Health care providers urged to understand, respect patients' culture

Published: 2008-05-22

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Catholic health care providers can most effectively serve patients from diverse religious backgrounds by understanding and respecting their cultural practices and exercising common sense. This was the message of Hindu, Sikh and Jewish medical personnel at a May 20 forum during the 24th Catholic Healthcare Administrative Personnel program held May 19-23 in New York at St. John's University with joint sponsorship by St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers. The program drew 50 administrators and pastoral care professionals from dioceses across the United States. Dr. Amandeep Singh, an attending physician at Flushing Medical Center in Queens, urged health professionals to "understand, validate and respect the beliefs of their patients and integrate them into their care." Dr. Richard Weiss, a rabbi at Young Israel of Queens in Hillcrest, said that Judaism strongly promotes the prevention and elimination of pain. "Pain has some purifying atoning effect, but we don't look to suffer," he said. Stephen McDonald, a chaplain at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx, said, "To be a good chaplain, you have to be open to meet patients where they are and not where we are."

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