"Trouble in the Beth Israel Hospital Association"--The formative years -- From little house on the hill to modern institution -- A modern hospital surviving depression and war -- Medicine at the Beth, 1928-1947 -- The modern institution at midcentury -- Medical research at midcentury -- Redefining the Beth's community -- The changing shape of health care.

Where were you born? Were you born at the Beth? Many thousands of Americans-Jewish and non-Jewish-were born at a hospital bearing the Star of David and named Beth Israel, Mount Sinai, or Montefiore. In the United States, health care has been bound closely to the religious impulse. Newark Beth Israel Hospital is a distinguished modern medical institution in New Jersey whose history opens a window on American health care, the immigrant experience, and urban life. Alan M. and Deborah A. Kraut tell the story of this important institution, illuminating the broader history of voluntary nonprofit hospitals created under religious auspices initially to serve poor immigrant communities. Like so many Jewish hospitals in the early half of the twentieth century, "the Beth" cared not only for its own community's poor and underprivileged, a responsibility grounded in the Jewish traditions of tzedakah ("justice") and tikkun olam ("to heal the world"), but for all Newarkers. Since it first opened its doors in 1902, the Beth has been an engine of social change. Jewish women activists and immigrant physicians founded an institution with a nonsectarian admissions policy and a welcome mat for physicians and nurses seeking opportunity denied them by anti-Semitism elsewhere. Research, too, flourished at the Beth. Here dedicated medical detectives did path-breaking research on the Rh blood factor and pacemaker development. When economic shortfalls and the Great Depression threatened the Beth's existence, philanthropic contributions from prominent Newark Jews such as Louis Bamberger and Felix Fuld, the efforts of women volunteers, and, later, income from well-insured patients saved the institution that had become the pride of the Jewish community. The Krauts tell the Beth Israel story against the backdrop of twentieth-century medical progress, Newark's tumultuous history, and the broader social and demographic changes altering the landscape of American cities. Today, the United States, in the midst of another great wave of immigration, once again faces the question of how to provide newcomers with culturally sensitive and economically accessible medical care. Covenant of Care will inform and inspire all those working to meet these demands, offering a compelling look at the creative ways that voluntary hospitals navigated similar challenges throughout the twentieth century.

Covenant of Care features poetry describing the life-changing transformation in a life that is committed to Jesus Christ and in a heart that is His forever.

Covenant Medicine Written for healthcare providers and patients, Covenant Medicine refocuses the therapeutic relationship between physician and patient onto mutual trust, honesty, and integrity. After identifying the changes in medical culture, David H. Beyda, MD, asks fellow doctors to fix what s broken with the system, being accountable, intentional, and committed to and for the good of the patient. He discusses the physician/patient relationship as a covenant, which allows the physician to consciously agree to be truly present when working with a patient and for the patient to demand such quality, thoughtful, compassionate care. Interested in the importance of the interplay between physical and spiritual health, Beyda suggests that a covenant relationship can contain transformational aspects such as faith. This allows the physician and the patient to transcend the confining definitions of illness and come to a greater understanding of the nuances of caregiving."

Provides a history of Covenant to Care, a nonprofit organization that works with religious communities of all denominations to provide goods and services to abused and neglected children.

The author argues that the strong connections between moral meaning and spirituality are often not reflected in the health and social care literature. Using case studies and examples from everyday situations, the author provides a practical framework for incorporating spirituality into ethical decision-making and care.

"The Jewish tradition has important perspectives, history and wisdom that can contribute significantly to crucial contemporary healthcare deliberations. This book is an attempt to show how numerous classic Jewish texts and ideas have significant things to say about some of the most urgent debates in the world of medicine today, with the potential to significantly expand and benefit the field of bioethics. But this book is not only about applying classical Jewish values to bioethical dilemmas. It seeks to develop an approach that is primarily informed by personal and communal obligations and social responsibilities. Jewish values focus on requirements, obligations, and commandments, and has thus sometimes been called an "Ethics of Responsibility," by advancing new relevant approaches that can encourage healthcare providers to remain dedicated to preventing harm and providing compassionate care to all, based on these inspiring and timeless values. Each chapter of this book explores questions such as: "Are we expected to risk our lives on behalf of others?" "When we can only help a limited number of people, how do we prioritize?" "What are the obligations and expectations of a society or government?" "Are issues of cultural sensitivity relevant in how we discharge our obligations to others?" "What should we do when obligations for others violate our own moral principles or commitments?" "Are there limits to how far one can be expected to go for others?" These and other issues are addressed in this book, as it attempts to describe a meaningful and compassionate Jewish bioethic of responsibility for our times"--