Maimonides Chaplains and staff are here for you and your loved ones

A hospital stay can be unexpected, anxious, or lonely. Spiritual and emotional well-being is as important to your health and recovery as the medical care you are receiving. We can play a role in all aspects of care, from assessment to treatment and end of life.

Maimonides offers daily religious services, as well as holiday services, in the hospital synagogue, our interdenominational chapel, and a Muslim prayer room

We can help you

As chaplains, we make daily rounds providing comfort, solace, and spiritual guidance during your stay. We respect the spiritual, religious, and cultural beliefs and practices of the diverse communities we serve. Our conversations with you are personal and confidential. We can help if you:

• Are anticipating surgery or other procedures
• Are facing the end of life decisions
• Are struggling with the meaning of your illness
• Desire to have someone pray with you or bless you
• Feel that you would like to confide in a “safe” person
• Have concerns with spiritual issues outside of illness
• Need assistance with contacting a member of your faith community
• Need support and comfort
• Need support when making difficult treatment choices
• Receive bad news
• Would like to request a religious ritual specific to your tradition

Spiritual Care services are also available to Maimonides staff – please call ext. 8500

Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) At Maimonides

Please find a description of the CPE program, with links to the application and reference forms here:

Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) At Maimonides

Schedule of weekly religious services

Jewish services (Herman Family Synagogue)

• Daily Mincha Services: 1:30 p.m.
• Daily Mincha (winter): 4:30 p.m.
• Daily Mincha (summer): 6:00 p.m.
• Daily Maariv: 50 minutes after sunset

Friday night services

• Mincha / Kabbalat Shabbos at sunset

Sabbath services

• Shachris: 8:55 a.m.
• Maariv: 60 minutes after sunset

Catholic services (Saltzman)

• Weekly Mass: Sunday 2:00 p.m.
• The holiday of Obligation Mass: 1:00 p.m.

Prayer and meditation locations

Herman Family Synagogue
Main Hospital Lobby
4802 Tenth Avenue

Interfaith Chapel
Main Hospital Lobby
4802 Tenth Avenue

Muslim Prayer Room
Main Hospital Lobby
4802 Tenth Avenue

Prayer books, sacred texts, and religious items

A variety of religious books and items are available upon request, including Bible, Torah, Koran, rosary beads, and more.

Our Leadership

Our team of trained pastoral care staff is available to support people of all faiths and religious traditions. If you need to speak with someone in a language other than English, please let us know so we can arrange multilingual support.

Rabbi Benzion Leser, Senior Director of Chaplaincy & Pastoral Care

Rabbi Benzion Leser is an ordained Orthodox Jewish Rabbi who has dedicated his career to providing rabbinical, spiritual, and pastoral guidance to those in need. Rabbi Leser was ordained by the Rabbinical College of Bobov Bnai Zion and pursued his clinical training at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center and the HealthCare Chaplaincy Network. Rabbi Leser took specialty training in Medical Halacha with Chayem Aruchem and is a certified Halachik decisor. He has been with Maimonides Medical Center since 2007 and serving as director of the Pastoral Care department since 2013. He started his chaplaincy career in 2001, with the New York State Department of Corrections as the Jewish Chaplain in Downstate, Fishkill, and Beacon Correctional Facilities. Rabbi Leser is a member of the hospital’s bioethics committee and served on the Professional Advisory Committee for CPE at Healthcare Chaplaincy Network.

Rev. Father Kieran Udeze, Roman Catholic Priest & Staff Chaplain

Rev. Father Kieran Udeze has been a Catholic priest for 29 years, and worked as a hospital chaplain for over 15 years. He is originally from Nigeria in Africa, and is bilingual in English and Igbo. Fr. Kieran holds bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and theology, as well as a master’s in theology. He has served as Parochial Vicar of St. Fortunata in Brooklyn, Sacred Heart in Queens, and St. Thomas Aquinas in Brooklyn. While at St. Thomas Aquinas, he also performed the role of chaplain at Mt. Sinai Brooklyn and New York Community Hospital (now Maimonides Midwood). Fr. Kieran completed his clinical training at Queens Hospital. He is currently in residence at St. Agatha’s in Brooklyn. Fr. Kieran is dedicated to serving patients and families with empathetic and inclusive care, respecting diverse beliefs and traditions.

Mohammed (Mehmet) Ozalp, Imam & Staff Chaplain

Chaplain Mohammed Ozalp is a community leader, imam, and researcher with a master’s degree from Columbia University and a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary. He intertwines his leadership and chaplaincy career with a concentration on psychology of religion and mental health counseling. Chaplain Mohammed completed his clinical training at NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, NYU Langone, and Maimonides Medical Center. He also worked as a co-chaplain at Columbia University’s Office of Religious Life. During his leisure hours, he immerses himself in the intricacies of language, officiates at weddings, delves into scientific and philosophical literature, and enjoys music.

Daniel H. Silberbusch, Director of Clinical Pastoral Education

Chaplain Daniel H. Silberbusch is a Board Certified Chaplain by the Association for Professional Chaplains/BCCi and is an ACPE Certified Educator. He is a graduate of Union Theological Seminary, where he was a student of Professor James H. Cone, Delores Williams, Emilee Townes, Alan Cooper, among others, including Yosef Yerushalmi and David Roskies.
Chaplain Silberbusch served in various settings over the last 20 years: the Metropolitan Correctional Center (federal prison in lower Manhattan); hospice care; hospital; disaster relief; and he has been involved in conflict transformation work in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Hebron.
He taught at Kehillat Yakar in Jerusalem, where he was a close student of Rav Mickey Rosen, z”l. He taught pastoral care at The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City, where he directed the Hospice CPE program, and created the Art of Healing program in partnership with others. He has been involved in various youth programs. Prior to being recruited to create the CPE program at Maimonides Medical Center, he oversaw the CPE Residency Program at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital for five years.
Chaplain Silberbusch is co-convener of the ACPE Community of Practice ‘Arts in Spiritual Care and Education.’ He has a passion for poetry, for music, for drama and improv, for visual arts, and all other spiritual arts. He is animated by the unique challenges that arise in patient care and by learning with students, particularly as students more fully become who they are.

Contact our spiritual care services 24/7

During your stay, your healthcare provider can contact a chaplain to schedule a visit or please contact us directly.

• Call: 718-283-8500 (ext. 8500 inside the main hospital)

• Email: [email protected]