[PHOTOS BY JDN IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

Keeping to their long-standing tradition of serving patients and their families, Bikur Cholim has done it again. This past Sunday, November 9th, another link was added to the vast chain of existing Bikur Cholim Shabbos Rooms throughout Rockland, Westchester and northern New Jersey.

This time, it is Blythedale Chidren’s Hospital in Westchester County, New York`s only freestanding specialty children’s hospital, dedicated to improving the health status and quality of life of children with complex medical illnesses and disabling conditions. In the audience were Doctors, Nurses, Therapists along with patients and their family members, Bikur Cholim staff and volunteers, as well as Hospital Liaisons and various Jewish healthcare service agencies.

Navigating the medical maze can be very difficult, and Bikur Cholim is constantly thinking of the families struggling with illness. When doubt, confusion, anxiety and grief are present Bikur Cholim is here to help, whether its help finding a Doctor who is in network with the insurance company, or getting squeezed in for an appointment to a specialist, to helping decide which Surgeon to choose, or just be present in the Emergency Room during the time of Crisis, Bikur Cholim is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The Shabbos rooms are an oasis for family members who have little or no time to think of their own needs, an island of calm amidst the reality of medical crisis for patients and their families, to Daven, unwind from the whirlwind of the hospital setting, grab a bite, read a book, or sit down for a Full Shabbos meal with their loved ones, providing a home away from home.

Bikur Cholim of Rockland County currently services, Good Samaritan Hospital, Nyack Hospital, Westchester Medical Center, NY Presbyterian -(White Plains), Four Winds Hospital, Hackensack Medical Center, Holy Name Hospital, Rockland Psychiatric Center, Helen Hayes Hospital, Burke Rehabilitation Center, and Blythedale Children’s Hospital.

We hope and pray every day for Moshiach’s arrival, when all illness and pain will be obliterated. Until then Bikur Cholim will be here to hold the hand of patients and their families providing them with the necessary support along the path to recovery.

Partners in Health – Bikur Cholim founded by Rabbi Lauber in 1981 provides a multitude of health related services, with professionalism and compassion for patients and their families undergoing medical and life crises. Their mission is to minimize the physical, emotional and psychological pain and discomfort of suffering individuals and their families by continually increasing the excellence required to be your partners in health.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)