New Immigrants | The Jerusalem Intercultural Center

“The Resident at the Center” – Empowering City Center Residents through Deliberative Democracy

For more than two years we’ve been using deliberative democracy methods to foster a sense of community and belonging among Jerusalem’s diverse populations, thanks to the generous support of the UJA-Federation of New York. We’ve been working with a number of Jerusalem neighborhoods, from Gilo and Baka’a to Romema, Kiryat Hayovel and Rehavia, as well as in regional (Jerusalem Railway Park) and citywide initiatives (training of community workers).

Open Space in City Center

The latest neighborhood to embark on this process of empowerment is the City Center. As part of a community-building process that began in March of this year, on December 1, 2014, some 200 residents squeezed into the gymnasium at the Experimental High School in downtown Jerusalem for a town meeting based on Open Space Technology. The group was incredibly diverse – Ultra-Orthodox, Secular, Conservative, Reform, Orthodox, immigrants from all around the Jewish world, and even a few asylum seekers from Eritrea! Three elected City Council members, one of them a Deputy Mayor, joined the group and later joined the task teams. All came to discuss issues in the neighborhood that they were passionate about finding solutions for. For the first time, residents were excited to finally be able to give voice to their everyday concerns, and meet other people who were potential partners in finding solutions. Examples included noise, sanitation, parking, quiet on Saturdays, improving safety, the elderly, growing plants in the city center, ecology, and more. These 200 people split up into different task teams, and we will continue to mentor them to ensure that the issues are advanced.

According to the residents, this is the first time ever that residents have been led in any community-building process in the downtown Jerusalem. Until now, many felt that they were “transparent” in relation to the business-owners in the city center, and that their needs were secondary to the businesses’. They’d tried to organize themselves around different issues (planning Nevi’im Street, the pedestrian malls, and more), but there was never an organized, long-term process that allowed residents to have their own say in the future of their neighborhood. We see this as just the beginning, and are going to help the groups that were formed to continue to work and impact downtown. We truly believe that this is a new beginning for the residents of the City Center.

Naomi Roff2015-01-06T19:10:47+00:00December 15th, 2014|Asylum Seekers, Blog, City Center, Cross-Cultural Communication Trainings, Deliberative Democracy, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, New Immigrants, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

New Medical Interpreters Course for Mental Health Professionals

Cultural competency in mental health hospitals is moving forward and spreading, thanks to our Cultural Competency Desk. Last month, on 23 October 2014, we finished the first part of a medical interpreting course for some 30 professionals in the mental health fields from seven institutions from all over the country. While we’ve been involved with courses for specific institutions (at Abarbanel and the Jerusalem Center for Mental Health), this is the first time professionals are coming from all over the country for such a course. The idea for the course was brought up at a meeting of the Forum for Cultural Competency Coordinators in Mental Health that was held at the Mazor (Mazra) Hospital north of Acco, which was facilitated by the JICC. What ensued was a unique partnership between public mental health institutions and the JICC, which enabled the course to come to fruition. Many special thanks go to the cultural competency coordinator at Mazra, Mr. Yaron Nachmias, and Dr. Anne-Marie Ullmann, of the Beer Yaakov Mental Health Center.

National Mental Health Interpreters Training

In all there were 27 participants, who spoke Arabic, Russian and Amharic. In the course they learned the basics of medical interpretation in the mental health fields, which is one of the most challenging areas, both for the interpreter and for all those (patients, family as well as caregivers) who are involved in the diagnosis and treatment process. Course participants learned about the challenges of oral interpretation, the practiced correct work methods, and dealing with professional and personal dilemmas. They enriched their knowledge in language-specific issues and and terminology in separate groups for each individual language.

Simulation of an Interpreted Session in Mental Health

Now, after the end of the course, the greatest challenge is to help the cultural competency coordinators to assimilate cultural competency principles into everyday practice at their institutions. This will mean learning to utilize the services of the trained interpreters in the everyday operations of the hospitals.

