religious/Anabaptist health rules?

[JRapha'sRN]

I am a travel nurse in the Lancaster area for the next 13 weeks and am wondering if the Amish, Mennonites or other religious groups have any health rules. (like the JW's can't have any blood products...) are there any rules regarding health care that these anabaptist sects follow? Do the Amish even go to ERs and hospitals? Is there anything else I need to be aware of when providing care? What considerations do I need to be aware of? (here I am thinking of different cultural responses to illness, i.e.: native americans have the whole family and extended family come and visit the ER regardless of the situation, other cultures only the husband can make decisions) Thanks for the help.

[PANurseRN1]

Amish do use hospitals/ERs/doctors. They tend to try a lot of home remedies and don't like to use hospitals. Part of it is cultural, part of it is they don't have insurance/Medicare, etc. This can lead to situations where treatment becomes emergent, particularly w/ OB.

The women wear coverings and will not take them off unless absolutely necessary. If they do take them off, they have a scarf they use to cover their heads. A woman may never have her head uncovered.

They do tend to have a lot of involvement w/ extended family and church members. This can get really sticky when it comes to limiting visitors, and while I don't mean to sound unkind, the "smell" can be overwhelming. They don't use deodorants, and many of them don't bathe with the regularity the rest of us do. Add to that clothing that is heavy, has absorbed perspiration, and dirt from the farm...you do the math.I've had to reassign rooms due to "odor issues" when the Amish pt. had a non-Amish roommate.

They have their own language, PA Dutch; it's a form of German. If you have contact with any of the Amish/Plain children, don't be surprised if they don't speak English. This culture keeps itself very insulated in many ways, so the children have no reason to speak English.

They tend to be stoic, so assessing pain can be a challenge. With children, it can be very difficult. I took care of one chid post-op who was obviously in pain, but the father initially refused to allow me to medicate him. It took some fast talking on my part to get him to agree to the med.

There are so many branches of Mennonite faith that it's hard to answer. Some travel by horse and buggy, some have cars. Some are very modern and you'd have no way of knowing they were Mennonite.

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

Amish usually are private pay, and yes, they do present to the hospital with many health issues that cannot be handled in home by their own physicians. The extended family is present much of the time.

There are not many dietary rules. The big issues tend to be lots of visitors and that some Amish have limited formal education, though they may have their own Doctors, Midwifes and Nurses in the community. They generally do not have the TVs on, use the phone or cars unless absolutely essential, have electricity in their homes, and sometimes the family brings them home food. They frequently will take pictures down or turn them to the wall. When dcing a patient remember these constraints and that few have insurance.

Young Amish (especially in their teen years) may not obey these restrictions. During their teens, before they join the church, they are permitted a time of freedom (Rumsprungin?) to enjoy the things of the World, before putting them away. Thus the teens often having many of the "standard" teen issues.

[kessadawn, BSN, RN]

We see a great number of Amish in our peds hospital, and I learned the hard way that very rarely does an amish child less than 6 years of age speak any english. I spoke to my pt for nearly 5 minutes when the mom came in the room and told me she hadn't learned english yet!:chair:

[JRapha'sRN]

If they are sick enough to go to the ER/hospital do they find a phone and cal 911 to use an ambulance or do they still use the horse and buggy to get to the hospital ASAP?

[ChristineN, BSN, RN]

They could have an "English" (non-Amish) friend drive them. :)