Emergency services tested - Laval News

Priority given to Hassidic Jew at local CLSC
Other patients should be open to man’s limitations, Rabbi maintains
nanCy GirGiS
The Ste-Rose CLSC is in hot water after
a triage nurse allowed a member of the
Jewish Hassidic community to cut in line
for treatment ahead of other patients in the
latest case of what some deem to be extreme
reasonable accommodation.
It began in the afternoon of November
15 as a Hassidic Jewish gentleman arrived
at the CLSC in Ste-Rose with a deep cut
on one of his hands at around 2:50 p.m.
“The man had a relatively deep cut on his
hand, it required stitches but it was not a
life-threatening injury,” said the Centre
de santé et de services sociaux (CSSS) of
Laval spokesperson Mathieu Vachon. The
man registered with the nurse at triage
and returned to the waiting room. As
time passed, the man became increasingly
worried that he wouldn’t make it home on
time for Shabbat, the day of rest observed
by many Jews and which begins Fridays
at sundown. For observant Jews, Shabbat
means that they cannot work, drive a car or
ride in any vehicle or carry money or keys.
After a few moments, the gentleman
returned to see the triage nurse to explain
his dilemma. “He asked the nurse whether
he could exceptionally pass in front of other
patients to ensure his return home prior
to sundown, and he was told no,” Vachon
explained. “The nurse explained to him
that priority is only given according to
the severity of one’s injury.” According to
Vachon, the man then called someone within
his community to see whether he could
exceptionally derogate from the strict law. In
the meantime, the nurse tried to see whether
a taxi or other solutions could accommodate
the man following his treatment. However,
trying to find another clinic that could treat
the man in a more timely fashion was not
an option, according to Vachon. “The man
had already been waiting for upwards of
an hour, and the nurse did not want to see
the man leave without getting treated for
fear that he would return home instead,” he
explained.
After all other options had failed, the triage
nurse decided at 4:50 p.m. to give priority to
the man over a certain number of patients,
although Vachon does not know the exact
number. He added that the nurse thought
a lot about this decision and believed it was
the only solution. “She felt stuck, she had
never been faced with a similar decision
before and really felt the man’s discomfort
at having to miss Sabbath,” Vachon said.
Some patients who witnessed the
discussion felt that the whole procedure
was unfair, prompting some of them to
call the CSSS and even the national press.
However, Rabbi Zalmen Stiefel of the Young
Israel of Chomedey Synagogue says that
people should be more open about other
individuals’ religious obligations. Rabbi
Stiefel said he was not aware of the situation
until TCN called to ask him a few questions.
Nonetheless, he said that observant Jews are
very serious about Sabbath. Seeing as how
the man had most likely driven to the CLSC,
the only way for him to stay past sundown
was to have him walk back home. “He would
have had to leave his wallet and keys at the
CLSC and walk back home, or to have slept
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there,” Rabbi Stiefel explained, adding that
Jews are not allowed to transgress Sabbath
unless there is a life-threatening emergency.
“I think it was a nice courtesy for the nurse
at the CLSC to put him ahead of others,
considering his emergency to return home • FULL HEALTH EXAMS FOR
for his appointment with God.”
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This event is the latest in a string of • PRIVATE LAB FOR
reasonable accommodation issues towards
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the minority cultural, religious and ethnic
groups that have been brought to light in • BOTOX COSMETICS TO TREAT
the media in the past weeks. To prevent FINE FACIAL LINES
a similar situation from happening again
AND MORE...
in the future, Vachon says the CSSS will
review its policy to try to fairly serve its CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT
entire clientele. “The buzzword now is 514-504-9010
reasonable accommodation, but on the other
side of the coin, can people accommodate
in extenuating circumstances? It would
be really good for us to know as well,” he
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said. “Someone will be mandated to analyze
Monday to Saturday
situation, and see how to avoid this in the
future; however, we need to understand 2555, Rue des Nations,
the nature of some people’s obligations as Bois-Franc, St-Laurent
well.”
M Revenu_353511_Ann Hebdos_nb 11/16/06 10:57 (Continue AM Page on 1Poirier
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The Chomedey News • www.chomedeynews.ca • November 30, 2006 • 3