WHAT THEY DO
Each Thursday, the
volunteers begin by checking
in with the hospital’s
Spiritual Care office. The
chaplain prepares a list of
room numbers for all the
Jewish patients who had
registered as Jewish or
contacted Spiritual Care.
(It’s suspected that there are
many more Jewish patients
who did not register, and the
hope is that this article might
bring awareness of at least
one benefit in doing so!)
The volunteers — either
in pairs or alone — head to
those rooms to see if those
patients are up for a visit.
Tzippy Ashin became a
certified volunteer about one
year ago. On her first day,
she and a fellow volunteer
knocked on the door to a
private room and the male
patient was ecstatic; he said,
“I’ve been praying to God
and here you are! Come, sit
on my bed!”
When they respectfully
declined, he said, “Well,
come in and close my door!”
“We weren’t about to do
that either, and there were
no chairs in his room,” said
Ashin. “We obviously have
to be very careful. It turned
out he was very lonely and
needed practical life supports
so we helped him get in
touch with the hospital social
worker and gave him the
number for Jewish Family
Service.”
The volunteers follow the
patient’s lead. Many times,
the patients are sleeping
so the volunteers leave a
card. Other times, patients
worry that the visitors are
proselytizing.
“Some people say, ‘Oh,
I’m not observant,’ but that
makes no difference to us.
We come just so the patients
will see a friendly Jewish
face,” Pichette explained.
Some patients don’t feel
well and turn them away, but
most are delighted with what
is often their only visitor and
invite them in to sit down
and talk.
“Sometimes we’ll play a
round of Jewish geography,”
Pichette said. “Whatever they
want. For a few minutes,
they’ll forget their sickness
and if that helps them, that’s
great.”
She said many patients
are eager to share their life
stories.
“You would never know
these stories unless you sit
down and listen … I feel
like I get more out of these
visits than I give,” Pichette
continued. “It helps put my
own life into perspective.”
Ashin shared how patients
visibly brightened when she
visited on Thanksgiving.
“People’s faces lit up;
everyone was so happy to
MARCH 14 • 2024 | 13
Bikur Cholim of Detroit also maintains “kosher cabinets”
that contain supplies such as free shelf-stable food and
many religious items. These cabinets can currently be
found in four area hospitals, and they’re working hard
to add more cabinets to additional hospitals in the near
future.
At Ascension Novi, the pantry can be found outside
the chapel, near the hospital entrance.
At Ascension Southfield, it’s in the foyer outside the
chapel on the first floor, close to the Nine Mile entrance.
At Trinity Health Oakland Hospital, it’s inside the
Spiritual Care office on the first floor.
Beaumont Royal Oak has three cabinets: in the Family
Pantry in Area B of the Emergency Center, as well as
smaller cabinets inside the family pantry of the Family
Birthing Center in 3C, and inside of Pantry B in the
Pediatric Unit on 5S. (The smaller cabinets are only
accessible to family and patients in those departments.)
If you need assistance finding these cabinets, seek out
patient representatives or the chaplains at Spiritual Care;
they will be more than happy to help.
Kosher Cabinets
continued on page 14
One of the
kosher cabinets
at Providence
Southfield hospital