Tanenbaum Launches the First Comprehensive Guide for Religiously Conscious Healthcare Providers

Online, November 20, 2009 (Newswire.com) - Tanenbaum Launches the First Comprehensive Guide
for Religiously Conscious Healthcare Providers

Unique Resource Combines Clinical Expertise and Practical Application
to Ensure Higher Level of Care

New York, NY - November 20, 2009 - The Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding today announced the national launch of the first truly comprehensive guide for helping health care providers offer religiously and culturally conscious care to patients of all backgrounds.

Developed and published by Tanenbaum, and reviewed by leading experts in medicine and religion, The Medical Manual for Religio-Cultural Competence is a critical resource for physicians and medical professionals to better understand the beliefs and cultural values of increasingly diverse populations.

The product of two years of research and development, Tanenbaum's Medical Manual is designed to foster stronger provider-patient relationships and better care. An easy-to-read independent resource, The Medical Manual supplements Tanenbaum training for medical professionals to recognize specific issues that may arise during the course of a diagnosis or treatment.

"Our society comprises people from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds and religious belief systems. These differences need to be understood by caregivers and also taken into consideration in institutional policy development and decision-making," said Joyce S. Dubensky, Executive Vice President and CEO of Tanenbaum. "Religio- cultural skills are a necessity for providers committed to delivering high-quality care."

Each chapter takes an in-depth look at topics including nutrition and diet, modesty and dress, pain management, birth, organ donation, and palliative care. It also offers providers a look at unique religious traditions from around the globe - including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Shinto, Traditional Chinese, American Indian and Alaska Natives, and Afro-Caribbean groups.

The Medical Manual also includes overview sections devoted to "frequently asked questions" that serve as a quick-reference for care providers. Additional resources include citations for further reading on each subject discussed and organizational tools like checklists and assessment questionnaires that can be photocopied and used internally by hospitals and residences to obtain and manage information related to patients' religious needs.

Tanenbaum initially embarked on the creation of The Medical Manual with sponsorship from Emblem Health, which offered copies to its providers as a way to help them manage interreligious issues.

# # #

About the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding
The Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding is a secular, non-sectarian organization that reduces and prevents the ignorance, intolerance and hatred perpetrated in the name of religion by overcoming religious intolerance in workplaces, health care facilities and schools and by supporting religious peacemakers struggling in areas of armed conflict. Tanenbaum's Religious Diversity in Health Care program trains providers to offer religiously and culturally competent care for patients of all ages and backgrounds through "how to" manuals, interactive training sessions, webinars/e-learning, Grand Rounds presentations, policy reviews, institutional assessments and tailored consultations. For more information, visit www.tanenbaum.org.

# # #

Contact:
Jason Morley, Stanton Public Relations & Marketing
[email protected], (646) 502-3570