A recent controversy has been making its way around social media and various blogs. The controversy surrounds recent allegations being made by Satmar Bikur Cholim that they have been banned from operating in NYU-Langone Hospital, one of largest in New York City.
The story has since spread and has been reported on by many news outlets.
In response, NYU-Langone Hospital has released the following (unedited) statement, where they claim to “debunk lies about its Bikur Cholim services”:
Responding to a campaign by the Satmar Bikur Cholim to spread outright falsehoods, misleading innuendo, and Lashon Hara (derogatory speech), NYU Langone has set forth today to set the record straight on its extensive Bikur Cholim (visiting the sick) services and policies.
“First and foremost, NYU Langone Health’s Bikur Cholim program is as extensive as any hospital system in the city, if not the country,” declared Dr. Andrew Brotman, NYU Langone’s senior vice president and vice dean for clinical affairs and strategy. “Fulfilling the religious and cultural needs of everyone who comes to our hospitals is integral to ensuring the welfare and well‐being of our patients and the communities we serve. It is fundamental to our very mission.”
To that end, the contention by the Satmar Bikur Cholim that it is being barred from NYU hospitals, is “an outright falsehood,” Dr. Brotman said, explaining that the organization is always welcome to bring food to the designated Bikur Cholim rooms, where it can be distributed by the hospital’s volunteer teams to patients and families.
For the safety and privacy of patients, however, there is a policy limiting who has access to patient floors and rooms. For example, it would be chaotic, counterproductive and outright harmful if medical staff working to save lives had to maneuver through a food delivery.
Every outside vendor and community organization understands, agrees and adheres to NYU Langone’s policy in this matter, other than the Satmar Bikur Cholim, which wants fully unsupervised access to patients. That organization is not interested in the patient’s best interest, only its own relevancy, Brotman said.
And that is the real heart of the matter. Satmar Bikur Cholim is making a “misguided and irrational attempt to grossly inflate its role,” he said. “It wants to position itself as the ultimate authority on all aspects of healthcare, including choosing what treatments and doctors patients and their families should ask for, and which services doctors should accept or refuse, especially when it comes to end‐of life decisions.”
“Conflating this bigger issue with the unsupervised delivery of food to patient floors is dishonest and deceitful, and intended solely as fear mongering to vulnerable populations for suspicious personal gains,” Dr. Brotman stressed. “In fact, the group has gone out of its way to distort the truth by spreading outright falsehoods and misleading innuendo, and Lashon Hara – which is antithetical to the very ethics and values of the Jewish community.”
Nevertheless, he said, “we are committed to serving the Satmar community the same way we serve every community and have done from our very founding ‐‐ with respect, privacy, and most importantly the highest quality medical care.”
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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27 Responses
In other words, Satmar is telling the truth that they aren’t letting them deliver meals to the rooms.
When my son was in the hospital, the meals deliveries from Satmar and Skver were invaluable. You can’t always get down to the bikur cholim room. And it worked fine–the same way it works fine when any other visitor comes.
Mind you, there was also a non-Jewish charity bringing around gifts to the kids, and also coming to the rooms.
Based on this press release, NYU admits that an area of contention is “end-of-life decisions.”
Satmar Bikur Cholim claims that their presence and advice to family members prevents NYU from pulling the plug, and NYU agrees.
Hearing that the hospital has decided not to reveal the real story that members of the Bikur Cholim were directing patients to use certain healthcare facilities and getting paid by those people…
Some crazy stuff going on.
They do amazing chessed. But they also did some amazingly stupid things. Satmar should just apologize and stop this insane campaign. It will backfire and the patients will suffer.
You can be sure, no one will stop going to NYU over this. The only losers will be the Bikur Cholim.
Very very sad.
That organization is not interested in the patient’s best interest, only its own relevancy sounds so reminiscent of their stance vis a vis our beloved Medinat Israel:- Satmar only cares about itself, and ignores true relevance of Medinat Israel, so graciously welcoming all Jews to Israel.
I am shocked and dismayed that yeshiva world has taken this position when the the entire community is aware of the truth differently. This is not a struggle for food, it’s a struggle for the rights of the patients, the rights and lives of ppl which is pekeach nefesh mamesh! If yeshiva world wants to hear the truth they can reach out to us. The struggle is to have nyu as an institution to sit down with the vaad harabunim to set a protocol to save lives and not to take lives. Please understand it could be your very close loved one
YWN Response: Perhaps you misread this article. YWN hasn’t taken ANY position whatsoever. This is an unedited statement from NYU. Satmar Bikur Cholim is more than welcome to send us any statement they would like and we will publish it as is (unedited). And for the record, they haven’t contacted YWN even once.