Principles of Cultural Competency

Naomi Roff2018-09-01T07:31:20+00:00November 23rd, 2014|Asylum Seekers, Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, New Immigrants, Palestinians/Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Cultural Competency in Mental Health Care in Jerusalem – First Graduating Class of Interpreters

We’ve written here and here about the importance of making mental health services – especially in Jerusalem – culturally competent, and the long road that lies ahead. On April 8 we made huge strides in the right direction, presenting graduates of the first class of medical interpreters at the Jerusalem Mental Health Center at Kfar Shaul with their completion certificates.

These 17 graduates – bilingual workers at the main public mental health facility in Kfar Shaul as well as at other facilities throughout the Jerusalem area – represented the diversity of Jerusalem. They came from a broad range of professions at the Center – from nurses to other treatment professionals, as well as a diversity of backgrounds, speaking Arabic, Russian and Amharic as mother tongues. “Cultural Competency is a must in every public health facility,” said Dr. Teitelbaum, Acting Director of the Jerusalem Mental Health Center, in his remarks. “Research shows that treatment is better when the facility is culturally competent. Our goal is that this new skill will improve our ability to treat the patients.”

Indeed, language-dependent care, such as therapeutic sessions or psychiatric assessment, can be unsuccessful if it is not held in the patient’s mother tongue. Research shows that it is easier to express your troubles in your native language and that psychiatric problems are more evident (and therefore treatable) when they are expressed in the patient’s native language. Thus, when caregivers are not available in the patient’s native tongue, a medical interpreter is a vital part of the treatment process. The mental health interpreter not only knows both languages fluently, he or she is also trained to translate the smallest nuances, even if at first they seem illogical or confused. It is this attention to the smallest details that enables the caregiver to more completely understand the patient’s condition.

Our Hanan Ohana, who directs the Cultural Competency Desk at the JICC, noted, “This graduation ceremony means more than 15 or so trained caregivers in the course. The Jerusalem Mental Health Center is a leader in mental health services in Israel. Their enthusiasm for the training will serve as an example for other mental health institutions in Israel, which we expect will follow suit. The support of the administration was very important in this process. Without it, implementation of the program and assimilation of cultural competency principles would be much more difficult.”

Over the course of two months the participants learned the concepts of cultural competency in general, as well as the basic guidelines of medical interpreting, especially in the context of mental health treatment. “This is the first time I’ve taught a course for mental health professionals in Jerusalem,” said Dr. Michal Schuster, Senior Consultant and Facilitator for Cultural Competency, and also a lecturer at Bar Ilan University. “I definitely learned much more than I taught.”

The participants also received specialized training in interpreting into their native languages. “I thought I knew the language I was translating from, and what I was translating into,” said Solomon, of Ethiopian origin. “But this course opened my eyes to a lot of subtleties I wasn’t aware of.” Lilian, a native Russian-speaker, echoed, “After the course, we feel much differently about the interpretation we do. The course gave us so much. It showed us how much more there is to learn.” Shoshi, also of Ethiopian origin, noted, “I never knew that there were so many different inferences, even in my mother tongue. Now I’m much more careful, even afraid [that I’ll interpret something incorrectly].”

During the course

Dr. Schuster emphasized that it is that awareness, of the gravity of the task of medical interpretation, “that is the key objective of the course. “

We would like to thank the Jerusalem Foundation and the Rayne Foundation, whose support made this course possible.

Naomi Roff2014-05-09T14:36:55+00:00April 10th, 2014|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, New Immigrants, Palestinians/Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Enriching the Toolbox of the Cultural Competency Coordinator: Passover and Easter Information Sheet

We’ve described here our process of producing information sheets for major Jewish, Christian and Muslim holidays for Cultural Competency Coordinators from around the country. Thus far we’ve produced pages for Muslim Ramadan, Eid el-Fitr and Eid el-Adha, Jewish Ethiopian Sigd, Christian Christmas and New Year, Druze Eid el-Hader and Jewish Tisha B’Av and Asara B’Tevet.

