"Today, organizations in all three sectors are becoming change agents, developing powerful initiatives based on an inclusive, circular mindset that opens up the future for themselves, their constituents, those they serve, those they serve with, and the community." - Frances Hesselbein
Here is an example.
By Peter Fragale
“Wonderful!” she replied. “So how can I help you?”
“We’d like to know if, next week, we can have the traditional Jewish bris ceremony and reception inside your facility so that Great Grandma “Bubbe” can be there to celebrate with us. It wouldn’t be the same without her.”
Spiegel said yes without a moment’s hesitation. A week later, after hours of planning and preparation, the ancient Jewish tradition – complete with kosher refreshments for
200 invited guests – went off without at hitch.
At BAFHS, we celebrate and treasure everyone’s diverse backgrounds and experiences.
Margaret Tietz is just one example of the dedication to diversity reflected in all BAFHS facilities. At our Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation Jamaica Adult Day Health Care program, Director Sheva Turk ordered Rosetta Stone language-learning software and told interested staff members that they could use late-day work time to learn Spanish, in order to better serve their many registrants who are native Spanish speakers. More than half the staff, including Turk herself, immediately signed up to participate.
At BAFHS’ various Comprehensive Care Management (CCM) facilities, daily activities, the music playing on the speakers and the food reflect local populations. Visitors can play dominoes at one site and do Tai Chi at another. There is even a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) site serving the Dominican Sisters of Amityville. The program is sensitive to the Sisters’ religious traditions, while also catering to the health care needs of members from the community. In Chinatown, a quilting program mingles Spanish- and Chinese-speaking patients. Many of the women in both ethnic groups had worked in the garment industry, so they started quilting together and have now produced several quilts. These women have grown very close and are a cohesive group now, all without sharing any spoken language.
Diversity even comes home through Best Choice Home Health Care, also a member of BAFHS. Clients are able to speak with the central office in any of numerous languages, and home health aides speak the languages they are comfortable with – from Algerian and Chinese to Russian and Spanish. Aides take specific in-service trainings focusing on Diversity in the Home, receive special recipes and learn to cook in different styles to create meals that home-bound clients from different backgrounds will all say “taste like home.”
The variety of our clients is mirrored by the diversity of our own programs and services as well as our staff. BAFHS offers home care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation, adult day health care, managed care, music therapy, HIV/AIDS care, senior housing, and training for home health aides, among other specialties. Our employees speak about 72 different languages and dialects. This multitalented workforce has been our key to success when it comes to providing high quality healthcare to diverse groups of people.
Peter Fragale began his career at Beth Abraham Health Services, a member of Beth Abraham Family of Health Services (BAFHS), in 2003 as the Director of Labor Relations. In that position, he worked to improve the long standing adverserial relationship between labor and management. As Senior Vice President/Chief Human Resources Officer for BAFHS, Peter follows the charge of Michael Fassler, President and CEO of BAFHS, to promote an environment which introduces new initiatives and recognition programs that foster improved relations among the staff and create opportunities for learning and development.