Righteous Among the Neighbors is a project of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh that honors non-Jewish Pittsburghers who support the Jewish community and take action to uproot antisemitism. In partnership with the LIGHT Education Initiative and Mt. Lebanon High School, student journalists interview honorees and write profiles about their efforts.
Article by Sam Palmerine
Leader of the Spiritual and Cultural Needs Committee at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Mariace Dancisin has dedicated her career to ensuring that every family, regardless of faith, language, or culture, feels seen and supported.
Dancisin said her passion for understanding and supporting diverse cultures in healthcare began years ago, when she was assigned to help an Orthodox Jewish family from Mexico receive treatment at UPMC Children’s.
“And so that’s when I started getting some interest,” Dancisin said. “This family spoke Spanish, they didn’t speak English, so I was a medical interpreter for them.”
That family experience left a lasting mark.
“We became very close,” she said. “At the end of the experience, I wanted to hug them… but couldn’t because females who are not part of your family cannot touch [the men]. So we virtually hugged. But that really marked me. We speak the same language, share the same Hispanic culture, but because of religion, we are still so different.”
That moment of recognition became the foundation of Dancisin’s work at Children’s Hospital.
“Our infrastructure is not built for them,” she said. “We live in a Christian world. There are no barriers for people who are Christian, or we don’t see them because the world is designed around that.”
Over the years, Dancisin wanted to change that reality. She and a colleague began discussing how to make Children’s Hospital a more inclusive place for patients and providers of all faiths.
“Throughout the years, Dr. [Michael] Moritz and I kept talking about how we needed to get people from the Jewish community together at Children’s to see if we could do something,” she said. “Finally one day, that happened, and that’s how we started working on it.”
Through collaboration with Dr. Moritz and members of the Jewish community, Dancisin offered to lead what would become an important step.
“We got a group together,” she said. “Dr. Moritz contacted several members of the Jewish community who worked at Children’s, and I offered to lead the efforts. We’ve been working for about three years now through a lot of roadblocks and hiccups, but we’re making progress.”
Under Dancisin’s leadership, the committee has made measurable strides, as she secured Kosher food options in the cafeteria, obtained a grant from the Jewish Federation to purchase resources for inpatient Jewish observance and invited speakers to educate hospital staff on Jewish identity and religious needs.
This leadership has not gone unnoticed. Natan Cramer, who nominated her for recognition, emphasized the impact she has had.
“It’s hard to encapsulate in a conversation,” Cramer said. “Mariace has devoted countless hours fighting against roadblocks and bureaucracy within the hospital system, often harder than we ourselves as Jewish people, and on behalf of Muslims as well. She’s a fighter, but also compassionate. She stands up for us.”
Cramer added that Dancisin’s deep curiosity and empathy sets her apart from most.
“A lot of people are open to Jewish people but not necessarily interested in learning about us,” he said. “Mariace is constantly asking questions, constantly wanting to learn. Few people know Jewish identity as intimately as she does without being Jewish themselves. That’s because she’s so open-minded and genuinely cares.”
For Dancisin, the work has been as personal as it has been professional.
“I’ve learned a lot,” she said. “I’ve made friends. I’m more equipped to serve diverse populations. It’s helped me see firsthand what people go through when the healthcare world isn’t designed with them in mind.”
One of the most meaningful outcomes for her has been seeing friendships between people of faiths that are often seen as divided.
“Some of the members of our group are Muslim and Jewish,” she said. “And seeing that they can be friends, it really moved me. The misconception that they are enemies is one of the reasons we are where we are in the world today.”
The experience has changed the way Dancisin sees humanity.
“It has helped me understand the world on a small scale, differently,” she said. “I admire them so much. It’s been amazing to get out of my bubble. We need a better world. If we don’t leave our comfort zones and try to see how other people experience life, we won’t overcome this mess.”