Cultural Competence | The Jerusalem Intercultural Center

Cultural Competency – The Prime Example of Successful Management

What is the secret to successful management? Cultural Competency, of course!

Dr. Maurit Be’eri, Director of the ALYN Rehabilitative Hospital, was recently a speaker at the 4th annual Women and Business conference, which was held on January 16, 2019 in Tel Aviv. More than 700 women, ground breakers in their fields of business, entrepreneurship and leadership, took part in the day-long conference. This was the largest conference for women in business in Israel. Here is her 6-minute presentation (in Hebrew):

Dr. Be’eri spoke about female leadership in medicine as both an allegory and a challenge. The challenge – the fact that there are only 4 directors of public hospitals throughout Israel. Or the fact that there is another – male – Dr. Be’eri who is a Department Director, and he is referred to as “Dr. Be’eri” while she is referred to as “Dr. Maurit.” But the lesson? The main example she brought as successful lesson of female leadership – was Cultural Competency, which we’ve been privileged to be a part of since ALYN began the process more than 10 years ago. Her main message: Women manage differently than men. When we allow ourselves to manage as women, we are more flexible, open and sensitive. When we keep lines of communication open between administration, staff, and patients and their families, asking for opinions and input – and fostering Cultural Competency – together, the hospital will move forward.

Thank you, Dr. Maurit, for showcasing Cultural Competency at this important conference.

Thank you to the Jerusalem Foundation for its continuous support of cultural competency since its inception. Want to learn more about the conference? You can read more here.

Naomi Roff2019-11-16T11:06:48+00:00February 16th, 2019|Blog, Cultural Competence|

Santé Israël – Helping French-Speakers on a Personal Level

We’ve spoken before about Santé Israël, which seeks to assist Francophone residents navigate the Israeli health system.

Frequently, Santé Israël Project Manager Marie Avigad receives individual questions and requests. She tries to help out as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Wheelchair for illustrative purposes

Just as an example, a few weeks ago, someone, part of a group of Christian pilgrims, used to “contact form” of the website about their need to borrow a wheelchair for their aunt. Marie quickly answered that Santé Israël was unable to provide equipment, but she referred them to the Yad Sarah organization, which does lend wheelchairs and other medical equipment, to residents as well as tourists. She also referred them to the page on the Santé Israël website about Yad Sarah to receive some background information, as well as contact information for them. Eventually she made sure that they used the info in an effective way.

Many thanks to the Pharmadom Foundation for their continued support of Santé Israël over the years.

Naomi Roff2019-11-16T11:11:08+00:00January 14th, 2019|Blog, Cultural Competence, New Immigrants, Santé Israël - French internet platform on the Israeli healthcare system|

Santé Israël – At Macabbi Health Services in Rishon Lezion

Last week, our Marie Avigad, Director of the Santé Israël project that helps to make Israel’s health care system accessible to French speakers, was in Rishon Lezion.

Marie Avigad at Maccabi Health Services in Rishon Lezion

She participated in an event that was organized by Maccabi Health Services and the coordinator for Olim services in Rishon Lezion. The goal was to provide information about the Israeli health care system in general, and about Maccabi Health Services in particular.

Maccabi in French

Marie presented the Santé Israël web site, as well as described the Bikur Olim project that she is leading together with the Qualita organization. She also answered questions from the audience and showed the 25 participants how to find information on the Santé Israël web site.

About the Shfela region

The audience was very interested in the subject of health care and asked a lot of questions. One question was from a young pregnant woman, about the recent changes to health care coverage for pregnant women. She received answers, which Marie also published a new page on the Santé Israël web site and linked to a post on the Santé Israël Facebook page. That post received 4,500 views!

Many thanks to the Pharmadom Foundation for their continued support of Santé Israël.

Here’s the Facebook post from Maccabi Health Services in French:

Naomi Roff2019-01-26T15:53:43+00:00January 12th, 2019|Blog, Cultural Competence, New Immigrants, Santé Israël - French internet platform on the Israeli healthcare system|

Celebrating a Decade of Cultural Competency and Looking to the Future

Over the past year we, together with the Alyn Rehabilitative Hospital, the Jerusalem Foundation, and numerous partners in the field, have been celebrating a decade of cultural competency. (You can read about this here, here, here and here.)

On Monday, December 17, 2018 we held the final event – a panel entitled, “Where do we go from here?”

