Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
accessible at thejewishnews.com
62 | MAY 9 • 2024
J
N
A Hospital Like No Other
S
ometimes a good story is just under my nose.
In this case, sitting two desks away from me.
I told David Sachs, JN Contributing Editor,
that I was thinking about a column on Sinai Hospital
in Detroit. The original Sinai (preceding today’s DMC
Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit and DMC Huron
Valley-Sinai Hospital in Commerce Township) would
have been 71 years old this year.
David said: “Did you know that Freda (his wife,
Dr. Freda Lengel Arlow) was a researcher and doctor
at Sinai?” As David related, Freda felt
working at Sinai was “an extraordinary
experience, both as a medical
technologist and later as a physician.
”
So, I thought I should explore Freda
and Sinai Hospital in the William
Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish
Detroit History. Indeed, nearly 8,000
pages mention Sinai Hospital (although some
citations are for Sinai hospitals elsewhere).
Historically, Sinai Hospital is well-recognized as the first and
only Jewish hospital in Detroit. The idea of a hospital that would
not discriminate against Jews had deep roots in the city’s Jewish
community (for an early history, see “The Jewish Hospital in
Detroit,
” Jan. 12, 1945).
Opened in 1953, Sinai was a marvel. It featured cutting-edge
medical technology and research, and employed a large contingent
of Jewish doctors and staff. It offered kosher meals and respected
Jewish religious practices. Sinai also embodied tikkun olam, by
serving other underrepresented groups such as African Americans,
who, like Jews, faced discrimination in Detroit’s medical facilities.
Freda initially joined Sinai as a medical technologist in 1972. Her
early stint there included two years working in Sinai’s prestigious
research department. Her experience inspired Freda to become a
doctor and, in 1976, she entered medical school at Wayne State.
After graduation, Freda returned to Sinai as a Internal Medicine resident, including one year as
chief resident. She then accepted a fellowship in Gastroenterology at Henry Ford Health System
and has been practicing her profession for 38 years, still working part-time. I found two articles
about research at Sinai in which Freda is noted and pictured in a photograph (Sept. 6, 1974).
Freda, or Dr. Arlow, has distinct memories of Sinai: “It was due to discrimination that Sinai
Hospital came into existence. The values of Judaism were important to the doctors and staff, and
that gave us a special bond.
”
Sinai Hospital was sold to DMC in 1997, and the $63 million proceeds were used to create the
Jewish Fund, a charity dedicated to improving community health. But Sinai Hopital’s legacy is
indelible. Freda provides a summary: “We were all shocked by the closing of the original Sinai.
It was a unique Jewish academic institution. When former Sinai doctors meet up, they often
commiserate and say the same thing: ‘There will never be another Sinai Hospital.
’”
Want to learn more? Go to the DJN archives, available for free at thejewishnews.com.
Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair
Freda and David’s 2019
wedding in Krakow, Poland
(JN, Dec. 24, 2020).