Components Of A Healing Hospital

Health is not limited to a physical illness that can be cured or alleviated but must encompass the entire individual. It includes spiritual, emotional, social, mental and physical aspects of the individual. All of these areas must be assessed and evaluated when caring or a patient and their families (Chitty, 2007, p. 303).

patients often think what will happen to them and how are they going to get through this horrible

“A healing hospital is a place characterized by thousands of small and wonderful things and a few big ones. At the center is love. More than anything else, supports a strong culture of caring. It expresses the deep passion of both patients and caregivers” (Chapman, 2003). Healing hospitals focus on patient-centered care.

Healing is accomplished through appropriate medical care but also through prayer, reciting of psalms, and visitation. The Misheberach, is a prayer for healing. It asks for “healing of the spirit and healing of the body” for all who are ill. This prayer is recited during the Torah service but also at an ill person’s bedside. Prayers and the reciting of psalms are not seen as asking for a cure. Instead they are “expressions of hope for whatever form healing may take” (James, M., 2009, p. 2). Visitation in the Jewish tradition is called ‘bikur cholim,’ in Hebrew. It is a religious obligation or “mitzvah.” The Jewish community is supposed to comfort and care for the sick and those who do this are considered messengers of God. “When we visit the sick, we take away a small piece of their illness” (James, M., 2009, p. 3).

Today in our society the culture of hospital mainly concentrates on treating symptoms and curing patient physically rather than treating patients as whole. A holistic approach is invented in healing hospital. This paradigm encompasses healing person as a whole by upholding harmony of mind, body and spirit. According to Erie Chapman the president and CEO of the trust, the main commitment of healing hospital is to deliver and fashion a radical loving care ("Journal of Sacred work," 2009). In this essay writer will discuss the apparatuses of healing hospital and its relation to spirituality;

The healing hospital paradigm focuses on the removal of stress and other health risks in the hospital environment for both patients and visitors. These factors are intrinsic to the hospital setting and not the ailments being treated within. For example, stress for patients is generated through painful therapeutic procedures, loss of social life, change in financial status due to the healthcare expenditures, etc. Minimization of these stressors ensures that the patient’s well-being is maintained while the comprehensive care and attention aspects

A growing topic in healthcare today is the focus on promoting a “healing” environment. While many consider all hospitals, nursing homes and rehabilitation centers to be healing facilities they are not recognized as such by the Baptist Healing Trust of Nashville Tennessee. To be deemed a “healing hospital” a facility possesses three key components which are not only physical in nature but spiritual as well. By recognizing the relationship between the two, a facility is able to overcome many of the barriers that present challenges for other companies. By identifying the key components and broken barriers one can

The spiritual significance of illness and suffering is a topic Christians continue to grapple with, as Larchet points out in The Theology of Illness. Scripture offers a wealth of wisdom and cues for understanding illness, health, and healing from a Christian perspective. Larchet analyzes the various and often contradictory Christian positions on health and illness, revealing how attitudes have shifted over time and with changes in medical technology, practice, and ethics. For example, St. Barsanuphius presents a comprehensive analysis of the spiritual significance of illness and suffering. One view holds that illness signifies a lack of faith; another presents illness in terms of a person who is offered the opportunity to develop a stronger faith, or whose faith is being put to a test like the story of Job. Ultimately, the latter remains the most helpful way to approach illness and healing from a Christian perspective. The essence of Christian health care is that, "Healing itself, while resulting from natural processes, actually comes from God," (Larchet 116).

Healing Hospitals have specific components that comprise their makeup. They are” 1) A healing physical environment, 2) The integration of work design and technology. 3) A culture of radical loving care” (Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, n.d.). These three components intermingled with spiritualty makes up the basis for the healing hospital.

When a patient enters the healthcare setting the primary focus is the process of helping the patient get better. Patient care has emerged into the healing hospital paradigm. This new focus is on patient care and not just the disease process. Healthcare organizations are now recognizing that the latest research demonstrates the benefits of a healing environment. Healthcare providers need to reach people on a personal level. The concept of the healing hospital paradigm research reveals that specific design changes in healthcare

When they cope with illness they often do so by praying. They also believe in the power of their beliefs to heal, the physician is God’s instrument to promote healing.

cure. Hospitals not only have to meet the demands of curing illnesses, but also have to accommodate the spiritual needs and comfort of patients. Hospitals are generally built and organized in the effort to help patients gain support by having the opportunity to turn towards religion during difficult times. Hospitals in general have various religious leaders on call if a patient were to request them. They also have places of worship available to serve as a sanctuary for patients. These places are equipped with sacred texts from different religions such as the Koran, the Bhagavad Gita and the Holy Bible. As described in the article, “Sacred spaces in public places: religious and spiritual plurality in health care”, “These spaces evoked a feeling of sacredness of space and time – a sense of transcendence, immanence or connectedness in the everyday” (Reimer-Kirkham 203). This tranquil feeling can help to relieve the stress of the body, being proved to help the bodies process of healing, or in the case of terminally ill patients, helps them to develop a more positive outlook on what is happening. They are able to turn towards religion as support for the difficult time.

Traditional hospitals using standard medical treatment and Western-educated personnel tend to treat the patient's physical being while ignoring other equally important aspects of the patient and the caregiver. Fortunately, healing hospitals have transformed the concept of healing through the principle of "Radical Love." Recognizing the equal importance of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing for all members of the hospital environment, Radical Love enhances the entire wellbeing of the entire community.

Open-heart surgery will also try a patient’s spirituality. Patients may ask God, “why me?” and develop a sense of anger and or betrayal. This may cause he or she to feel forsaken and separated from God; this mistrust in God can further contribute to a patient’s loneliness and depression. The varying combinations of stressors mentioned above compromise a patients normal state of mind and can easily be attributed to their negative and depressed way of thinking which only makes sense to lash out against God. Hopefully a patient’s actions and mentality can be persuaded and enlightened by the nurse or others taking care of the patient. (Isaiah 41:10 KJV) “Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.” It is important for the patients to see their condition in a more positive and proactive light. This patient should view their surgery as a success through the power of God and as second chance to change their life style to improve their health and hopefully prevent the need for future surgical procedures.

Increasingly, the marketplace is being used as a tool to fight forces of discrimination, as consumers are ceasing to patronize companies that support racist, sexist, homophobic, and other intolerant individuals. (maybe cite this) Amma's healing room is a place where the members of the community can solve spiritual qualms, as well as personal ones - Amma is a healer primarily, but she is also a friend to many of her patients. Her healing room thus offers a space for patients to find the spiritual healing they desire, and likewise a space to connect with her and with the broader community in one tight-knit area.