“Where now?” with leaders in the field

Panelists included: Nawal Aliyan – Nubader, from the Novader organization, Shaher Shabane, Chair of the Parents Forum for Children with Special Needs in East Jerusalem, Ariel Kandel, from the Qualita Organization for French-speaking Olim, Ella Mano, Director of Public Health Services and Early Childhood from the Jerusalem Municipality, and Dr. Maurit Be’eri, who began the journey with us a decade ago, and who today is the Director of ALYN.

“It was both exciting and sad to hear the personal stories from East Jerusalem,” noted our own Dr. Michal Schuster in her Facebook post afterward. “Parents who are not aware of their children’s rights, who, because of the stigma [against people with disabilities] are not integrated into society and are closed in at home.”

Ariel Kandel, spoke about the French-speaking population’s difficulties here. While they might not be as severe as those from East Jerusalem, there are difficulties nonetheless – language difficulties, economic difficulties as new immigrants, shock from Israeli bureaucracy, and more. Ariel told of someone who went to the emergency room with a headache, and the doctor told him that there’s nothing to worry about and that he take a pill. The man understood that he had a tumor…..

Relating issues and complexities of cultural competency

It is difficult for service providers as well. Ella Mano told about the issues and conflicts nurses in Well-Baby Clinics are facing now, as they try to prevent the spread of measles, even though the very nature of the Well-Baby Clinics must be culturally competent, in order for the clinics to gain the trust of the parents.

Dr. Be’eri described the frustration that jump started the process in 2008 at ALYN, when they stopped and started to ask why patients weren’t advancing from checkup to checkup, and were even getting worse. And they decided to see what they were doing wrong.

Sharing with other cultural competency professionals

What a change the hospital has gone through.

“Lots of circles were closed today, and I hope it’s the start of Cultural Competency, the 3rd Generation,” summed up Michal.

And of course, many thanks to our partners in the journey – the ALYN Rehabilitative Hospital, the Jerusalem Foundation, and our many partners in action.

Naomi Roff2019-01-19T16:04:08+00:00December 31st, 2018|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Academic Institutions, Cultural Competence in Government Institutions, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Cultural Competence in Jerusalem Municipality, Identity Groups and Conflicts|

Celebrating the Interpreting Team Along the Way

We’ve mentioned here and here the wonderful work that Sha’are Zedek Medical Center has done recently in developing its culturally competent services, from training all new staff in the principles of cultural competency, to training a dedicated team of bi-lingual staff, whose mother tongues are Arabic, Russian and Amharic, to help ease communication between patients and doctors. These interpreters are already on staff at Sha’are Zedek, and have volunteered to help patients speaking these various languages. Our Dr. Michal Schuster, together with lecturers Beni Asegie, Tania Voinova and Salih Sawaed, trained them in a special course in medical interpreting.

Interpreters and training staff at Cinema City

On Tuesday, November 27, we all said thank you.

In the Cinema City VIP room

This special event – for both the medical interpreters and the cultural competency instructors who run the regular workshops at Sha’are Zedek – was held at Cinema City. The event began in Cinema City’s VIP room and included a pampering breakfast and other goodies, as well as a lecture by Michal, followed by the movie Bohemian Rhapsody in one of the complex’ theaters. Appropriate to the setting, Michal spoke about how interpreters (oral translators) are presented in movies, TV shows and in literature – how they view their role, and how society views their role.

Part of Michal’s talk

Many thanks to all the volunteers, who endeavor to make patients’ experiences more comfortable, who do this with love and dedication in addition to their regular hospital positions. Many thanks to Sha’are Zedek, for its efforts to train its staff in cultural competency – and equally as important, to recognize their contribution. And of course, many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation, which has been our strategic partner in Cultural Competency since its establishment more than 10 years ago.

Here’s what Michal had to say about the meeting (Hebrew):

Naomi Roff2018-12-08T17:53:08+00:00December 8th, 2018|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services|

Learning from Cultural Competency in Design and Business for Health Care

What’s the most usable cup? What is the most communicative object?

At first glance, these are the most banal questions. But when an answer needs to be given, neither the questions nor the answers are trivial.

Yifat Keinan speaking

And the following questions might seem slightly more relevant for our coordinators for cultural competency in health care systems:

What’s the connection between a charm bracelet and child vaccinations? And why do older Haredi women come to physical therapy sessions with baby carriages?

Different characteristics of cups and glasses, which can be quite important to the end user

On Thursday, November 22 Iifat Keinan-Guy, industrial designer and lecturer in the Inclusive Industrial Design Department at Hadassah Academic College in Jerusalem, spoke to our forum of Jerusalem-based Cultural Competency Coordinators in health care. Ifat’s research focuses on rehabilitative environments in medical centers and treatment and advancing rehabilitation through design.

