To accommodate Shabbat-observant Jewish patients at Trinitas, one elevator is set to operate automatically.
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February 5, 2009
Sol Kramer wears many different hats as a leader in the Central community, and now the 87-year-old real estate developer, chair of the board of the YM-YWHA of Union County and vice president for life of the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey, is speaking out in his newest role — as a member of the board of trustees of Trinitas Regional Medical Center.
He had declined earlier invitations to join the board of the Elizabeth hospital; he was, he said, too busy and had other priorities. But after — as he put it — being brought back from the brink of death by the doctors at Trinitas last year, he gratefully agreed to serve. Now, he said, he wants other members of the Jewish community to know not just about the quality of the care he received, but also how gladly the hospital accommodates the requirements of its Jewish patients. Kosher food and a Shabbat elevator are just the beginning.
There is no mistaking the Catholic identity of Trinitas; right there in the foyer as you enter is the graceful statue of St. Elizabeth, patron saint of one of the two hospitals that combined in 2000 to form the medical center.
But if you happened to walk into the hospital around Hanukka, you might not even have seen the saint’s statue. When children from the Jewish Educational Center came to sing their program of holiday favorites, the slender figure was discreetly moved to one side, leaving a backdrop of a menora and blue and silver decorations.
The JEC choirs come every year, to entertain the Jewish staff and patients and all the other people who welcome the influx of children. Nadine Brechner, executive director of the Trinitas Health Foundation, who is Jewish herself, said, “I think we have something like 57 different nationalities represented in the Elizabeth area. This is simply part of the way the hospital seeks to respect the traditions of all the people who come to us.”
The relationship with the Jewish community extends beyond the center itself. Trinitas sponsors a series of talks about cancer and other health issues at the YM-YWHA of Union County, where Kramer happens to spend most of his leisure time.
Students from the Jewish Educational Center came to Trinitas to entertain patients and visitors last Hanukka.
Kramer, who lives in Elizabeth, was taken to Trinitas last year after collapsing in his doctor’s office. He arrived in the emergency room on life support, suffering from pulmonary edema and acute renal failure.
He was in the critical care unit for 10 days, and then in a regular ward for two weeks, before being moved to the rehabilitation facility. Sol’s wife, Clara, who slept at his side every night of those first few weeks on a chaise longue provided for her, said, “The staff was absolutely amazing. They were just wonderful, so compassionate.”
‘Pleasure to serve’
Kramer wrote recently to Gary S. Horan, the center’s president and chief executive officer, congratulating him on the “culture of compassion and caring” at Trinitas. He went on to say of the staff: “One cannot put a price on the value of what they did for my family and myself, but hopefully, through my work on the board, I will be able to begin to repay the debt I have to all these individuals.”
Clara attributes some of the kindness to the tone set by the hospital’s nuns. Trinitas — formed when St. Elizabeth Hospital was combined with Elizabeth General Medical Center and the former Alexian Brothers hospital facility — is sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy and the Elizabethtown Healthcare Foundation.
“We received very good input from the members of the Jewish community on the types of accommodations they would like to see us make. Based on this feedback, we were delighted to implement the suggested initiatives,” Horan told NJ Jewish News.
These include an elevator programmed to stop automatically at every floor from the start of Shabbat on Friday evening until its conclusion on Saturday evening, so that Shabbat-observant patients and family do not have to press an electric button in violation of the Sabbath rules. Patients can also request candles and wine for kabalat Shabbat.
Jewish patients can order glatt kosher food, which is brought in from a nearby catering service, and — as for all patients at the hospital — they can request food at any hour.
Rabbi Milton Kroopnick, the Central federation’s chaplain, is a regular visitor to patients in the hospital. He comes to pray and provide counsel to Jewish patients before Shabbat and around the time of the High Holy Days.
“It is our pleasure to serve the Jewish community and to ease whatever concerns they may have about being able to continue their observances while in the hospital,” said Horan.
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