October 1, 2007
PR - York Central Hospital

Working in Partnership with the Jewish Community.

York Central Hospital (YCH) is demonstrating its commitment to meeting the community’s
cultural needs by providing inclusive, comprehensive and effective care to the rapidly
expanding Jewish population in York Region.

The hospital is hosting a Sukkah Open House on October 1, with the cooperation and
participation of special guests from the community for the benefit of patients, long-term care
residents, staff, physicians and volunteers.

“While they are in our care, we try our best to fulfill the social and cultural needs of all our
patients as a way of promoting better health,” says Dr. Larry Grossman, YCH Chief of Staff.

The hospital is working with the local community to realize the Sukkah, an integral part of
Sukkot, an eight-day Jewish holiday commonly referred to as the “Festival of Tabernacles”.
The festival is traditionally celebrated during the month of October shortly after the Jewish
High Holy Days. The Sukkah itself is a temporary hut-like structure in which people dwell,
eat and spend as much time as possible and is a focal point of the holiday.

YCH, in partnership with members of the Jewish community, strives to accommodate the
special needs of Jewish clientele, staff, physicians and volunteers.

Many patients, staff, volunteers and spiritual leaders are doing their part to create a
successful event. For instance, volunteers from Associated Hebrew Schools, a local Jewish
elementary school, along with YCH long-term care residents have decorated the Sukkah.
Community Hebrew Academy of Richmond Hill (CHAR), a Jewish high school helped with
the building of the Sukkah and the cost of the Schach (the roof of the Sukkah). Spark
Learning Centre, a Thornhill-based speech and occupational therapy clinic, absorbed the cost of the Sukkah.

The Sukkot is an extremely important religious and cultural symbol within Judaism. This
open house happens in the middle of the holiday, which begins on Wednesday, September 26 and runs through the evening of Friday, October 5

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