We can now add Jewish Passover to the list:

Passover in Health Organisations 2014

The information had two parts: a sheet that explains the main issues that are relevant for Passover in healthcare organizations, and a Word file with suggested texts for posters in Hebrew, Arabic and English about the practice in Israeli healthcare organizations not to being Non-Passover-Kosher food in to the facility during Passover. In the past, we could see posters that either were not helpful for non-Jewish people, or were written in an insulting way, and were usually only in Hebrew. We hope that our text help to solve this.

Immediately after that, we published another sheet about Lent, Easter and Pentecost (and in Israel we need to know the practices of many Christian Sects in this context, Greek Orthodox, Catholic etc.).

Easter in healthcare organisation March 2014

Naomi Roff2014-05-13T20:23:16+00:00March 25th, 2014|Asylum Seekers, Blog, Christians, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, New Immigrants, Palestinians/Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Coming Attractions – Groundbreaking Cultural Competency Training Videos

Coming to a hospital / clinic seminar room near you! Four new training videos, produced by the Jerusalem Intercultural Center and Bar Ilan University.

Since we began the Cultural Competency in Health Care project in 2008, we’ve been aiming to offer a comprehensive, multidisciplinary training experience to health care professionals, and recently, we’ve made great strides in providing a broad range of information, training manuals and professional networks for peer learning.

From “For the Children”

This week we added a new layer – four new training videos for our cultural sensitivity training sessions. These are the first such videos to be produced in Israel, addressing specific issues faced by populations here. The videos were produced in full partnership with Bar Ilan University, and its Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies.

From “Our Decision”

The four films are based on actual events. The film “Knows What She Wants” describes a meeting between a patient from the immigrant Ethiopian community, who is requesting an injection of the Depo-Provera contraceptive , and the family doctor who is trying to convince her use alternative methods. The film “Checkup” presents a meeting between a Russian speaking patient who comes with her teenage daughter for a routine visit to manage her diabetes, and a Hebrew speaking nurse. In the film “Our Decision” a Muslim-Arab hospital patient diagnosed with a malignant growth on her thyroid is torn between the opinion of her doctor (also a Muslim-Arab), who thinks that immediate surgery is essential, and that of her husband, who wants her released back home quickly. The film “For the Children” takes place at a charged meeting at the welfare department between a social worker and a Haredi family (from the “Eida Haredit”), regarding the temporary transfer of their children to relatives. All the films have subtitles in Hebrew, Arabic and English. Each film deals with a different cultural group, yet each one addresses all the main core issues in cultural competency.

From “Knows What She Wants”

The videos are used to trigger discussions in our various training and follow-up workshops. Each of them brings up critical points that are essential in striving toward culturally competent care in the health care and welfare systems. And all are helping us make culturally competent care in the health care and welfare systems more of a reality. We’d like to thank the Jerusalem Foundation for their ongoing support of this program since its earliest stages. These videos were also supported by the New Israel Fund.

From “Checkup”

Naomi Roff2014-07-11T09:35:17+00:00March 15th, 2014|Asylum Seekers, Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, New Immigrants, Palestinians/Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Making a Mental ‘Switch’: Cultural Sensitivity Professional Development Workshop for Staff at the Jerusalem Center for Mental Health, Kiryat Hayovel Clinic

What is the essence of cultural competency? More than the manuals, more than the training sessions – cultural sensitivity is the switch in approach to the patient-caregiver relationship, from ‘let me make you better’ (on my terms, using my rules) to ‘let’s work together to enable you to heal’ (mutual communication, bridging communication gaps of language and culture, realization that one’s background and culture dictates one’s actions and reactions).

The intention of the workshop held on October 21, 2013 for members of the Kiryat Hayovel public mental health clinic, part of the Jerusalem Center for Mental Health, was to help the 25 participants make that switch in their approach. The all-day workshop included a discussion of the present situation, and staff members raised a number of examples of social and political tensions in the clinic. As in other Cultural Competency Workshops, we also covered a theoretical section, in which we went over basic aspects of cultural competency – interpersonal communication, core issues, cultural dimensions, medical interpretation, social and political tension and more. In the afternoon the medical actress joined us and we practiced 2 real-life situations.

