A government takeover could save a struggling Brooklyn hospital - while unsettling the Orthodox Jewish community it serves

"Many Hasidic patients rely on Maimonides Medical Center, an independent nonprofit in Borough Park, as their local hospital. Even in a city where hospitals typically offer kosher food and are sensitive to Jewish patients' needs, Maimonides stands out, with Shabbat elevators that stop on every floor, Yiddish-speaking staff and an onsite synagogue in the main lobby that hosts daily afternoon prayer."

"New York City Health and Hospitals CEO Dr. Mitchell Katz has promised to retain those religious accommodations at Maimonides under the merger, noting in court documents that the merger agreement between Maimonides and the city requires preservation of existing religious and cultural practices at the hospital for at least 30 years."

"Such reassurances, however, have done little to assuage the plaintiffs in the pair of lawsuits seeking to block the merger, who include hospital's trustees who disagreed with the decision to go public, Orthodox Jewish patient advocacy groups, and local Bobov, Satmar and Belz Hasidic congregations."

Maimonides Medical Center, an independent nonprofit hospital in Borough Park, Brooklyn, serves a large Orthodox Jewish population and provides distinctive religious accommodations including Shabbat elevators, Yiddish-speaking staff, and an onsite synagogue. As New York City moves to assume control of the financially distressed hospital through a merger with the public hospital system, local stakeholders including hospital trustees, Orthodox Jewish patient advocacy groups, and Hasidic congregations have filed lawsuits to block the merger. They fear the transition will compromise the hospital's Jewish character and local mission. NYC Health and Hospitals CEO Dr. Mitchell Katz has promised to maintain religious and cultural practices for at least 30 years under the merger agreement, but these assurances have not satisfied opponents concerned about institutional change.

Read at The Forward