Heritage Care Center in Squirrel Hill welcomes chaplain Rabbi Shlomie Deren
Greenfield resident seeks to boost local spiritual well-being
Spirituality in a Squirrel Hill-based rehabilitation center is getting a boost. Greenfield resident Rabbi Shlomie Deren was recently hired as a part-time chaplain at Heritage Care Center.
The role, according to Deren, builds on past efforts.
Before he was hired last week, Deren, 37, volunteered at Heritage and served as a “bridge” between patients, families and care providers. The work, which entails speaking with people, listening and hearing their spiritual concerns, he said, is similar to what he’s been doing voluntarily at several area hospitals.
Both from his time as a citywide volunteer, and during a one-year residency at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System in Oakland, Deren noticed several needs in the local caring community.
When a patient leaves the hospital and requires a short-term rehab venue, “there aren’t a lot of facilities in the area,” he said.
Patients seeking assistance often need to travel “further out,” away from Squirrel Hill and the East End — meaning family members are likely “less able to visit, less able to be there to support them.”
The hardship is compounded, he continued, by various religious concerns, including dietary restrictions and Shabbat observance.
“A lot of the facilities are a half-hour, 45 minutes away” in locales without easy access to kosher food, he said. Additionally, when patients are located far from family, it’s difficult for those who observe Shabbat “because these facilities aren’t within walking distance.”
Deren said that although Heritage — which is located on Philips Avenue in Squirrel Hill — lacks a kosher kitchen, kosher meals are available and therefore patients can “focus on their health, on getting better, without having to worry about compromising on their religious or spiritual values while they’re doing it.”
Ari Grinspan, CEO of WeCare Centers, said he’s eager for Deren to begin serving patients and families at Heritage, one of WeCare’s facilities.
“WeCare is deeply committed to ensuring our Jewish residents, and really, all residents of faith, feel supported in both their spiritual and emotional wellbeing,” Grinspan said.
The goal, according to Grinspan, is that the “spiritual care” afforded by Deren will supplement current “resident-centered” programming. “In that sense, his involvement complements — rather than overlaps with — the activities department, helping ensure that both the social and the religious dimensions of Jewish life are meaningfully supported at Heritage.”
Deren said he appreciates the opportunity to not only serve Heritage’s patients and families but demonstrate chaplaincy’s value, as the work is too often lost in the medical system.
A 2011 University of Chicago study found that 20% of patients who wanted to discuss religious or spiritual concerns with someone in the hospital did not have that conversation. Conversely, hospitalized patients who spoke about religion and spirituality with their health care team were most satisfied with their overall care.
The role of a chaplain, Deren said, is to “talk, to listen, to support, to help people work through the spiritual aspects or the spiritual and emotional aspects of what is always a difficult situation.”
Spiritual well-being and treating the “whole person” are important parts of health care, he continued. “I want people to know that I’m available to support them in that aspect of their healing, while the doctors, nurses and therapists are helping them with their physical health.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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