Chametz check, more White House changes and #OpeningDay2018!
Sinai and Northwest named leaders in equal treatment of LGBTQ patients
Sinai Hospital of Baltimore and Northwest Hospital in Randallstown have each earned the 2018 LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Leader designation from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC). This designation signifies that they are leaders in the equal treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) patients and employees. “This HRC Foundation recognition is tremendously significant for Sinai and Northwest hospitals. Our top priorities are caring for our communities together and providing excellent medical treatments and emotional support to our patients and their families no matter what their sexual orientation, race, ethnic background and age,” says Neil Meltzer, president and CEO of LifeBridge Health, the hospitals’ parent organization. “Our employees take great pride in fostering inclusion.” This is the second year that participants are given a numerical score based on their LGBTQ-inclusive policies and practices. HEI participants are scored using four criteria: Foundational Elements of LGBTQ Patient-centered Care, LGBTQ Patient Services and Support, Employee Benefits and Policies and LGBTQ Patient and Community Engagement. Participants that receive the maximum score of 100 in each section earn the coveted status of 2018 LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Leader. For more information, visit www.lifebridgehealth.org
Several Israeli hospitals say they will not check visitors for chametz
Several Israeli hospitals will ignore a request from the Chief Rabbinate to have security guards at their entrances check employees and visitors for chametz, or leavened products, during Passover. The decision comes after the Secular Forum NGO challenged the Chief Rabbinate guidelines, as well as the Health Ministry which backs the request, in a petition to Israel’s Supreme Court. The Health Ministry does not require the restriction legally, however. Hospitals have been reluctant to flout the rabbinate’s request out of fear that they would lose their kashrut certification. The state responded to the petition calling the chametz ban Passover a “reasonable restriction.” Among the hospitals that said they would not physically check for chametz are Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Wolfson in Holon, Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon and Shaare Zedek in Jerusalem. In previous years, signs placed at the hospitals ask those entering to refrain from bringing in leavened products. Guests were asked to leave such products at the front desk and pick them up on their way out.—JTA
Trump dismisses Shulkin
President Donald Trump dismissed Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. David Shulkin, and named his White House physician to the post. Dr. Ronny L. Jackson, 50, an active-duty rear admiral in the Navy who has served for the past three administrations as a White House physician, in January spoke of Trump’s mental and physical health in glowing terms after his annual physical. Trump announced his decision to fire Shulkin, which had been widely expected, in a tweet late afternoon March 28. Shulkin, who is Jewish, has been embroiled in scandals in recent weeks, including overspending on travel and infighting with senior White House officials for, among other things, working to privatize health care for veterans. Shulkin served as undersecretary for health at the Department of Veterans Affairs under President Barack Obama. As an entrepreneur, Shulkin founded and served as the chairman and CEO of DoctorQuality, one of the first consumer-oriented sources of information for quality and safety in health care.
Read more: Trump Dismisses David Shulkin as Veterans’ Affairs Secretary
Trump meets with Chabad rabbis in Oval Office
President Donald Trump issued a proclamation in honor of Education and Sharing Day, marking the anniversary of the birth of the last Lubavitcher rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Trump met March 26 in the Oval Office with a delegation of rabbis from the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. “The president admires the work of the rebbe, and was very keen on recognizing Education Day even though he has so many other responsibilities and concerns to deal with throughout the course of a day,” said Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch. “He strongly agreed with the rebbe’s approach that even a little light will dispel a lot of darkness.” The group also briefly met with John Bolton, the incoming national security adviser. The rabbis presented two gifts to the president: a silver menorah and a leather-bound Passover Haggadah with the president’s name embossed in gold on the cover. The president also inscribed an identical Haggadah to be sent to Jewish soldiers on active duty to use at their seders. Six other presidents, from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama, have designated March 27 as Education and Sharing Day–JTA
#OpeningDay2018
It’s Orioles’ Opening Day at Oriole Park at Camden Yards and The Birds take on the Minnesota Twins. The game starts at 3:05 p.m. Today’s giveaway is a 2018 schedule magnet. Follow along on Twitter/Orioles. Here’s some parking and mass transit information. Go O’s!
Also see: As Opening Day Approaches, Optimism Surrounds The Orioles from PressBox
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