New York City-based NYU Langone Health has reportedly barred members of a Jewish community organization from delivering kosher meals to patients, according to The New York Daily News.
The organization, Satmar Bikur Cholim, maintains a designated room at the hospital and frequently restocks the room with food from top kosher caterers and homemade items, the report states.
However, "now, [the group] can't bring food into the hospital at all," an attorney for the organization told The New York Daily News.
A spokesperson for NYU Langone Health told Becker's Hospital Review in an emailed statement May 10 that the hospital is in the process of building a similar kosher food-stocked room at the NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital, and confirmed the hospital has limited access to patient rooms for volunteers and other nonhospital-affiliated individuals.
"NYU Langone Health and NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn have robust and well stocked Bikur Cholim rooms, and we are in the process of building another one at our Orthopedic Hospital. In addition, these hospitals have a 24/7 clinical liaison program, a pastoral care program, and wide availability of kosher food through the kitchen and cafeteria. We always have and will continue to address the cultural and religious needs of the communities we serve," the spokesperson said.
"For the safety and privacy of our patients, we have limited outside volunteers, vendors, delivery people and other non-visitors and staff from going directly onto patient floors, and into patient rooms. If any family cannot visit the Bikur Cholim room, our volunteers deliver food directly to them consistent with their medical condition. Most of the community and outside organizations understand and agree with this policy, but a few volunteers want unsupervised access to patient floors and rooms and have tried to distort the truth. We will continue to serve the community with respect, privacy, and most importantly the highest quality medical care," the spokesperson added.
To access the full report, click here.