Please let’s all take this very serious since this is pekiach nefesh
Satmar Bikur Cholim has been around for over 60+ years doing their noble work. When we do work like Bikur Cholim we do not suffer! The only ones that will suffer are the ones that are able to help in this matter and are standing by silent !
NYU does not like the great patient advocacy of Satmar Bikur Cholim and therefore they wanted them out.
Today it is Satmar Bikur Cholim , tomorrow it can be someone else. This is an attack on our values! It is an attack on everyone that respects LIFE!
NYU “S ethics are not pro-life. The people that can help and do not are admitting that the wrong is right!!
Read what NYU is writing .. NYU says we have our own Bikur Cholim meaning the Liaison program. They are empowering themselves to continue with their unfortunate attacks against our vulnerable elderly patients and severely ill Community members in the name of their four Rabbis from our Communities.
“IF WE STAND SILENT IN TIMES OF PATIENT NEED WE ADMIT THAT THE WRONG IS RIGHT””
Community… WAKE UP BEFORE WE LOSE MORE OF OUR BRETHREN”
NYU DOES NOT RESPECT LIFE for if they would they would have spoken to the families they have wronged!
Not even one of the unfortunate families that have tragically lost a loved one or were mistreated have gotten a call from NYU. On the Contrary, NYU is busy giving a Chutzpah statement about a respected organization like Satmar Bikur Cholim.
@Let the truth be told – is one of the people who were walking around the rooms pushing them to use their services at the agency they own in Williamsburg.
Anyone wonder why Chai Lifeline has no issues in NYU? Or any other Bikur Cholim? Perhaps there is more to this story?
Just wait folks. Satmar will soon have a protest outside the hospital… and they will dress kids up in Holocaust clothing with yellow stars. Just wait for it. Its gonna happen.
Demented souls.
It’s a shame. They do great work. Satmar can kick and scteam. They don’t realize what a bracha it is that the hospital allows bikur Cholim to do what they do. Why dont they cooperate with whatever the hospital wants.
They became too complacent, and forgot that we live in a world run by goyim. When yidden push too hard, we get whacked. And that doesn’t help us. The Satmar are acting like the Zionists–pick fights with goyim and somehow that’ll benefit the yidden.
To the last 4 comments , Expose, yoss6 Foi, Festermentch
you know that you lied when you said that I walk the rooms in NYU to push services. You are the same person and you need to admit it.
Community- I am very aware of Satmar Bikur Cholim and its activities in NYU currently. Satmar Bikur Cholim tried to speak to NYU administration civilly and for many months before going public.
Now it is very clear that the people from inside have an agenda to rub up with the administration. From my previous comment and the following response comments I can see it is an attack from the liasons. Very sad that we should suffer from our own!! They might have a fear about their paycheck but doesn’t Parnassah come from Hashem?
I have one question to Yeshiva World news , why is your article so one sided?? what happened to your journalistic righteousness? why is it allegations from Satmar Bikur Cholim? Could you not verify the truth by picking up the phone and speaking to people ? Look at the evidence in your own response from NYU. They are actually admitting that they did what Satmar Bikur Cholim alleges so it is not mere allegations but the sad truth happening to our sick brethren that need a Refuah Schaleimah! Hashem should save us from those that cause hardship to their own!!
YWN Response: “I have one question to Yeshiva World news , why is your article so one sided??”
For the second (and final time): Perhaps you misread this article. YWN hasn’t taken ANY position whatsoever. This is an unedited statement from NYU. Satmar Bikur Cholim is more than welcome to send us any statement they would like and we will publish it as is (unedited). And for the record, they haven’t contacted YWN even once.
Feel free to have them contact us with a written statement. We will gladly publish it unedited.
Let It Be very clear. There is no personal Vendetta’s involved here whatsoever. Just straight forward facts. The fact is that 2 date the only Hospital who actively discourage there Physicians from doing any meaningful treatment 4 elderly and or Terminal ill patients is NYU and despite numerous efforts of various organizations 2 have them respect and accommodate religious beliefs they just brushed them away. The fact of the Matter is that 2 date NYU
Is the only Hospital on the black list of almost every decent Medical referral organization and for valid reason. So all
We want is 4 NYU to acknowledge the legal and moral rights of the religious patient with a consent of outside rabbi’s me who are not tied by any means 2 NYU
Wait ! minute!!!!
What happened to the famous Satmar Rov Shita? Hisgaris beumos??
Lol! We know…. pikeeeeeach neyyfesh is Doicha everything.