Difference in design, up close

In her presentation, Ifat opened up a window to the deliberations and brilliant ideas for medical devices, in which end-users are involved in the design. And a perfect example is the Immunity Charm, the answer to the charm bracelet question:

It was a fascinating meeting. And we discovered yet again, the importance of meeting and exchanging ideas and knowledge, for the benefit of patients throughout Jerusalem. The meeting’s 12 participants wasted no time, and took advantage of this opportunity to begin discussing a variety of partnerships and research ideas that would further the issues covered.

Many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for its continued support of Cultural Competency over the years.

Here’s our own Michal Schuster’s Facebook post (in Hebrew):

Naomi Roff2018-12-08T17:30:43+00:00December 3rd, 2018|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services|

A Decade of Cultural Competency – Digitization of Health Care and Other Worlds in Haredi Society

Today many people manage much of their health care needs electronically – over the Internet, through mobile apps and various social media. Medical information, consultation with doctors and nurses and making appointments – all of these actions are often done today online or via mobile apps. How does the Haredi population, which often eschews the open Internet, deal with these means of communication? How do they receive information, which many in the non-Haredi world have instant access to simply by filling out telephone numbers or e-mail addresses and receiving occasional updates?

Our fifth lecture in the celebrating a decade of Cultural Competency (see here, here, and here for former meetings) focused on the Haredi sector – how it relates to the Internet and social media, relating to the world of health care and others. The speaker was Shmuel Drilman, Haredi social activist and CEO of the Webetter digital company.

Shmuel Drilman lecturing

He spoke about how so much of our daily lives revolves around the Internet, smartphone apps and social media, from health care to a range of other services, and how the Haredi world – which is often closed to technological advancements – deals with the challenges of everyday life in the 21st century. He spoke about possible ways that the health care world can make information available to Haredi society, without compromising its online systems or the Haredi society’s cultural norms.

Many thanks to the ALYN Rehabilitative Hospital for their partnership and hosting of this series of lectures. And of course, many thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation for its strategic partnership in cultural competency over the last decade!

Here’s the Facebook post on the meeting:

Naomi Roff2018-12-01T12:45:57+00:00November 26th, 2018|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Academic Institutions, Cultural Competence in Government Institutions, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Cultural Competence in Jerusalem Municipality, Cultural Competence in Police, Cultural Competence in the Workplace|

Celebrating a Decade of Cultural Competency: New Practical Uses for Old Traditions: The Ethiopian Case

It’s incredible that we’ve been leading efforts to increase cultural competency for the past 10 years. To celebrate, as we’ve described here and here, we’re hosting a series of lectures in partnership with the ALYN Rehabilitative Hospital and the Jerusalem Foundation. The latest lecture was on Monday, October 15, 2018. In honor of the upcoming Sigd Holiday, which will take place on November 7, the lecture focused on the source of the holiday, and enabled a closer look at different traditions that the Ethiopian community in Israel brings to society. This community had been disconnected from the rest of the Jewish world for more than 2,000 years until coming to Israel, and still preserves its ancient traditions while also developing new ones.

Yuvi lecturing

The lecturer was Ms. Yuvi Tashome-Katz, who was born in Ethiopia and came to Israel via Sudan. Today Yuvi is a social entrepreneur and activist, with twenty years’ experience in community work and counseling, and today is a member of the southern city of Gadera’s city council. In recognition of her social activities, Yuvi was chosen to light one of the ceremonial torches on the 2011 Independence Day celebrations. Later that year she was awarded the Prime Minister’s Prize for Initiatives and Innovation and the Matanel Prize for Groundbreaking Leadership.

Lecturing to a full house

In addition to the Sigd holiday, Yuvi spoke about how women learned about womanhood and parenting from the ‘Women’s House’ – a place women stayed during ‘menstruation holiday,’ as well as for 40 days after birth. From a young age teenagers were shown how to care for babies, nursing, and more. Children were taught to strengthen their abilities, and tasks around the house and in the fields were assigned according to their abilities. In addition, information about medicinal herbs, nutrition and other health-related issues was passed along orally from one to another.

ALYN’s lecture hall was full to the gills, and the 50 members of the audience had a fascinating lecture. The participants were impressed by the sheer amount of knowledge the Ethiopian elders had, and how much knowledge Israeli society missed out on. Participants were enthusiastic to invite Yuvi back, to help them better understand how this knowledge can help the therapeutic process.

Many thanks to Yuvi, to ALYN, and of course, to the Jerusalem Foundation for its ongoing support of cultural competency since its inception!

