Sonya was lost in
a forest. There were several paths, but she was not sure which one to take. She
was hungry, thirsty, and tired. She longed for some food and a place to sleep, but
most of all, she yearned for somebody to show her the way out of the forest.
Suddenly, she noticed a sign tacked to a tree: “Are you hungry, thirsty, tired,
and lost? I will show you the way out of the forest and give you some food and
a bed.” What a relief it was to Sonya! She followed the directions on the sign
and was soon eating a bowl of soup while listening to instructions for leaving
the forest.
* * *
When a person gets
a diagnosis, they are like Sonya, lost in the forest. They don’t know where to
turn for help. Who is the right doctor to take care of this illness? Which is
the right hospital? What will we eat during those long hours in the hospital?
If they are from out-of-town, they don’t know where they will sleep. If they
have halachic questions, they do not know whom to ask. The problems are
endless, like the myriad trees in a forest!
The mission of the
Baltimore Bikur Cholim is to be the
sign in the forest. They are there to help people dealing with medical crises
from Baltimore and beyond. No problem is too small or too large to tackle.
Rabbi Moshe Dear,
executive director of Bikur Cholim,
explained some of the services the organization offers. Rabbi Dear, a school principal for almost four decades,
brings his years of experience to Bikur
Cholim. While there are other organizations in Baltimore that help the sick,
Bikur Cholim is proud of how
the different organizations work together to make sure that all the needs are
met.
Medical Referrals
Rabbi Pinchas Rabinowitz,
director of clinical and religious services, is the person to turn to for
advocacy and referrals. He advises people which doctors and hospitals are best
for various circumstances. He advocates for patients if they have problems with
insurance or anything related to their stay. If a family does not speak English,
Rabbi Rabinowitz helps with that as well.
Rivka, the mother
of a patient, described how Rabbi Rabinowitz helped her: “I was very upset at
the way a certain doctor had spoken to me; I could not understand where he was
coming from. Rabbi Rabinowitz was able to talk me through the situation and
help me understand the doctor’s point of view. After speaking to him, I felt
much better.”
Rabbi Rabinowitz says,
“Whenever I get a phone call with a request, I always try to find a solution.
We are there for the patients to try and help solve their problems, and, bisiyata d’Shmaya, we can accomplish a
lot because we have cultivated connections to many people in the health care
system. The hospital administrators know that our only motive is to help them
create a better experience for their patients.”
Each family and
patient has their own needs. For instance, Rabbi Rabinowitz told me about a
family from out-of-town who had a loved one in the ICU on the 10th
floor. Although there are poskim who allow the use of a Shabbos
elevator, this family did not want to use it. The problem with using the stairs
was that the lights turned on with a sensor each time a person walked past. This
was in addition to the light that was already there. Although, some poskim
allow people to use such a staircase, this family did not want to use that heter.
Instead of ignoring the problem, Rabbi Rabinowitz searched his contacts to find
someone who could get the sensors turned off in this one staircase of this huge
hospital with many staircases. With some effort, Rabbi Rabinowitz was able to
find a person to help, and the light sensors were turned off for the whole six
weeks the family was in the hospital, even though it involved workmen and
ladders!
Another out-of-town
family had to be in Baltimore for about six months, so Rabbi Rabinowitz worked
to get the children into local schools temporarily.
Rabbi Rabinowitz
also finds it helpful to patients when the lines of communication between
doctors and rabbanim are open:
“Many families do not want to bother their family rav unless there is an
emergency, but that is not the time to get the doctor to speak to the rav. It is better to establish
communication before a crisis so that the doctor understands the halachic
concerns and already respects the rav’s opinion. Then, in a crisis, when
decisions must be made quickly, the doctor and the rav already know each other.”
Volunteers
As director of operations, Bonnie Pollak
fields all the calls requesting assistance as well as managing the close to 400
volunteers who help Bikur Cholim accomplish all the chesed that
it does. When someone is in need of services – whether it be meals, a place to
stay if they are coming from out of town, visitors, respite care, or a variety
of other services – Mrs. Pollak coordinates with her many volunteers to make
sure all the needs are met. Some volunteers drive to doctor appointments, cook food, and
make deliveries. Others stock the food pantries in the various hospitals, provide
childcare, or visit people who want visitors. With many of these services needing
to be done every day, there is always room for more volunteers to participate.
For example, besides delivering food every day from local establishments to many
area hospitals, food is also delivered to people in rehab or to patients
recovering at home. Families at home get home-cooked food.
Bikur Cholim will
furnish cleaning help or childcare to families of a recovering patient. Care is
individualized to what each family needs. For example, a woman who suffers from
severe gout needed help putting her candles in the candlesticks, and Mrs. Pollak
was able to send a volunteer to help. She estimates that she gets between 10 to
30 calls a day asking for help.
Mrs. Pollak is
particularly interested in finding volunteers from community members who work
in area hospitals. Sometimes, she gets phone calls from patients or their
families who need a small job done that someone on the premises could do. For
example, a mother who is with a child may not be able to leave the child alone
to get a cup of coffee from the kosher pantry. While only taking a little time,
it is very meaningful to the person in need.
Apartments and Equipment
Bikur Cholim maintains
four apartments for families coming to Baltimore for medical treatment, at no
cost. The apartments are nicely furnished and supplied with everything a family
needs to be comfortable. Of course, the apartments are cleaned for each new
family. Sometimes, if all the apartments are filled, Mrs. Pollak goes to her
list of families who have empty apartments that they are willing to let Bikur Cholim use.
Bikur Cholim maintains
an equipment gemach, where families
can borrow medical equipment, such as wheelchairs, crutches, scooters, and much
more.
* * *
An organization
like Bikur Cholim needs volunteers and money to fund all their projects. One of
the biggest fundraisers is the Bike-a-Thon, which has been held for a number of
years. The Bike-a-Thon gives us the opportunity to join in to help support this
wonderful organization that takes care of those who need care.
It was fascinating
to hear about the many aspects and details that they are taken care of for us.
They are our representatives to do the mitzva of taking care of the sick.
If you would like to be among Bikur Cholim’s many
volunteers, go on the website, baltimorebikurcholim.org,
click on volunteer, and fill in your information.
