Chayim Aruchim Hosts Annual Meeting of Rabbis, Doctors, Lawyers and Activists
Chayim Aruchim (The Center for Culturally Sensitive Health Advocacy and Counseling), an Agudath Israel project, hosted its annual meeting at Skolye Hall in Brooklyn. The agenda noted several of the organization's successes this year, such as the tremendous impact of the Chayim Aruchim 24-hour hotline (718-301-9800). The hotline, which went live in April 2014, is staffed by seven young rabbis who have been trained in many aspects of medicine and Halacha and taught how to help seriously ill patients and their families deal with these issues. READ MORE...
New End of Life Protocols Adopted at North Shore LIJ
Chayim Aruchim Meets with Lenox Hill Hospital
Rabbi Shmuel Lefkowitz, Rabbi Gedaliah Weinberger, Rivie Schwebel, Dr. Howard Lebowitz, Rabbi Wajsfeld and Mordechai Biser attended an important meeting at Lenox Hill Hospital of New York to discuss end of life health care issues. It was the culmination of a series of meetings, conference calls and e-mails with the top medical staff at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System, which comprises some 16 major hospitals in New York State. The hospital system has agreed to revise their brain death protocols as a result of our discussions. READ MORE...
The Myth That Feeding Tubes Don't Help and Other Absurdities
By: Dr. Barbara A. Olevitch, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and author of Life is a Treasure: The Jewish Way of Coping with Illness.
Dr. Allen Lempel, speaking at the Conference of Synagogue Rabbonim at the 88th Annual Convention of Agudath Israel of America, said, “If you have the opportunity to speak to physicians, you will hear that when we make a recommendation for a feeding tube, oftentimes it’s a battle now. The nurses have already spoken to the family about end of life issues. They have already told them ‘Feeding tubes don’t help.’ Other physicians have already said, ‘Feeding tubes don’t help.’ You’re actually at a disadvantage. When we go and speak to patients, they’ve already been told that ‘Feeding tubes don’t help. READ MORE...
(L to R) Rabbi Gedaliah Weinberger, Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel and Harav Meshulam Polacheck
Hatzolah Williamsburg and Chayim Aruchim Collaborate to Save Lives According to Halacha
First Responders Join Last Line of Defense
Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY - Close to 100 devoted Williamsburg Hatzolah volunteers attended a presentation last Thursday, February 27th. It was a groundbreaking initiative to expand Hatzolah volunteers' role in the struggle to keep patients alive after their arrival at the hospital even when medical professionals may be urging their families to "pull the plug" and take them off life-saving equipment as happens all too often in hospitals today. The evening was a collaboration between Hatzolah and Chayim Aruchim. Chayim Aruchim is a project of Agudath Israel of America that promotes awareness of the Halachic issues involved in end-of-life care. READ MORE...
Chayim Aruchim Meets with Jewish Hospital Patient Liasion Group at Seville Manor in Boro Park on July 10, 2013.
Important Chayim Aruchim Meeting with the Jewish Hospital Patient Liasion Group (JHPLG)
Chayim Aruchim Meets with Patient Reps
Important Chayim Aruchim meeting with the Jewish Hospital Patient Liasion Group (JHPLG). READ MORE...
Danish Teen Wakes From the "Dead" Just as Doctors Prepare to Harvest Her Organs
A teenage girl who had been stuck in a coma after a catastrophic car crash miraculously woke up just as doctors were about to declare her brain dead and harvest her organs.
A teenage girl who had been stuck in a coma after a catastrophic car crash miraculously woke up just as doctors were about to declare her brain dead and harvest her organs. READ MORE...
Members of Chayim Aruchim advocating for changes to the Palliative Care Act in Albany in April.
L to R: Assembly Member Steven Cymbrowitz, Rabbi Shmuel Lefkowitz, Agudath Israel's Vice President for Community Affairs, Rabbi Gedaliah Weinberger, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Rabbi Mordechai Biser, Esq., General Counsel, Dr. Yashar Hirshaut, noted New York oncologist, Assemblyman Richard Gotfried, Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder, and Abe Eisner, an officer of Agudath Israel.
Agudath Israel Hails New NYS Health Care Law to Protect Patients
Bill signed into law, Patients entitled to be offered treatment according to Halacha
Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Palliative Care Act into Law. Agudath Israel of America, which advocated strongly for its passage, hailed this vital amendment to the state's Public Health Law, which ensures that patients in the end stages of life will be informed of all their options, including their right to ongoing medical treatments as well as palliative care. READ MORE...
