Putting “Hospitality” in “Hospital” at Mayo
Rochester, Minnesota, is a small town. The population is just over 120,000 people. But Rochester is a destination for hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, all for one reason: the world-renowned Mayo Clinic. Mayo is a level 1 trauma center, with over 2,000 beds. They treat patients with all sorts of complex illnesses from all over. Their treatment team is top-of-the-line, with the best doctors. In 1988, the clinic had everything but one thing: a Rabbi. Enter the Greenes.
The story of the Greenes’ move to Minnesota in 1988 began years before that, with Velvl Greene, a scientist who researched public health, bacteriology, and astrobiology with NASA. His Rabbi, Rabbi Moshe Feller, cultivated a warm relationship between Greene and the Lubavitcher Rebbe. At some point during his career, Velvl Greene transformed his lifestyle to that of a religious Jew, and in 1977, sent his 15-year-old son, Dovid, to learn in yeshiva.
Dovid embraced the religious lifestyle and married his wife, Chani Greene (nee Raskin), a native New Yorker. Chani grew up in the Chabad community in Crown Heights, and the newly married couple settled there.
In the beginning years of their marriage, the Greenes were asked to move out to various locations to spread Judaism, each of which was politely turned down. That was, until Dovid’s childhood Rabbi, Moshe Feller, encouraged them to move back to Rochester, in Dovid’s home state of Minnesota. The pull was strong and with the Rebbe’s blessing, Rabbi Dovid and Chani Greene moved out to Rochester, Minnesota.
To start a new future, the couple purchased a house in Rochester and established it as their home and outreach center as well.
The Greenes quickly found out that along with the small community in Rochester was a whole other community: the Mayo Clinic. And so, they got to work.
First, they fastened an extensive sign in the nearby airport, proclaiming in big, bold, letters: ‘Baruch Haba!’ Hebrew for welcome! Beneath those words was the Chabad House phone number. Sure enough, the sign caught the eyes of the many Jewish patients traveling to Rochester for treatment. The Greenes provided kosher meals for patients, Shabbat and holiday services at the hospital, and moral support visits. During one of these visits, it became apparent to the doctors that Rabbi Greene spoke Hebrew. They recruited him to become the translator for their Israeli patients. Chani Greene visited the clinic often as well, helping patients eat despite dietary restrictions. She was also a surrogate mother for the patients.
Sensing the need, the Greenes renovated their home to include a lounge and library for outpatients, while still housing the Greenes and their family. The lounge provided comfort and support for the patients in tumultuous times of their lives. Working at a health clinic is not always an easy job, and the Greenes often face heartbreaking and challenging circumstances. Still, they carried on servicing the Jewish community.
The Greene children were active participants in their parents’ outreach work, and they enjoyed it. Their son Shlomy, however, like his parents, never thought he would do outreach in his own life. Until he met his wife.
Chana Greene, (nee Kornfeld) grew up in Seattle, Washington, and always knew that she wanted to do outreach when she grew up.
After marriage, the Greenes worked in the preschool and ran youth programs in New Jersey. A couple of years in, however, they moved back to Shlomy’s hometown of Rochester to open a preschool.
They quickly found out that the visiting and permanent communities were intertwined, and by default, got involved with patient care, often involving the preschool.
Once, an Israeli patient came for open heart surgery with two little children. He was not religious, but needed a school to enroll his children in for their month-long stay in Rochester. The Greenes willingly enrolled the children. The family joined the Chabad Menorah lighting, with over 300 people. Rabbi Greene kept trying to arrange a time to meet with the father, but due to his surgery, arrangements were made. It was right after his surgery, and they were doing one more scan to make sure he didn’t need another one. Thankfully, the results came back clear, and as Rabbi Greene relates, ‘we never heard from them again - in a positive way.’
Another little girl came to their preschool - this time not full days. She was a three-year-old facing an extremely rare disease, and her parents were overwhelmed by her back-to-back appointments. They asked the Greenes if their daughter could come for just an hour a day to play at preschool, so they could have a break. The Greenes, of course, readily agreed, and the parents shared with them how much it meant to them.
They helped an Israeli patient through his long journey to get a liver transplant long after his family had returned to Israel. Rabbi Greene met him as his interpreter, and they became very close. Oz Eliezer relates that the Rabbi helped him through his dark time tremendously until he got the transplant and returned home healthy.
The Greenes have serviced thousands upon thousands of patients, as well as the Jewish community in Rochester. The Greenes set about providing Kosher lodging for patients at Mayo. They are currently building a ten-million-dollar campus to centralize all of their activities, such as the lounge, housing, and their grab-and-go kosher kitchen, plus house hundreds of patients.
‘Everybody is looking for a miracle to take place when they come to Rochester. People come here to experience healing. And I’m going to help those around me heal.’ Rabbi Shlomy Greene relates. And they certainly do.
Excerpt from the Machne Israel "Lamplighters" Podcast - for more episodes visit Lubavitch.com/podcast
Edited by Rivkah Dinah Butman
