Metro
HERE'S TO...
Dr. Anton
Dr. Bocknek
Dr. Grodman
Sarah Crane has
joined the Jewish
Community
Relations Council
as community rela-
tions associate. A
2009 honors gradu-
ate of the University
Sarah Crane
of Michigan, she
worked this past
year as a team leader with City Year
Detroit, where she led a culturally
diverse team of volunteers in service at
a Detroit public school. Crane received
the Comcast Leadership Award for her
work with City Year.
Dr. Einas Joseph
Dr. Najem
Dr. Matthew Weiner
DMC Chaldean-Jewish
Physician Partnerships Grow
0
ne of the longest Chaldean-
Jewish partnerships among
the Detroit Medical Center's
medical staff is the pediatric practice
of Marc Bocknek, D.O., who is vice
president/medical affairs at Huron Val-
ley-Sinai Hospital, and Badie Najem,
M.D. They met in the hospital during
the early 1990s and became partners
in 1996. Both physicians are board-
certified pediatricians with a busy prac-
tice in Highland.
Working together for so many
years, their closeness and respect for
each other's professional judgment
are very evident. "We appreciate an-
other set of eyes for some cases," Dr.
Bocknek says. Dr. Najem received
his initial medical education in Iraq,
where the medical training was similar
to that in the U.S. although with less
emphasis on preventive care, he says.
Dr. Bocknek, a native Detroiter, who
is Jewish, attended medical school in
Chicago.
While they cover for each other on
Jewish and Christian holidays, there
are few other noticeable differences.
"Our commitment to caring for children
is a strong common bond, "says Dr.
Najem.
Salwan Anton, D.O. and Robert
Grodman, D.O., Chaldean and Jew-
ish cardiologists, have been friends
for 16 years. Dr. Anton, originally from
New York, and Dr. Grodman, a native
Detroiter, met during residency and
pursued a cardiac fellowship together.
For 10 years they have been in prac-
tice together with offices in Livonia and
Commerce. Both Dr. Anton and Dr.
Grodman perform cardiac catheteriza-
tions and insert pacemakers, and are
board-certified in nuclear cardiology.
Religion doesn't play a big role in
their practice or relationship, according
to Dr. Grodman, although they also fill
in for each other on religious holidays.
He points to the importance of family
and education among both Chaldeans
and Jews, as well as their common fo-
cus in the business and professional
worlds.
Einas Joseph, M.D., a Chaldean
surgeon who emigrated from Iraq, de-
veloped a professional friendship with
Matthew Weiner, M.D., a surgeon af-
filiated with Harper University Hospital
and Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital. "I
met Dr. Weiner through my work in the
University Physician Group (the Wayne
State University faculty practice) a year
ago. I cannot forget from day one how
he showed great support and offered
help whenever I needed it. I appreci-
ate his advice with some of my difficult
cases," says Dr. Joseph.
Dr. Weiner echoes their mutual
admiration. "I was impressed with Dr.
Joseph from our first meeting. She
had excellent clinical judgment, good
hands in the operating room and was
deeply committed to her family and her
patients. We both have young children
and we immediately realized how simi-
lar out family lives are."
At the DMC, Chaldean and Jew-
ish physicians share a common com-
mitment to excellent patient care and
close collegial relationships. "We're
way more alike than we are different"
says Dr. Bocknek.
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October 7 2010
Steve Unger, formerly of Ferndale,
has written a book, In the Footsteps
of Dracula: A Personal Journey and
Travel Guide, which will be featured at
the Jewish Book Fair in November. In
the book, Unger returns to Bucharest,
Transylvania, and describes the ambi-
ance, the places and the real-time his-
tory of Vlad the Impaler.
Former Detroiter
Gabrielle Maisels'
one-woman play Two
Girls, in which she
plays all eight parts,
was performed for
two weeks in August
at the New York
Gabrielle
International
Fringe
Maisels
Festival. The play
highlights the tran-
sition to democracy in South Africa
that began in 1994, when the official
dismantling of apartheid raised great
hope for profound change, but failed
to produce real liberation for most of
the country's black population. Maisels
is the granddaughter of Israel Aaron
Maisels, the lawyer who successfully
represented Nelson Mandela and
dozens of others accused of treason
for their political activities in the late
1950s.
Karen Fenwick
Karen Fenwick, a
Bloomfield Hills art-
ist and a first-time
artist in this sum-
mer's State Street
Ann Arbor Art
Fair, won 3D Best
of Show out of 325
artists. View her art
work at karenfen-
wick.com.
Former Detroiter Jonathan Peisner
has published his first novel, Be.A. Con,
which is now available on Amazon.
com , Barnesandnoble.com and will
be coming to the kindle — all under
keyword "Peisner". Inspired by actual
events, it is a fascinating and humor-
ous tale of a con artist in action and
the shocking revelation of the root of
his troubles.
Oakland Community College
Womencenter Director and Workmen's
Circle/Arbeter Ring of Michigan
President Arlene J. Frank of Detroit
was awarded the Loretta Moore Award
for consciousness raising on behalf of
women by the Wayne County National
Organization of Women (NOW) at the
Aug. 26 Feminists of the Year award
ceremony.
Former Detroiter Dr. Eddie Pont, now
of Oak Park, Ill., received the Loretta
Lacey Award for outstanding work in
the area of health care for children.
The Illinois Maternal and Child
Welfare Organization selects a physi-
cian who shows exemplary service to
children of all ages and in all walks of
life.
Pont is involved in helping pass
legislation in the Illinois government
that benefits children. The pediatri-
cian maintains a private practice in
Elmhurst, Ill.
Aid For Job Seekers
Adat Shalom Synagogue in
Farmington Hills will hold a pro-
gram on "The Future of Michigan's
Work Force" at 7 p.m. Wednesday,
Oct. 13.
Speaker Andy Levin, act-
ing director of the Michigan
Department of Energy, Labor and
Economic Growth, will be joined
by John Almstadt, director of the
Oakland County Michigan Works
Agency, and Rabbi Aaron Bergman.
Almstadt will cite resources
available in Oakland County for
those seeking employment. Rabbi
Bergman will talk about how the
Michigan economy has affected us
spiritually.
There is no charge.
This program is co-sponsored by
Adat Shalom and Southfield-based
JVS. It is coordinated by Mildred
Pivoz.