West Orange Nurses From Penn Nursing Meet at HMO in Israel

Abby Kra Friedman thought she was looking in a mirror. More like a time portal transporting her back 18 years when she was a nursing student at the University of Pennsylvania. Meeting Liat Greenwood, 21, Friedman reminisced about the semester she spent as an exchange student at Hadassah’s nursing school in Israel. “We started talking and it sounded like she was living my life, every step I took she is taking,” said Friedman.

Today, Friedman is a nurse midwife at Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem and faculty member at the Henrietta Szold Hadassah – Hebrew University School of Nursing, where Greenwood spent the Fall/Winter 2018 semester as an exchange student from the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Nursing.

Friedman is also a graduate of Penn Nursing and was an exchange student at Hadassah in 2000. “When I came for the semester, any invitation was welcome,” said Friedman. In 2005, Friedman moved to Israel with her husband. “So, every year when the Penn students arrive I make sure that they know that they are always welcome in my home.”

Greenwood and Friedman grew up in West Orange, New Jersey – just a few minutes’ walk from one another but 20 years apart. “Liat told me that her house is the one with the shortcut through the backyard, and I knew exactly which house she was talking about,” said Friedman. “When I was growing up, a good friend of mine used to live there and I walked that shortcut many times.” They both attended Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy and continued to The Frisch School for high school – despite it being out of the neighborhood.

Greenwood spent some of her childhood in Israel, “She went to the same elementary school that my kids go to now,” said Friedman. The Friedman and Greenwood families attend Congregation Ahawas Achim B’nai Jacob and David on Pleasant Valley Way. “My grandmother lives across the street from Rabbi Zwickler, who joined the shul leadership when Liat was growing up,” said Friedman.

After high school, both Friedman and Greenwood knew exactly where they wanted to study to help them begin successful careers. “I wanted the best nursing education possible, at a university with a strong observant community,” said Greenwood. Over 300 University of Pennsylvania students attend weekly Friday night services and kosher meals are available on campus twice a day. Both Greenwood and Friedman spent a weekend at the university to check out the Jewish community before making their final decision. “Penn Nursing is known as a top nursing program,” said Greenwood. “But I had to make sure it fit with my religious lifestyle too.”

Balancing intense studies at Penn with the Jewish holidays was a shared challenge for Greenwood and Friedman to reminisce about. As was the train schedule and different commuting options from West Orange to the university. “I find it easy to connect with my professors on the intellectual level but making personal connections and forming emotional relationships are usually difficult for me,” said Greenwood. “With Abby, it was just one similarity after another, and it made it much easier for me to connect.”

They roomed in the same dormitory at Penn. Greenwood’s faculty mentor at Penn Nursing was Friedman’s research advisor when she was a student. And they are both passionate about advancing nursing on a global level. “Liat already knows where she wants to go academically. Like I do today,” said Friedman. “On an academic level, we have more in common now than if we would have met when I was that age. She understands the impact of academic research better than I did.”

For four months, Greenwood focused on community health at Hadassah as part of her bachelor’s degree from Penn. “Israel is known for its innovation and Hadassah leads the field of nursing,” said Greenwood. “Focusing on community health at Hadassah was appropriate, even the physical space of the medical center takes into consideration the needs of patients and their families.

“In the United States there is no organization like this, with so many resources coming from donations,” she said. “At Hadassah, I met like-minded nurses and nursing students, helping me see a future for myself in Israel.”

Greenwood is planning on applying the knowledge gained in Israel as a nurse in the US. “I think it’s important to have clinical and practical experience as a nurse before pursuing a graduate degree,” said Greenwood.

As Greenwood returns to her family in West Orange and to the University of Pennsylvania for her final semester of her bachelors, she isn’t saying goodbye to Friedman, or to Hadassah. “I told Abby that I will see her later,” said Greenwood. “I know that I will keep in touch with her from the US and I’ll always see her when I visit Israel – until I end up there for good someday.”

Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc. (HWZOA) is the largest Jewish women’s organization in the United States. With 300,000 members, associates and supporters Hadassah brings Jewish women together to effect change and advocate on critical issues such as women’s health equity and the security of Israel. Through the Hadassah Medical Organization's two hospitals, the world-renowned trauma center and the leading research facility in Jerusalem, Hadassah supports the delivery of exemplary patient care to over a million people every year. HMO serves without regard to race, religion or nationality and earned a Nobel Peace Prize nomination in 2005 for building “bridges to peace” through equality in medical treatment. For more information, visit www.hadassah.org.