Sharing ways to comfort the sick

The Orthodox Union recently hosted a conference for bikur cholim organizations, bringing together approximately 70 organizations from across the United States and Canada.

Bikur cholim literally means “visiting the sick,” but bikur cholim organizations generally are volunteer operations that offer a range of services encompassing both logistical and emotional support to people undergoing medical treatment and to their families. Services run the gamut from meals and visits for patients, to transportation to and from medical appointments, to lending wheelchairs, walkers, or other medical equipment, to meals, toys, or babysitting help for families. “Over the last number of years, the OU has been very much leaning into what we call ‘convening space’ as a national umbrella organization, looking out for ways that we can enhance and support the Jewish community overall,” Rabbi Adir Posy, director of the OU’s Department of Synagogue Initiatives, said.

“We look to areas where there’s a lot of important work going on in the community, but there are not necessarily a lot of connections between those doing the work or spaces to connect to those who are doing it in different communities. For example, there are lots of people building eruvs in communities but they don’t necessarily have access to each other or to the collective wisdom that comes from other people in that space.”

That’s why the OU started hosting an annual eruv conference a few years ago. The OU organized the recent conference because “we saw that in the bikur cholim space,” Rabbi Posy continued. “We’re not experts on bikur cholim, but our view from the work that we do in all sorts of different areas in the community is that there is an amazing, tremendous amount of work that is being done in individual places, but there are not necessarily ways that people can understand and learn from the collective wisdom of what one place is doing and to share that broadly. So we felt that it was very important for us to be that convener that brought together people who are doing this incredible work, so that they could share their challenges, successes, ideas, and insights. That there would be a great value in them being able to learn from one another.”

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The conference dealt with both very practical issues — ranging from types of software that can be useful for keeping track of operations, to fundraising — and some of the more personal or emotional aspects of running a bikur cholim, including managing crises and burnout.

“Most of the speakers came from within the bikur cholim world,” Rabbi Posy said. Some came from “bikur cholims who are doing something in particularly innovative ways.” Others were representatives of bikur cholims that led “collaborative conversations about the kind of challenges that they’re going through.”

For the more logistical topics, “we did have some people come in from broader-based organizations,” Rabbi Posy added. “We had one person who’s very involved in collective purchasing put together a model where bikur cholims could form a consortium with each other to be able to collectively purchase supplies that they all need,” a way to create efficiencies “by working together.”

Presenters also focused on practical aspects unique to bikur cholims, including building relationships with hospitals and explaining to them why working with the organizations and enabling them to offer services in the hospital setting to patients and families is generally beneficial to both hospitals and patients.

Rabbi Posy felt that the gathering was successful. He described participants as “the quiet heroes who fill hospital rooms with comfort” and ensure that no one feels “alone in their time of need,” and he sees it as important that they were “able to connect with a network of people who actually understood what they were going through.”

Panels included representatives of organizations from different-sized communities “who shared their experiences and the types of challenges that they run into, and a lot of people were very happy to get access to the kinds of things that were going on in other communities. We felt very proud of the fact there were just many really great connections made.

“One of the greatest dividends from the conference was the communication, the very robust network that is now communicating with each other about marketing ideas, recruiting volunteers, and all the different things that happen in bikur cholims. They are continuing to learn from each other.”

Ayala Goldman of Passaic is very involved in the bikur cholim of Passaic-Clifton and found the networking at the conference extremely valuable. She learned about some of the initiatives other organizations are doing and has started integrating a few into her local organization’s operations. (Go to www.bikurcholimofpc.org to learn more about the organization, the services it offers, and the volunteer opportunities it provides.)

“The bikur cholim of Detroit distributes information about postpartum depression to new mothers,” Ms. Goldman said. “I feel like that’s important.” On a more mundane level, she learned what some of the other organizations use to label the equipment they lend and recently ordered new tags. “During an emergency, when someone needs something, they run, they get it, but then like three weeks later, they may not remember exactly where they got it, so putting on a QR code or a return address is really a good idea.”

And Ms. Goldman has already used the WhatsApp group that was created at the conference. “A local resident needed a reclining wheelchair, but we don’t have one,” she said. She posted the request and was able to borrow one from the bikur cholim of Bergen County.

But Ms. Goldman appreciated more than just the practical benefits the gathering provided. “A lot of these stories are really difficult,” she said. “Sometimes it really is depressing. But it was really nice to see other people with similar experiences and the energy they bring to their work.”

Tsipi Gurell of Bergenfield, the bikur cholim of Bergen County’s co-director, also found the conference extremely useful. “It was a space where we were able to discuss some of our successes and also things that we were struggling with and that we needed help with, and to brainstorm together,” she said. “Our main challenges are getting volunteers to participate, to really invest their time, and fundraising. And it was actually really helpful just to see that a lot of other bikur cholims have the same issues. It was fascinating to spend time discussing, brainstorming, coming up with some ideas.” (Go to www.bikurcholimbergencounty.org to learn more about the organization and the services and volunteer opportunities it offers.) Like Ms. Goldman, Ms. Gurell has already used the WhatsApp group as a resource.

“The face-to-face was very valuable in order to make connections with likeminded people,” Meredith Yager of Teaneck, who co-directs the organization with Ms. Gurell, said. She also appreciated the networking opportunities. “Because the conference was so well organized, it lent itself to a lot of a lot of networking.”

In addition to the practical value, it was a “feel-good event, it felt like we were all working toward the same goal,” Ms. Yager added. “It was a very valuable initiative, and we hope that they do it again.”

Rabbi Posy looks forward to hosting another conference in the future. “That sense of convening people together seems like a really important thing at this time where people are sort of disconnected and siloed,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to grow by connecting and learning from each other.”