(Article reprinted with permission from its original source: The Jewish Ledger)

WATERBURY — An Orthodox Jewish couple drives up to the entrance of Waterbury Hospital, rushing to the maternity ward. It’s Shabbat and the event is considered an emergency, which warrants the husband’s driving on the holy day. Pop quiz: Is the husband allowed to park the car and turn off the engine?

For the answer, ask any security guard on duty as the couple arrives. Thanks to a sensitivity-training program begun at the hospital two years ago, the guard knows to park the car, hold the keys until Shabbat has ended, and walk ahead of the couple to activate the electronic entrance doors.

Inspired by the rapidly growing numbers of local Orthodox Jews, the program is a partnership between Waterbury Hospital’s departments of pastoral care and patient advocacy, and the Orthodox Jewish community.

“A healthcare situation puts people in a different state,” says Ginny Potrepka, patient advocate. “It’s not like planning a vacation and giving a heads-up to the hotel with special requests. It’s unplanned, and that makes it even more frightening, so we need to be aware of people’s needs.”

This kind of cultural outreach in healthcare is increasingly common in hospitals across the country, as communities become more diverse, Potrepka says. In addition to working with the Orthodox community, Waterbury Hospital is also developing programs to better serve local Hispanic and Albanian populations. “Good communication is what makes for a more satisfying healthcare situation, whether there are special religious needs or language interpretation,” she says.

Chaim Gewirtzman is the liaison between Waterbury Hospital and the Orthodox community. Shortly after moving from Brooklyn to Waterbury four years ago, he began to volunteer at the hospital, visiting Orthodox patients. “I got to know Father Richard Bollea [director of pastoral care] and some of the doctors and other staff, and they always wanted to learn about Judaism.” he says. “They would ask whether there was anything they could do to make it easier for a Jewish family who had to spend a day or a weekend in the hospital.”
 
Gewirtzman approached the then-director of public relations to discuss ways to increase awareness of Orthodox needs among the staff. The hospital invited Bikur Cholim Partners in Health, a Monsey, N.Y.-based organization that works to educate healthcare professionals and hospital staff about the special needs and characteristics of their Orthodox Jewish patients.

The group worked to dispel myths and answer questions about Jewish ritual. They explained specific issues like end-of-life rituals and the importance of prayer to the Orthodox patient. Staff-members wanted to understand why, for example, an Orthodox Jew won’t fill in admission papers on Shabbat, or why an observant woman will insist on wearing a head-covering and long sleeves, even while sleeping.

Based on those presentations and on discussions with representatives of the local Orthodox community, Potrepka, Bollea, and their staffs implemented changes to make the hospital more welcoming to observant Jews.

There’s a kosher cabinet in the maternity ward, a kosher refrigerator in the emergency room, and prepackaged kosher meals available from the cafeteria. Prayer-books for all services are available, as are Jewish-themed reading books. Because candles cannot be lit in a hospital, there are battery-powered electric candles to light on Shabbat and holidays. “They go above and beyond to make us feel at home,” Gewirtzman says. “All these things make a stay that’s not so good much more pleasurable.”

Most of the Orthodox newcomers to Waterbury are originally from New York, where many hospitals have long accommodated the needs of Orthodox Jewish patients. They come to Waterbury expecting the same level of awareness and accommodation, Gewirtzman says. “People move here and don’t understand that it doesn’t happen overnight; New York hospital programs have been in place for years. I see what the hospital does, step by step, and they try so hard. In some cases, New York hospitals haven’t come as far as we have n especially in so short a time.”

Potrepka says that the hospital’s working relationship with Gewirtzman and the Orthodox community has made her job much easier. “In the last year, I haven’t gotten any calls specifically relating to Orthodox patients’ needs,” she says. “The Orthodox community does a wonderful job advocating for their own patients. They’ve really managed to communicate with our folks what they need, and we’ve tried to make accommodations.”