Naomi Roff2018-10-27T06:29:44+00:00October 21st, 2018|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Academic Institutions, Cultural Competence in Government Institutions, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Cultural Competence in Jerusalem Municipality, Cultural Competence in Police, Cultural Competence in the Workplace, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts|

Santé Israël – in the Times of Israel French Edition

We’re always proud to talk about Santé Israël, the go-to website for information in French about the Israeli health system. Nowadays it is much more than a website – with a free consultation service and French-speaking volunteers who help on-site the navigate the Israeli healthcare system.

And we even prouder to see them in print, this time in the French edition of the Times of Israel. For the link to the article, click here.

Here’s the text of the article in French:

Une nouvelle interface en français pour le système de santé israélien

La Fondation Pharmadom, sous l’égide de la Fondation du judaïsme français, a mis sur pied le site Santé Israël à destination des francophones

Par TIMES OF ISRAEL STAFF9 septembre 2018, 13:52 0

La fondation Pharmadom, et d’autres organisations telles que le Centre Interculturel de Jérusalem en collaboration avec la fondation Rashi ont participé ont lancé un site gratuit permettant aux francophones de s’orienter simplement dans le système de santé israélien.

Un système qui peut s’avérer un peu déroutant pour les nouveaux immigrants français.

Exemple, alors qu’en France la Caisse primaire d’assurance maladie (CPAM) regroupe les différents remboursements des services de santé, en Israël ce service est divisé en quatre caisses de santé (Kupat Holim, en hébreu). Et chacune de ces caisses possède ces centres de santé qui regroupent médecins, spécialistes et pharmacie.

« Trouver un centre médical d’urgence ou un médecin et préparer sa visite, localiser des services de santé français, se renseigner sur les équivalences des médicaments en France et en Israël, déchiffrer une ordonnance, trouver une pharmacie ou encore se renseigner sur la couverture des caisses sont autant d’interrogations auxquelles le site répond à travers des pages et des rubriques faciles d’accès, » affirme Pharmadom.

Le site permet également d’aider à trouver un praticien francophone en Israël.

Créée en 2003 à l’initiative de pharmaciens, la fondation Pharmadom, sous l’égide de la Fondation du judaïsme français, aide « les populations fragiles en facilitant l’accès aux soins en France et en Israël ». Elle soutient notamment financièrement depuis mai 2016 à Haïfa le Pharmadom Vision Center, qui vient en aide à des malvoyants.

Many thanks to the Pharmadom and Rashi Foundations for their continued support of Santé Israël.

Naomi Roff2019-11-16T11:23:57+00:00September 10th, 2018|Blog, Cultural Competence, Identity Groups and Conflicts, New Immigrants, Santé Israël - French internet platform on the Israeli healthcare system|

Cultural Competency within the Haredi community?

When we talk about cultural competency, it’s usually about helping service providers serve a range of minority groups better. Or it’s about one minority group learning to work better within the majority’s ‘system.’ But what about one minority group within itself?

This was our focus when we held a cultural competency workshop for women lecturers at the Jerusalem College of Technology (JCT) in early July. The JCT is an institute of higher education that targets Orthodox and Haredi men and women, in separate campuses and in single-gender classes, focusing on engineering and computers, management and life and biological sciences (such as nursing).

Teaching cultural competency at the JCT

The lecturers came from a range of disciplines – business administration, mathematics, law, nursing, and more, and themselves represented a variety of cultures and religious observances.

From the outside, the Haredi world might seem monolithic and singular. But when you look more closely that world is extremely diverse, and cultural competency skills are necessary in teaching, especially if the lecturers do not come from that world, which was the case for some in the workshop. Some lecturers spoke about how they looked for course content that was appropriate for the students, including examples that the students could relate to. Another lecturer spoke about how her students address her in the third person, as is the norm in the Haredi world. Yet another told that the teaching style expected in the Haredi world leaves little room for spontaneity in the classroom, which is quite different than what she’s used to in other ‘general’ frameworks. And yet another, a lecturer in economics, told about an incident of a male colleague. He wanted to present the Brazilian economic model to his female students. He typed in “Brazilian model” into Google, and got quite a different result than he’d planned. While everyone in the class was quite embarrassed, workshop participants agreed that the matter would have been considered much more serious if it’d been a class of only male students….

This is just one example of our continued work in the field of cultural competency, in Jerusalem and throughout Israel. We would like to extend our gratitude to the Jerusalem Foundation, for its continuing support of Cultural Competency in Jerusalem since its inception a decade ago.

Naomi Roff2018-08-31T11:26:56+00:00August 30th, 2018|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Academic Institutions, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|