The Kalsman Institute on Judaism and Health engages in America’s healthcare crisis at the level of public policy via public forums, dialogue and collaboration. The mandates to preserve and enhance life are integral to the practice of Judaism. The Jewish community must become more attentive the crisis.

• A broken healthcare system limits access, provides uneven quality and lags in technology.
• Nearly 45 million Americans have no health insurance – 10 million are children.
• Disabled and chronically ill Americans do not receive the medical or spiritual attention they require.
• Families struggle to provide medical and spiritual care to their loved ones.
• Medical advances raise ethical dilemmas and fiscal complications.
• The needs of the aging Jewish population must be met with creativity and dignity.
• Fewer Jewish families live in close-knit, helping communities.
  

“The politics of health is specifically significant to the Jewish community. Yet, there is little evidence that the significance and impact of this issue has yet to penetrate the policy or program initiatives of our national or communal agencies. Outside of but a handful of our major religious, membership and policy organizations, one cannot find this subject matter on the American Jewish communal agenda.” Click here for the full text of Dr. Windmueller's opening remarks at an April 10, 2005 forum in Los Angeles, "The Politics of Health: When Jewish Ideals Meet American Economic Realities." (PDF) Steven Windmueller, PhD, Dean, Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles