Holy Name Press Releases

Holy Name Hospital Receives Jewish Hospice Accreditation

December 22, 2009

Holy Name Hospital's hospice program has received accreditation from the prestigious National Institute for Jewish Hospice (NIJH), the national accrediting organization for hospice programs that care for the Jewish terminally ill.

Holy Name staff members joined more than 100 representatives of hospice programs across the country at the NIJH Annual Accreditation and Training Conference in New York City in November. Attendees participated in sessions focusing on "Jewish Medical Ethics & End-of-Life Care"; "Connecting across Religious Lines with Integrity," "The Psychology of the Dying Person" as well as workshops related to observances of Jewish life, customs and laws.

Accreditation provides Holy Name's hospice programs with materials, support and assistance from the NIJH, which was founded in 1985 by Rabbi Maurice Lamm, noted authority on Jewish observances related to dying and bereavement. A 24-hour NIJH toll-free number offers counseling to families, patients and caregivers, in addition to locations of accredited hospices and hospitals, health professionals and clergy.

Holy Name Hospital serves terminally ill patients of all faiths as well as their families through home hospice care and in-hospital consultative support. In 2010 Holy Name will open Bergen County's first freestanding inpatient hospice, Villa Marie Claire, a state-of-the art family-centered palliative care facility on a 26-acre estate in Saddle River.

For information about Holy Name Hospital hospice programs, including Villa Marie Claire, contact Hospice Unit Director, Ellyn Ward, R.N., at 201-833-3740. For information about NIJH call 800-446-4448.