Reference no: EM133291901

Adapting to a New Patient Population

A local hospital experiences an influx of ultra-orthodox Jewish patients as a newly established Hasidic community nearby grows. The hospital staff has little knowledge of the customs or traditions of this growing segment of the facility's patient population.

However, the staff has already encountered:

Situations of patients refusing to eat
Complaints that visitors who couldn't use elevators on Jewish holidays lacked access to stairwells
Confusing exchanges when members of the orthodox community refused to shake hands with healthcare providers of the opposite sex
Culturally Competent Responses

The hospital invites representatives from the Hasidic community to meet with administrators and staff members to openly discuss traditions and customs potentially relevant to their health care. The hospital also asks the community representatives to explain their community's specific needs.

In this way, the hospital gets ideas and suggestions about established solutions the community already has for dealing with customs, such as not using electricity on Shabbat. The hospital also learns of other customs, such as no physical contact between members of different genders.

Based on the conversations, the hospital proposes policies and procedures that can better serve the needs of the Hasidic patient population. It then discusses those policies and procedures with the community representatives to ensure the proposals are appropriate.

Analyze and discuss the above case study.