'A Duty To Help

Geriatric psychiatrist treats Holocaust survivors.

Dr. Ruza, right, and his
father-in-law, Jack Gun,

a hidden child during the

Holocaust, have a special
relationship.

VITAL STATISTICS

WHO Theodore (T.J.) Ruza, D.O.

AGE: 48

RESIDES: West Bloomfield

RACKOIROimn!
Graduated Southfield-Lathrup
High School (1978); B.S. in history,
Oakland University (1983); D.O.,
University of Osteopathic Medicine
and Health Sciences, Des Moines,
Iowa (1987); intern, Garden City
Osteopathic Hospital (1987-88);
psychiatry resident, Sinai Hospital
of Detroit, 1988-92; America Board
of Psychiatry and Neurology with
added qualification in geriatric psy-
chiatry.

CURRENT POSIT106:

Judith Doner Berne

Special To The Jewish News

r. Theodore (T.J.) Ruza is a
familiar figure around area
assisted living and nursing
homes that house many of Metro Detroit's
Jewish elderly.
A practicing psychiatrist and medi-
cal director of the Inpatient Geriatric
Psychiatric Unit at Botsford Hospital in
Farmington, Ruza works with a steady
stream of elderly patients suffering from
depression, anxiety and dementia.
A number of his Jewish patients, whom
he sees at Botsford, the Jewish Home and
Aging Services facilities and in his private
West Bloomfield practice, are Holocaust
survivors.
Treatment, Ruza says, generally involves
both therapy and medication. "I'm not

one who just prescribes medications and
walks away. Older people are a tremendous
resource. The fallacy that as you get older
you become useless' is not true!'
Right now, he is particularly con-
cerned with seniors who were displaced
by the fire in April at the Hechtman II
Apartments on the Jewish Community
Campus in West Bloomfield.
"They are really displaced people
Ruza says. "They are spread out among a
number of facilities. They lost their pos-
sessions, their memorabilia. A significant
number of Holocaust survivors are among
them!'

After Effects
Post traumatic stress disorder, an emo-
tional illness, can develop after a terrifying
ordeal that involved physical harm or the
threat of physical harm, Ruza says.

Symptoms such as numbness, flash-
backs, distressing dreams, shame and
guilt, sleep problems, trouble concentrat-
ing and/or anger may indicate the need to
talk to someone.
Although many family members have
stepped up to the added responsibility,
he says, "It amazes me how many family
members are just not there!'
Aging brings back the Holocaust experi-
ence for many who were in Nazi concen-
tration camps or hidden as children, he
says, even though they may have since led
relatively normal lives.
Often they didn't talk about the experi-
ence with their children, he says. Their
feeling is, "Nobody should know what I
went through!'
"It does get worse as they get older:'
Ruza says. "They suffer from depression

Medical director, Inpatient Geriatric
Psychiatric Unit, Botsford Hospital,
Farmington; private practice,
West Bloomfield; clinical instruc-
tor, Michigan State University;
medical director, Irvine Neuro-
Rehabilitation, Southfield; consul-
tant, Courtyard Manor Assisted
Living, Farmington Hills; Regent
Street, West Bloomfield; Fountains
at Franklin, Southfield; Fleischman
Residence, Hechtman Assisted
Living, West Bloomfield; Heartland,
West Bloomfield.

r. , 011r ,

Married to Sandra Gun, a teacher.
They have three children, Matthew,
18, a recent West Bloomfield
High School graduate headed to
University of Michigan; Laurel, 14,
and Nicole, 7.

UTS11„pg. INTERES1*:
Family, golf, friends, travel, reading.

A Duty on page A30

July 31 • 2008

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