At the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA), we pride ourselves on prioritizing patient care above all else and we continue striving to learn more about our patients’ cultures, values, and beliefs—particularly as it relates to death and dying. In our efforts to remain best in class, VNA has earned certification from the National Institute for Jewish Hospice (NIJH).
This year, Lainie Caldwell RN,BSN, Managing Director VNA Hospice and Sarah Harris, CHSP Managing Director of Marketing, attended the National Institute of Jewish Hospices (NIJH) conference which brought together people from hospices across the country in related fields, including rabbis, administrators, chaplains of all faiths, psychologists, nurses, bereavement counselors and social workers for intensive sessions, presenting the best minds in the field to lecture and discuss all aspects of hospice and the Jewish terminally ill.
The conference culminated in another year of NIJH certification for VNA. Being a part of NIJH is especially meaningful to VNA because our deep roots in the Jewish community. In the midst of the Great Depression, VNA was established as a nonprofit organization in Texas in 1934 to provide much needed clinical care to women and children living in the tent cities of West Dallas. Serving as the first President of the Board of VNA, Sadie Lefkowitz, wife of Rabbi Lefkowitz of Temple Emanu-El, rallied prominent Dallas women to organize and support the Visiting Nurse Association.
In our efforts to serve a population as diverse as that in North Texas, it is critical that our staff have specific training on how to honor the wishes and traditions of all patients as unique individuals. NIJH ensures that we have training on Jewish tradition to best support our Jewish patients and their families, especially at such a critical time in one’s life. Every patient deserves to be treated with dignity and respect and have their final wishes carried out. We at VNA work with the Jewish community in our area to ensure we provide individualized care for our patients in keeping with their desires.
You can learn more at https://nijh.org/