Jewish Hospice Service
Our mission is to provide the highest possible level of
physical, emotional and spiritual care with a keen understanding
of the unique traditions and beliefs of our Jewish neighbors.
Jewish Hospice Service at Saint Barnabas Hospice and Palliative
Care Center and the Van Dyke Hospice, serves the diverse
cultural and religious needs of the Jewish Communities in
the north and central New Jersey areas.
Our programs are offered in coordination with the Joint
Chaplaincy Committees of MetroWest, Central New Jersey, and
Greater Monmouth County and are available to members of the
Jewish community, regardless of affiliation.
Death is not a scientific event. It is a personal one. Patients
do not die, people do.
All members of the Jewish faith are welcome in Jewish Hospice
Service, where services are provided with sensitivity to
Jewish traditions and beliefs, and center on the person who
is created in the image of God.
We believe that the dying person suffers through the most
critical transition of a lifetime and should be allowed to
do so with dignity, with tenderness and with humanity.
Jewish values imply that a dying person’s family or caregiver
should, if they are able, be encouraged and enabled to care
for their relative either at home or in an appropriate facility.
The patient and those who provide care for the patient, need
help in preparing for death. Learning to handle dying
often affects how the family will cope with mourning and bereavement.
As we work with patients and their families, we are guided
by the age -old Jewish concept of chesed shel emes -
loving kindness.
Although the control of pain is at the center of hospice
theory and practice, we pay particular attention to addressing
the heartache, fear and confusion of dying that often lead
to feelings of suffering and anguish.
The end of life often elicits the need for spiritual
or religious expression and with it, a sense of purpose and
feelings of warmth and security.
Our Hospice approach unites the efforts of medical, nursing
and psychological staff with spiritual care, thus, allowing
us to treat the whole person, not just individual symptoms
or problems. This is accomplished by helping the patient
deal with his or her relationship with God, however this
is defined. This spiritual dimension must be considered
in responding to diverse situations whether it is a holocaust
survivor who is dying for a second time or the unaffiliated
Jew who may now want greater closeness to Jewish life and
culture. The traditional Jewish focus on extending and enhancing
life is central to any approach and the Hospice, with its
special focus, is often the link between the patient and
Judaism, between the family and the synagogue or Jewish community.
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Families need help in dealing with anticipated grief, as
well as loss and death. Jewish Hospice Service bereavement
programs apply religious and psychological insight about
how to live through a death and manage this period of transition.
Jewish Hospice Service can also provide religious ministrations,
psychological support, information about Jewish practices
and customs of death and mourning, and supports the survivors
during the bereavement period.
A regular series of Jewish
Bereavement Support Groups and activities are
offered throughout the year.
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Our rabbis, social work staff and volunteers are trained
to understand Jewish culture, laws, traditions and values,
and deliver a comprehensive assortment of spiritual care,
chaplaincy and bereavement services, either in the family
home or at a nursing home, hospital or other facility in
New Jersey.
Our staff understands the importance of family relationships,
history (including experiences during the Holocaust), attitudes
toward God, dietary and Sabbath customs, language and the
cultural uniqueness of new immigrants.
Our services reach out to the community at large by working
directly with members of the community to educate Jewish
audiences and facility staff about hospice care and the specialized
care of the Jewish patient and family.
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Hospice services are appropriate for patients who are diagnosed
with a terminal illness and have a limited life expectancy.
Hospice accepts patients with any life-threatening illness
and is not limited to cancer.
In order to access the services of our two Hospice centers,
patients must live in or near the Hospice’s coverage
area. All Jewish patients admitted to Saint Barnabas Hospice
and Palliative Center or the Van Dyke Hospice Program are
offered Jewish Hospice Services.
Inquiries and questions about the complete scope of Hospice
services, bereavement groups, volunteers or contributions,
can be addressed to our respective programs via the email
addresses and the phone numbers listed at the Contact
Us link.
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These programs have been supported by generous grants from:
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