H eadlines
Jefferson Hospital Opens Shabbat Pantry
L O CAL
ANDY GOTLIEB | JE MANAGING EDITOR
THOMAS JEFFERSON
University Hospital on March
4 cut the ribbon on a new
Shabbat pantry.

The pantry will allow Jewish
patients and their families to
use the facilities during Shabbat
to store and prepare kosher
foods, while also having a ded-
icated space for prayer and rest.

The nonprofit organization
Bikkur Cholim from Lower
Merion will stock the pan-
try, which is in the Foerder
Pavilion Building at 122 S. 11th
St. in Philadelphia.

The pantry includes new
kitchen appliances, furniture,
a sign in Hebrew and donated
artwork from Bikkur Cholim.

Hospital President Rich
Webster said the ribbon cutting
was the culmination of a process
that began two to three years ago
when former physician resident
Steven Gordon approached him
and asked for a meeting. Gordon
explained how he was providing
support for Jewish patients —
many of them Orthodox Jews
from Lakewood, N.J. — that
included food and places for
family to rest and relax. Gordon
asked if the hospital administra-
tion could offer support.

“Through those discus-
sions, I came to appreciate the
challenge these patients and,
frankly, their families had,”
Webster said.

A plan was developed to
create the pantry, and Webster
said it was satisfying to be able
to execute the plan, commit
funding and get the work done.

The hospital invested about
Bikkur Cholim members inside the Shabbat pantry
Photos courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital 
$75,000 to renovate the pantry
space, which originally was a
conference room. Aside from
electrical and plumbing work,
other costs included furni-
ture, refrigerators, microwave
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From left, Steve Gordon, Sabrina Harris and
Jack Ludmir at the Shabbat pantry
JEWISH EXPONENT
ovens and furniture.

Now that the pantry is oper-
ational, Webster said the hospi-
tal is committed to making the
staff aware of its existence and
culturally competent in terms
of understanding the uses for it.

Rabbi Hirshi Sputz of Chabad
of Fairmount, who led the bless-
ing of the pantry, has volunteered
at Jefferson the past four years,
visiting Jewish patients, many of
whom are Orthodox, but also
include others who keep kosher.

“It’s a great thing,” he said.

“Until now, it’s been a chal-
lenge at Jefferson. [The new
pantry] is an area that makes
the stay much more comfort-
able for family members, both
in body and soul.”
The pantry made a differ-
ence on its first full day, accord-
ing to Malkie Schwartz, who
runs Bikkur Cholim with
Susie Wohlgelernter. Schwartz
received a phone call from a
woman whose mother was hav-
ing brain surgery; the woman
inquired about kosher facilities.

“She called me back, cry-
ing,” Schwartz said. “She
couldn’t believe it.”
Orthodox patients don’t
make up a significant percent-
age of Jefferson’s patients, but
courting them is good from a
business perspective, consider-
ing the competition hospitals
face locally, Webster said.

“It’s almost a niche market
to us to some extent,” he said.

“Lakewood sends a lot of
their patients here,” Schwartz
said. “We get people from Israel.

We get people from all over.”
A kosher pantry opened
up Dec. 6 at the Hospital of
the University of Pennsylvania
(HUP). Bikkur Cholim stocks
that pantry as well.

Children’s Hospital
of Philadelphia (CHOP) has had a
pantry for many years, Sputz said.

The Einstein Healthcare
Network also is working on a
pantry, Schwartz said.

And Lankenau Hospital
in Wynnewood may have the
most comprehensive facilities
for Orthodox patients and their
families in the area, according to
a 2015 Jewish Exponent article.

That year, the hospital
opened a Shabbat Suite geared
to help observant Jews abide by
Shabbat regulations while vis-
iting family and friends there.

The suite includes two sleeping
rooms with private bathrooms
for those unable to drive in
observance of the Shabbat.

Also offered are a kosher pan-
try and kitchen.

Webster said a similar
facility is under future consid-
eration at Jefferson. l
agotlieb@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0797
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