Monks offer patients, staff a sounding board, stress relief at Manhattan hospital

According to the American Hospital Association, about 68% of public hospitals have a chaplaincy program. But few have Buddhist monks, and none compares with the program at Beth Israel in Manhattan, where more than 20 Buddhist chaplains and chaplains-in-training offer bedside meditation, interdenominational prayers, and other assistance to pregnant women, dying cancer patients, and even stressed hospital workers.