The director of the Kiryat Hayovel Clinic was very cooperative, both during and after the workshop. He told us that he received positive feedback from his staff, and that everyone recognizes the need for changing their approach, with an emphasis on everyday work. He noted that many of the staff were aware of the concept of cultural competency, but this all-day workshop allowed them to concentrate solely on how cultural competency / or cultural sensitivity influences their work as mental health caregivers.

The workshop also made the director as well as the staff more aware of the need for medical interpreters (translators) when working with patients whose mother tongue is not Hebrew. The workshop therefore increased his motivation for including his staff members in the upcoming medical interpreter’s course at the Jerusalem Center for Mental Health in Givat Shaul.

Naomi Roff2014-04-11T18:41:23+00:00October 23rd, 2013|Asylum Seekers, Blog, Christians, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, Jewish-Palestinian/Arab, New Immigrants, Palestinians/Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Creating a Cultural Competency Learning Community

We’ve talked about our growing national network of cultural competency coordinators here before . As part of this effort, we held our quarterly workshop for 25 cultural competency coordinators from around Israel at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov) on October 7. Participants came from hospitals as far north as Tiberias and Hadera, as well as the Jerusalem and Tel Aviv area. There were also representatives of the different HMO’s as well. This workshop focused on the Connection between the Community and Health Care Organizations.

The meeting included a panel discussion of 4 different perspectives:

Mr. Pekadu Gadamo, director of the Tene Briut organization, which works to improve health care for the Ethiopian community in Israel.
Mr. Or-El Ben Ari, director of the Ministry of Health’s clinic for migrants and political asylum seekers at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv.
Rabbi Zvi Porath, rabbinic consultant to the ALYN Rehabilitative Hospital
Mr. Gabriel Pransky, the Pransky Project

Each member of the panel spoke about his organization, and the connection each one has to health care organizations. Mr. Ben Ariand Mr. Paransky also distributed information sheets about their organizations. Click here to see the Refugees Clinic information sheet and here to see the information sheet on the Pransky project.

We’d like to focus on two of them, Mr. Ben Ari, from what was formerly referred to as the Refugees’ Clinic, and Rabbi Porath, from ALYN. Mr. Ben Ari first described his clinic. Located in the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, the clinic serves the tens of thousands of refugees and political asylum seekers that live in the Tel Aviv area, none of whom have health insurance. Instead, they often rely on hospital emergency rooms for care, and then only in real emergencies. And it was found that many of the emergencies could have been prevented if they had sought medical care earlier. The clinic was established in 2008 by the Israel Medical Association and other partners and staffed largely by volunteer doctors and other medical personnel. In January 2013 the clinic came under the auspices of the Israel Ministry of Health. Today it includes a staff of 20 and offers a range of medical services, from regular clinics to urgent care facilities, operated by the Terem organization. In the discussion, Mr. Ben Ari asked the cultural competency coordinators to make the clinic known to the refugees / asylum seekers they treat, since after they are released they rarely seek follow-up care that the clinic can provide.

The coordinators were fascinated by the clinic. For most this was the first time they had heard of the clinic and its activities. They were so excited about it that they asked to have a tour. This is now being organized.
Another of the speakers was Rabbi Zvi Porath, of ALYN Rehabilitative Hospital. Rabbi Porath, himself Ultra-Orthodox, has done groundbreaking work in his position as an advisor to the staff and on Jewish law. In most hospitals the Rabbi deals mainly with issues regarding Kashruth and Sabbath observance, Rabbi Porath is the first hospital Rabbi in Israel to utilize his role for cultural competency issues as well. He advises both the staff and patients, especially when there are instances in which there are questions of Jewish law as it relates to specific treatments. Rabbi Porath not only gives his own advice, but also knows whom to go to when other authorities’ opinions are needed. This is because each community within the Ultra-Orthodox world follows its own community leaders, but not necessarily leaders from other communities. In this way Rabbi Porath is not only a consultant and an advisor, he is also a mediator, helping the ALYN staff provide the best care for all its patients, sensitive to the cultural traditions of its Ultra-Orthodox patients and their families.

