and social service
programs.
While Huron Valley-Sinai is linked with
Sinai by its name and extensive support
from the Jewish Fund, it's a connection
that continues to expand on several lev-
els. In 1997, after Sinai became part of
the DMC, five of its board members were
appointed to the HVSH board. Two of
them, Merle Harris and David Aronow,
remain on the board; Harris has been
board chair since 2002.
Harris explained that adding "Sinai" to
what was then "Huron Valley Hospital"
was one of the conditions for the Detroit
Medical Center's acquisition of Sinai
Hospital in 1997.
"We could see that the Jewish com-
munity was migrating out there and we
wanted to have a presence there he said.
"Also, it was felt that the Jewish commu-
nity could help the hospital. We have been
successful in convincing other members of
the Jewish community that our planning
was correct and they have been pleased to
donate to the hospital."
Harris and his wife, Shirley, led the way
with a major gift to Huron Valley-Sinai
in 1998. The Merle and Shirley Harris
Birthing Center, a new wing offering all
private rooms with hotel-like decor and
amenities, set a new standard for obstetri-
cal units when it was dedicated the follow-
ing year.
Huron Valley-Sinai President Robert
Yellan credits Harris for encouraging
Jewish donors. "He has been at the fore-
front of philanthropic activities at Huron
Valley-Sinai Hospital with great personal
contacts for philanthropy. Many of our
major donors over the past 10 years are
from the Jewish community," Yellan said.
Expanding Philanthropy
Among Harris' philanthropic friends
are Janice and William Wetsman, who
donated funds to Huron Valley-Sinai for a
on&
Natalie and Manny Charach, front, of West Bloomfield at Huron Valley-Sinai's expan-
sion celebration.
special pediatric outpatient suite staffed
by DMC Children's Hospital of Michigan
physicians. The couple, previously donors
to Sinai Hospital, designed and provided
child-friendly artwork, including many
animal photos they had taken them-
selves. Janice Wetsman subsequently
became chair of the HVSH Art Advisory
Committee.
Judith and Edward Narens became
Huron Valley-Sinai supporters at the
suggestion of their friend, Merle Harris.
Their first major gift was used for the
Family Reception Room of the new surgi-
cal center. Last year, they donated funds
for a children's play area in the hospital's
expanded Emergency Department. "The
hospital is so important and it's what we
wanted to do:' Ed Narens said.
The Narens also were Sinai donors.
In 2002, the hospital's Radiology
Department was named in honor of
Aaron and Helen DeRoy Testamentary
Foundation. Again, Harris was the cata-
lyst, suggesting that his friend, Arthur
Roedecker, the DeRoys' nephew and the
foundation's trustee, tour the hospital.
Roedecker was fascinated by the new film-
less radiology system. He was motivated
to donate to Huron Valley-Sinai because
some of his friends have been hospital
patients.
Natalie and Manny Charach's gifts have
focused on cancer. The hospital's cancer
center — the Natalie and Manny Charach
Cancer Treatment Center, affiliated with
the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Center,
was named in their honor. In 2003, Natalie
Charach initiated the annual Just for You
program, a free day of education and sup-
port for women with cancer. Their gifts
have also helped to create the new Sinai
Center for Women, an outpatient diag-
nostic center. Other recent Jewish donors
include Jo Elyn and George Nyman, who
supported a special area for examination
of emergency patients with mental health
problems.
Strong Jewish Support
Cheryl Purdie Youd, the hospital's devel-
opment director, who is not Jewish, says
that more than 70 percent of the hospital's
memorial and tribute gifts come from the
Jewish community, often in multiples of
$18.
"They understand the goodness that
can come from these kinds of gifts. The
Jewish community is taught to be chari-
table. They understand that the hospital
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