Not long ago, an observant Jewish family had a medical situation that required them to spend weeks at Baltimore’s Sinai Hospital. Despite the hospital’s name and good reputation in the surrounding Jewish community, they found their unique religious needs were not met to the level they had hoped.

“They were disappointed with the fact that it seemed like there was staff that was unfamiliar with what a Sabbath escort was, or just being aware of the needs they had,” said Rabbi Jeffrey Orkin, Sinai Hospital’s Jewish chaplain. “They called me, and I thought about what to do.”

The answer was a project, one that Orkin and others have been working on for three or four months: a 24-page booklet that will help hospital staff better serve observant Jewish patients and their families.

The booklet discusses Sabbath escorts and the rules of the Sabbath that Jews follow. It highlights the Sabbath-designated bathrooms in the hospital, which have lights and sinks that are compliant with the rules of Shabbat. It mentions the holidays and creates a list of volunteers who can come in and blow the shofar. The booklet identifies where prayer books can be found and discusses the sukkah that will continue to be built each year at the hospital. And, of course, kosher food.

“What we’re doing is we’re highlighting the fact that we recognize that there are observant Jewish patients, families, perhaps other people who will be coming into the emergency department, or coming into different parts of the hospital, and what are we doing to ensure that their needs are being met?” Orkin said.

A large part of the expanded effort is a new walking path and process for Sabbath observant Jews coming to the emergency room.

“Patients should never delay emergency care on the Sabbath over concerns about an eruv-appropriate path. We are proud to work with our faith and community partners on this new route that, in some cases, may be shorter to get to Sinai’s emergency department and provides greater protection from inclement weather,” Orkin said.

Orkin said a hospital has to be prepared for any situation, because there have been some atypical ones that have come about in his tenure at Sinai. He recalled an instance in which a couple gave birth to a child and had to leave a car running in the parking garage because of the Sabbath.

“Security needs to know to secure the car, keep the keys safe and to figure out how to provide for that,” he said. “We’re planning on having information at every security booth.”

There are many hospitals across the United States with names that are either in Hebrew or allude to something Jewish. Several are even named Sinai, like the Baltimore hospital, but not many of those serve such a large Jewish population. That’s because, as Orkin explained, the hospital lies close to some of the largest pockets of Jews in Greater Baltimore.

“It has to do with the geographic location,” Orkin said. “There’s a very large Jewish population, and a significant amount that are observant, so there needs to be an awareness of that and an ability to provide for some of those needs. As the chaplaincy department, we’re trying to be sensitive to what those needs are, because, at the end of the day, people have choices.”

Orkin and Sinai hope to continue to develop a reputation in the Jewish community for meeting its needs.

“Sinai Hospital has a longstanding relationship with Baltimore’s Jewish community, and we are continually looking for ways to strengthen that partnership,” Orkin said. “These enhancements help ensure that patients and families can focus on what matters most: their own healing or their loved one’s care, knowing their religious traditions and practices are understood and respected.”

And it is hoped the guide they are creating can and will be used by other hospitals or even other community organizations. A digital version will also be available, and input is being sought from a range of community sources.

“This is a booklet that we feel is really needed, and I’m actually working with other community organizers to be able to ask them for their input into what’s important,” Orkin said.

One family’s experience ultimately helped prompt changes Sinai leaders hope will better serve observant Jewish patients and their families in the future.

aguckes@midatlanticmedia.com