Helping to provide a safe & supportive space
Beit Rafael Bikkur Cholim was established 10 years ago to attend to, and care for, ill and their loved ones.
When a family member is in hospital, Beit Rafael is here for you with fully furnished, self-contained, cost-free accommodation within walking distance to four hospitals in Melbourne. When you need transport to a medical appointment, we are here for you with a volunteer to drive you in one of our four medical shuttles, including two with wheelchair accessibility.
When you are injured, we are here for you with a range of healthcare equipment that you can borrow free of charge. When you are sitting in Cabrini’s emergency department, we are here for you with a pantry stocked with kosher food and drinks.
Hospital crisis accommodation has been one of Beit Rafael’s most frequently used services, with hundreds of families grateful to have been able to remain close to their hospitalised loved ones. There are Beit Rafael apartments near the Alfred Hospital, Cabrini Hospital in Malvern, Monash Medical in Clayton and hospitals around Flemington Road in North Melbourne.
The apartment across the road from the Royal Children’s Hospital is used most frequently and has been rented since Beit Rafael began in 2012. Our goal is to raise funds to ensure security of tenure, providing a permanent home for our community to use while patients are in the Royal Children’s Hospital, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Royal Women’s Hospital, and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
We understand that having an unwell family member is distressing; and having a sick child is beyond distressing.
It is imperative that Beit Rafael purchases its own apartment in North Melbourne to ensure families requiring assistance in this location can continue to receive the help needed.
Beit Rafael apartments do not offer just a place to stay. The fully furnished apartments, each with a fully stocked kitchen, allow families to relax, revitalise, and find an element of tranquillity while navigating the often-challenging world of doctors and hospitals. With so many details to absorb and endless worries about the situation one has reluctantly been thrown into, knowing a bed and food is available directly across the road from the hospital brings an immeasurable sense of security.
You can play a role in helping us achieve this dream. We are reaching out to the community to a part of this endeavour so that for generations to come, our community will have a strong bikkur cholim establishment to assist those in need. We are encouraging members of the commumity to be proud to play your part; to be proud to assist Melbourne Jewry have a bikkur cholim service matching other cities around the world; to be proud that you have not turned a blind eye to fellow community members doing it tough because of illness in the family.
FAQs on Beit Rafael
Q. Who can stay in the Beit Rafael apartments?
Any member of the Jewish community.
Q. Is the apartment used only for Shabbat?
No. The apartments can be occupied on any day for any number of days and nights. Guests have stayed for periods ranging from overnight to several months.
Q. Can the apartments be used for daytime use only?
This is a frequently used service. Patients undergoing lengthy hospital appointments or tests often use the apartments to take a break from the arduous hospital environment.
Q. Is there a charge to stay in the apartment?
No. the apartment is available to the community free of charge.
Q. Do I need to bring my own bed linen or towels?
No. The apartments are fully furnished and are serviced after each guest leaves.
Q. How do I book a Beit Rafael accommodation?
Call Beit Rafael on 0421 408 522 at any time on any day – you will be assisted promptly.
Q. Is confidentiality assured?
Absolutely. Your presence in the apartment is kept confidential as is any knowledge of hospitalisation.
For more information on Beit Rafael and to support its worthy cause, visit beitrafael.org
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