Right
i just spoke to my cousin who is a dr at nyu. He says satmar bikur cholim shot themselves in the leg and said the drs are all talking and muttering about things that went on
From what I understand…NYU wasn’t targeting satmar bikur cholim at all…they were just revising their security protocols for everyone. Most other city hospitals do not allow unregistered volunteers into rooms either.they offered the bikur cholim multiple ways to make it work but they weren’t interested.
Its not like NYU is the only game in town. So if people feel that NYU doesn’t respect end of life issues as Pekiach Nefesh writes, then there are plenty of other well respected hospitals in NYC to go to.
I would be disrespectful by not giving credit and thanks to the many honorable , highly qualified Physicians that have their practices for years at NYU. For those individuals I have the highest regards and wish them all the best in their life. In the merit of helping Cholei Yisroel you should never know of any harm.
At the same token there are also many wonderful staff at NYU . People are individuals. Humankind should know better than want to intentionally harm. We want to believe it is the actions of but a few that have strayed away from normal human behavior of caring for the sick and needy. We ask the Almighty G-D that just like he heals the person’s body he should also heal those that their souls need healing so that they can see the truth!!
To the statement of NYU- “First and foremost, NYU Langone Health’s Bikur Cholim program is as extensive as any hospital system in the city, if not the country,
Who are they trying to fool? it was created by Satmar Bikur Cholim. Is run by the most respected organization as Satmar Bikur Cholim. If NYU’s Bikur Cholim room would not be stocked by Satmar Bikur Cholim daily it wouldn’t have the most extensive program they are writing about. So, thanks to our respected volunteers who currently bear the harassment and disrespect from NYU personnel NYU has a Bikur Cholim program. Look at the food stickers their NYU’s volunteers take to patients rooms. It is food from Satmar Bikur Cholim. Let’s give credit where it is due. It is very obvious that the agenda is patients rights and wishes.
Satmar Bikur Cholim has for years been the leader in medical referrals and health advocacy . When patients enter the hospital and do not understand how to speak to their physicians Satmar Bikur Cholim speaks for them. When patients have end of life issues Satmar Bikur Cholim gets involved to make sure life is respected with Rabbinical guidance and great medical expertise. Satmar Bikur Cholim will bring in a second opinion for a patient crisis when needed. NYU looks at this as a hassle ad does not want it. The Orthodox Communities values in medical ethics go against their medical ethics.
When the liaisons were asked for a meeting to be arranged because of the medical ethics emergency crisis at NYU their response was because they work for the hospital they cannot arrange such a meeting. It is obvious that the same lack of respect treatment NYU gives to patients they provide to their staff.
We need to stand up for the rights of the vulnerable and sick. We need to be the voice to those that cannot talk for themselves. We need to protect the weak and fragile and say to NYU ” WHO ARE YOU TO MAKE A DECISION WHO SHOULD LIVE AND WHO SHOULD DIE””
We need to say to NYU “””NYU SHAME ON YOU”
Several posters above clearly have no credibility when the say things like “all Satmar thinks about themselves”. Satmar chasidim are the most generous people in our great nation. Besides for the organizations we know about, they do a ton of chesed behind the scenes. I’ve seen this in various communities I’ve spent time in.
And for the record… I am as litvish as you can get.
I have no idea where this hospital is or anything about how good or otherwise it may be. Having read all the comments here, it is clear this whole storm has nothing to do with meals or cakes with the Satmar sticker on them or with the Satmar volunteers or staff who re-stock the Bikur Cholim room. In that, it is quite reasonable for the hospital admin to set times when the room can and cannot be restocked; it is, after all, a hospital not Grand Central Station. This is about a culture clash between Satmar Bikur Cholim and the hospital administration. SBC wants to be involved in patient medical care, not just supplying food and being a cheerful face in the hospital. The hospital administration is probably fine with some degree of outside patient advocacy liaison but doesn’t want every Satmarer who thinks he has a mission in life to become involved with whatever he wants. The one thing that is certain is that YWN is not the right place to sort this out.
TO 147 please get yourself a good doctor A.S.A.P.
go to mt sinia
Lots of negativity against Satmar here. Having been a mashgiach at a NYC hospital, I witnessed 1st hand what Satmar Bikur Cholim does regardless of the patient’s Shitos. I’m personally a litvak but I’m impressed with their mesiras nefesh. Bear in mind that where dealing with hired Drs. Vs volunteers. I also highly doubt the NYU Bikur Cholim room would be in existence without Satmar. Based on the hatchet job done, this sounds very personal and not all about the facts.
Agudah’s Chayim Aruchim works with the staff of hospitals and palative care institutions to end the life of your loved ones “with dignity”.
100% guarantee that if all the facts were here, Satmar would clearly be in the right.