The participants were also very interested in Rabbi Porath’s work, since all of them deal with issues of caring for Ultra-Orthodox patients in ways that are in line with their strict reading of Jewish law. Many even scheduled private meetings with him, to see how he could help in their respective organizations.

Naomi Roff2016-02-27T15:01:19+00:00October 10th, 2013|Asylum Seekers, Blog, Christians, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, Jewish Religious Denominations, New Immigrants, Palestinians/Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

“Haaretz” article on our interpreters course in Bikur Holim: medical staffers are learning Arabic, Yiddish and more and learning cultural sensitivity to bridge gaps with communities in need of care

Following our interpreters course at Bikur Holim(see our blog entry about it!), Haaretz published an article that covers the story.

You can find the Article in English here, and the Hebrew version here.

We loved this excellent article very much. But we have two minor comments:

The English headline is misleading – it says “To give better care, Israeli doctors learning Yiddish and Arabic”. Well, this course was for bilingual staff who already speak two languages, but need to learn the professional tools for medical interpretation. We are very happy to see that medical staff is learning the languages of their patients, but frankly, we prefer that they use expert medical interpreters rather than relying on the basic language course they had.
We do not recommend saying “Abi gezunt” to a sick person…. it means “health is the most important thing”. You use this phrase when someone lost money or when his/her car was damaged in a car accident. The idea is that never mind the money – health is much more important. It is a bit cynical to say it to a sick person. Better use “Sei gesund” (be healthy). 🙂

Yet, great article! Here is the full text:

To give better care, Israeli doctors learning Yiddish and Arabic
Medical staffers are learning Arabic, Yiddish and more and learning cultural sensitivity to bridge gaps with communities in need of care.
By Dan Even, “Haaretz”

“Abi gezunt” (be healthy ) is a common refrain used by members of the ultra-Orthodox community in Jerusalem when fulfilling the religious commandment of visiting the sick.

But patients from the mostly Yiddish-speaking community who need medical treatment sometimes find it difficult to communicate with the doctors in Hebrew, which they use for prayers only.
Doctor with translators

A doctor and two translators simulating a Russian-Hebrew conversation.
Photo by: Olivier Fitoussi

In the past decade there has been an increasing awareness in Western countries of the importance of training teams in medical interpretation, in order to improve communication between doctors and patients from different cultures.

The medical system in Israel, an immigrant-absorbing country, has also recently instituted a special training program. After the opening of interpretation courses in Arabic, Russian and Amharic, last month a first course opened in Jerusalem to train interpreters in Yiddish.

“The Israel health system is good, but the issue of cultural competence has skipped us as though it never existed, maybe because it sounds too political or too leftist,” said the director general of the Jerusalem Inter-Cultural Center, Dr. Hagai Agmon-Snir, who initiated the program.

“Maybe it’s because of the melting pot concept, which led to a belief that if a patient speaking a foreign language arrives at the hospital, it’s preferable that he make an effort to speak Hebrew,” said Dr. Michal Schuster, a graduate of Bar-Ilan University’s translation studies program, who is participating in the project.

The interpreters’ course that began in May for the staffs of the Bikur Holim Hospital in Jerusalem was designed to train medical interpreters in Yiddish, the mother tongue of the ultra-Orthodox patients who use the medical institution. On the obstetrics wards, for example, 80 percent of the women are Haredi.

“It’s no secret that as opposed to the ‘State of Tel Aviv,’ here we have patients from specific populations, and there are patients from the Haredi and Arab populations who are in need of a sensitive attitude in various medical situations,” said the medical director of Bikur Holim, Dr. Raphael Pollack. Agmon-Snir says while the patients know a little Hebrew, they shouldn’t have to stumble for words when in a hospital setting.

“Theoretically there’s no need for interpreters into Yiddish, but there are members of the Haredi community who are capable of expressing their distress more easily in Yiddish, and we should make communication easier for them,” the doctor said.

