Jewish Care & Support Program

Gilchrist has created an extensive Jewish Care and Support Program. Through the program, individuals receive hospice care and services that are sensitive to Jewish customs, rituals and laws.

What is the Jewish Care & Support Program?

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Gilchrist’s Care & Support Program includes all of the aspects of our hospice care. In addition, the program ensures that our care recognizes our patients’ and families’ religious and cultural beliefs. Each family’s care team includes physicians, nurses, social workers, spiritual counselors or rabbis, certified hospice aides and volunteers. Each of these team members has special training in Jewish customs, rituals and practices. They are also trained in health care decision making issues that may arise due to concerns with following Jewish law.

Enhancements to Hospice Care:

  • A program manager with deep roots in the Jewish community and understanding of Jewish law and customs
  • Newly constructed space at Gilchrist Center Towson. The space includes a Jewish chapel and family area.
  • Oversight by a specially selected advisory committee that includes community members and volunteers.  This committee is invested in the program’s success, as well as specially selected Gilchrist staff.
  • Grief services, including one-on-one counseling and support groups. These servies are offered jointly through Gilchrist and Jewish Community Services, an agency of The Associated.

Jewish Care and Support Program Vision

Gilchrist Jewish Care and Support Program envisions an aware and responsive community where all individuals facing a serious illness are empowered to live with security and self-determination.

The Gilchrist Jewish Care and Support Program Values:

  • Treats individuals with utmost dignity and compassion, providing services in a caring and sympathetic manner (rachamim).
  • Respects the uniqueness of the individuals we serve by supporting them in their path towards wholeness and well-being (kavod).
  • Works to ensure that people can enjoy safety and security in all of their relationships (betichut).
  • Believes that every family deserves the opportunity to have conflicts resolved with respect (shalom bayit).
  • Works to repair the world by providing safe space for those who have suffered abuse (tikkun olam).
  • Recognizes that it will need to work with other partners to meet all of these needs (avodat tsevet).
  • Encourages and supports closeness and interaction between a family’s generations along with family legacy ( l’dor v’dor ).

How Can Gilchrist Help?

There is a realization that an illness or condition cannot be cured and that the remaining time is limited. As a result, this often causes great confusion and anxiety. The new reality is often emotionally painful. This can be a time fraught with questions and concerns about what the last months, weeks and days will look like. At Gilchrist, we are committed to:

  • Educating families about the realities of the illness and guiding them through decision-making
  • Ensuring that individuals are comfortable and their care wants and needs are met
  • Supporting caregivers
  • Shouldering some of the burden of care, so families are able to spend quality time just being a family
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Gilchrist is More Than Hospice

We’re your support system at every stage of serious illness. We offer quality medical care, counseling and support, so people can live life to the fullest on their own terms.

888.823.8880

National Institute for Jewish Hospice accredited