Concessions and special privileges that would be granted to no other religion: Making hospital more Muslim-friendly. (Hat tip: J.D.)

In response to a growing Muslim population in Central Kentucky, the University of Kentucky Hospital is offering a workshop to help employees better understand Islam so they can treat Muslim patients with respect for their religion.

Yesterday, Chih Ian Lee, a training specialist for UK’s Human Resource Development office, led 14 attendees in a discussion of end-of-life, dietary, gender and other concerns as part of the seminar Health Care and the Muslim Patient.

“Islam is more than a religion,” Lee said. “It really is a way of life.”

He reminded participants that pork and alcohol are forbidden, so the hospital should strive to provide meals and medication that are free of those ingredients.

And he pointed out that Muslims pray five times daily while facing Mecca, the holy city in Saudi Arabia.

Lee distributed maps of the medical center campus that Muslim patients could be given to help them orient themselves for prayer in their hospital rooms, with an arrow showing which way to face.

He encouraged the staff to respect their patients’ need for modesty by providing a caregiver of the same sex and by not exposing more of the body than necessary during examinations.

And he explained some of the religious beliefs that might influence the way followers of the Quran react to illness.

“Muslims greet news of illness with patience and with prayers,” Lee said. “It’s a reliance on God.”

Abdul Quayyum, chairman of the Kentucky chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, applauded the hospital’s efforts.

“We are very happy,” he said, adding that his organization is preparing a similar training opportunity for Lexington police.