The language training consists of 40 academic hours over a period of six weeks, and is being taught to 36 Bikur Holim nurses and administrators. The course includes introductions to anatomy, in order to become familiar with common medical terms such as EKG or blood count, the study of precision in translating and of medical ethics. The cultural competence course, which is designed for a larger number of staff members, also includes content related to the cultural differences among patients of different origins.

Schuster says that they make sure not to perpetuate stereotypes about minority groups, “instead, we provide tools for dealing with a patient from a different culture, principles of listening and understanding the cultural nuances,” she said.

Shake hands

“In the Ethiopian community, at the beginning of treatment the doctor is supposed to stand up and shake the patient’s hand,” says Dr. Idit Dayan, the coordinator of welfare at the Jerusalem Foundation, which is a partner in planning the project and promoting cultural competence in the Jerusalem health services, and supports it to the tune of hundreds of thousands of shekels annually. “There are Russian doctors who confessed to us that they don’t understand the custom, but it constitutes a code of honor in the Ethiopian community, and it helps to improve communications and breaks the ice between the doctor and the patient.”

Cultural misunderstandings are liable nowadays to lead to medical negligence claims, and Israeli courts have already dealt with scenarios originating in an absence of cultural competence on the part of medical staffs.

In January 2007, the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court granted compensation of NIS 250,000 to a couple from Bueina-Nujidat in the north, after the woman miscarried and claimed that at Poriya Hospital, where she was under supervision, they were negligent in treating her.

It turned out that during the period of supervision the woman, who is an Arabic-speaker, was given medical explanations in Hebrew. One of the doctors testified at the trial that she had given the expectant mother explanations in Arabic, but it turned out that she had explained the nature of the treatment the woman required at home using only isolated words rather than sentences.

In the ruling, Judge Arnon Darel said “the hospital did not meet its minimal obligation of providing the explanation in a manner understandable to the patient.”

The present project began in 2008 with the support of the Jerusalem Foundation, and continued with a pilot in the Alyn Pediatric and Adolescent Rehabilitation Center, when staffs were trained in medical interpretation and directional signs in various languages were posted.

The project has since expanded to the Clalit health maintenance organizations in Jerusalem, especially in the clinics that serve the Ethiopian community, and the Arab community in East Jerusalem.

In the past year the program was also expanded to Hadassah University Hospital at Mount Scopus and at Ein Kerem, and is slated to also be used at the Kfar Shaul Mental Health Center.

The profession of medical interpretation is still in its infancy in Israel, but the vision for the future includes the development of a new career path. At Alyn there is already a salaried Arabic interpreter. The increasing awareness of cultural differences and the fear of lawsuits have led the Health Ministry to publish a director general’s circular on the subject of cultural and linguistic accessibility in the health system.

According to the circular, by February 2013 all the institutions in the health system will be required to provide medical translation services to patients by means of a professional hotline, by employing cultural experts or by employing staff members who speak foreign languages, after they undergo training, and to refrain insofar as possible from using a family member as a translator.

jicc2014-07-11T09:12:02+00:00July 4th, 2011|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, New Immigrants, Palestinians/Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

First time in Yiddish!! – opening of medical interpreters course in Bikur Holim Hospital

Today we began implementing our cultural competence program at the Bikur Holim hospital in Jerusalem. Bikur Holim is one of the oldest hospitals in the city (founded in 1826). From the article in Wikipedia about the hospital, we have chosen to cite the following:

Situated near the religious neighborhoods of Geula and Mea Shearim, Bikur Holim admits a very high percentage of Haredi Jews, and tries to cater to their needs. Shabbat is strictly observed. Non-Jewish employees record medical information and answer telephones on the Sabbath. Food is warmed in ovens operated by a timer, in keeping with Orthodox religious rulings.

The Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) orientation of the hospital is very much known in Jerusalem. Yet, it is not surprising to find out that since most of the medical and non-medical staff are non-Haredi, there is still a need for improving cultural competence for Haredi patients and families. When we approached the hospital management, half a year ago, as a part of the program of cultural competence in Jerusalem (a program we share with the Jerusalem Foundation), we were warmly invited in. The staff also emphasized that the hospital accepts patients from all around the city, including high percentage of Palestinians (Muslims and Christians), new immigrants from all around the world and migrant (foreign) workers. Together, We planned a cultural competency program for the hospital.

Bikur Holim Medical Interpretation Course

The first step of the implementation was today – a medical interpretation course for more than 30 bilingual staff members. Well, we did such 30-40 hour training courses before, in Alyn hospital, in Clalit HMO and in Hadassah. But this time, in addition to Arabic, Russian and Amharic interpreters, we have a large group of Yiddish interpreters! Indeed, although most of the Haredi community can speak in Hebrew, many of them are much more used to Yiddish, and Hebrew for them is a kind of a second language. Also, medical terminology and explanations in English or in Hebrew are hard for many of them to understand. We believe that using Yiddish can help many of them and would make them feel more “at home” in a Western hospital.

Bikur Holim Interpretation Course – on the left Rabbi Shlomo Pappenheim, main Eda Haredit Leader and a Board Member of the hospital

Definitely, if this works well, we will advise other medical institutes in Jerusalem, that also serve large Haredi populations, incorporate Yiddish into their list of interpretation languages.

The next step will be providing our staff training workshops of cultural competency. One of the urgent needs is to make Arab patients feel “at home” in a hospital that is seen as oriented towards religious Jews. With the help of the wonderful staff of the hospital, we are sure that this challenge can be met.

jicc2016-10-22T07:31:15+00:00May 25th, 2011|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Ethiopian Jews, Identity Groups and Conflicts, New Immigrants, Palestinians/Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox Jews|

Cultural Competence in Hadassah Mount Scopus – Free Interpretation Service for Patients and more

Please see the Hadassah Medical Center press release from today:

17/03/2011

Free Translation Service for Hadassah’s Patients

For the past few months, Arabic and Russian-speaking patients at Hadassah-Mt. Scopus have been able to avail themselves of a free and professional translation service, thanks to the collaboration between the Hadassah Medical Organization, the Jerusalem Foundation, the Jerusalem Intercultural Center and volunteers from the community.

Research has shown that a language barrier between a patient and a physician often impedes care and treatment – the physician does not fully understand the patient’s complaints and the patient does not fully understand the treatment guidelines.

A generous donation from the Jerusalem Foundation enabled the establishment of B’sfatcha Center (In Your Language Center). Prof. Leon Epstein, Director Emeritus of the Hadassah-Hebrew University Braun School of Public Health, initiated the project, which is headed by Gila Segev of Hadassah’s Department of Social Services, and staffed by 30 trained volunteer medical translators.

A similar service will be soon been established at Hadassah-Ein Kerem.

Indeed, in September Hadassah Mount Scopus began training Arab and Russian-speaking volunteers to become medical interpreters. The JICC provided the volunteers with a 5-day medical interpretation course and helped in recruiting the volunteers and in establishing the service, together with the dedicated staff of the hospital. To date, there are 34 volunteer interpreters who are available for daytime rotations. The interpreters serve in the gynecology, emergency and internal medicine departments, where they are most needed, but can be requested by telephone to help out in any area of the hospital. In November, the first month the interpreters were made available at Hadassah, there were 83 requests for their services. By January the number had risen to 121. In the beginning of February the total number of requests reached 300.

Hadassah created a wonderful clip about the service (in Hebrew only):

Original at:http://youtu.be/RB8gHYG8W6M

Version with English subtitles (thanks to the Jerusalem Foundation):

Original at: http://youtu.be/yecOi2BiDjE

At the same time, we provided training workshops to around 80 hospital staff members about the uses and capabilities of these interpreters, as well as about principles and practical tools of cultural competence.

jicc2017-05-02T07:53:56+00:00March 17th, 2011|Blog, Cultural Competence, Cultural Competence in Health Services, Identity Groups and Conflicts, New Immigrants, Palestinians/Arabs|

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