When I joined the Applied Compassion Training program at Stanford, I had already founded Mehva, an NGO dedicated to promoting compassion and improving patient experience in Israeli healthcare. Mehva’s mission is to develop methodologies and practical tools, raise awareness, and impact public policy while training healthcare leadership and teams to enhance their human and compassion skills.
My Compassion Capstone Project, “I Wanted You to Know,” aimed to address a critical gap in compassionate care. This initiative introduces a compassionate intake process at hospital admission, allowing a nurse to engage in a 10-minute conversation that highlights meaningful aspects of the patient’s life. A summary, including a photo from a significant moment, is displayed by the patient’s bed, fostering personal connections. “I Wanted You to Know,” was Elected as top #1 in the “Leading Health Initiative of The Year Contest”. Robert Cusick, Director of Compassionate Education at CCARE, mentored me in the efforts to enhance the project and allow its scaling up. Currently, the project is implemented in 10 hospitals across Israel and many more are in the process of adopting it.
In my final month at Stanford, war broke out in Israel. As I processed the reality of this immense suffering, I sought ways to apply my compassion learnings to real-world challenges. I joined a volunteer initiative aimed at alleviating bureaucratic burdens for bereaved families. In collaboration with Neelama Eyres, Director of Program Development at CCARE, we designed training for over 400 managers from banks, insurance companies, municipalities, and healthcare providers to act as care managers, guiding families through the painful bureaucratic process with greater humanity and compassion. This effort was sparked by a heart-wrenching Facebook post from a bereaved mother who received an impersonal letter from her bank after her daughter was murdered. Our goal was to transform such cold interactions into opportunities for compassionate, human-centered support.
As the war continued, the need for compassion only grew. My NGO, Mehva, received generous support from donors eager to provide caregivers and medical staff with tools for compassionate action. Over the past year, our activities expanded significantly to include:
- Compassion Certification for Medical Departments – We are developing a certification process for healthcare departments that commit to sustained compassionate care. This initiative is guided by an advisory committee including hospital directors, senior psychology faculty, and public sector leaders.
- National Policy Advocacy – In partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Health, we convened a roundtable with key healthcare leaders, resulting in a policy recommendation report for the Minister of Health on embedding compassion as a pillar of healing and social recovery.
- Training and Development – based on the tools I gained through CCARE, we have developed workshops and training materials for medical staff and managers.
The work I’ve done through CCARE has profoundly shaped my journey, leaving a lasting imprint on both my heart and my work. I am deeply and endlessly grateful to Dr. James Doty and the entire CCARE team for their wisdom, kindness, and unwavering support, shared with endless care and love at the times I have needed it the most. Their guidance continues to inspire and empower me, equipping me with the tools to bring compassion and humanity in these challenging times to the places that need them most.