Running head: Healing Hospital
Introduction
Healthcare facilities aim to provide services that promote patient healing. Spirituality refers to the state of being involved with religious matters (Marks, 1999). There has been a growing interest in deciphering the role of spirituality in the healthcare field. In order to decipher the role of spirituality in healing hospitals, scientists analyze the factors that would promote healing within healthcare settings with regard to religious matters. Spirituality and religion perceive an individual as a complex being in terms of emotional, physical, and cognitive self. Marks (1999) argues that Judaism and Christianity view a person as a union of body, mind and spirit. The following components characterize healing hospitals: healing environment, technology, physical design properties, and a culture of care.
Components of healing hospitals
Healing environment
A hospital environment should promote patient healing by ensuring that patients are in a safe and quiet environment that does not cause anxiety. A healthcare facility that is characterized by a loving, compassionate and pleasing hospital has more chances of promoting patient care than a facility that does not have an environment that promotes healing. Healing environments are complex, and they involve more than physical features. In fact, human factors that contribute to healing environments are as important as physical factors of hospital environments (Haggard & Hosking, 2003).
Illnesses cause a lot of stress to patients and families. Thus, when they go to hospitals they would want to be assured that they are in safe and healing environments that would not cause stress. For example, patients spend a considerable amount of time sleeping because sleep helps the body systems to rejuvenate. Thus, they need to be in hospitals that do not have machines and people causing noise. If a hospital is under repair or construction, then necessary measures should be taken to avoid disturbing patients (Haggard & Hosking, 2003).
Patient hallways should be carpeted to reduce the amount of sounds produced when people move along the hallways. Nursing staff and other healthcare providers should not be talking in loud tones when they are discussing patient matters. They should use special rooms designed for such discussions and other forms of communication that do not involve sounds. For example, email communication enables healthcare providers to communicate without making noise (Haggard & Hosking, 2003).
Technology
Advancement in technology has greatly impacted patient healing in hospitals. Hospitals should install separate elevators to transport patients (Haggard & Hosking, 2003). The special elevators ensure that patients are moved freely and efficiently within healthcare facilities to access care within the hospital. Advances in technology have also increased physician access to laboratory tests. Physicians order tests to be conducted on their patients. Advanced laboratory equipment would ensure that test results are communicated to the concerned physicians in time and that appropriate care is offered based on the test outcomes (Haggard & Hosking, 2003). Superior room entertainment systems are used in patient rooms to provide entertainment that would help patients to relax and heal (Haggard & Hosking, 2003). However, not all patient rooms should have entertainment systems.
Physical facility properties
Physical enhancements are used in hospitals to improve patient comfort and experience (Haggard & Hosking, 2003). Many healthcare facilities use gardens to provide excellent features that facilitate the process of healing. The gardens are well maintained, and they have special flowers that have a good smell. If patients go to such gardens, then they would feel that they are in good physical facilities and they heal fast. Also, unique colors should be used on the wall of hospital rooms. Colors provide good physical facilities that promote care. In addition, healthcare facilities should use obvious floor markings that should guide patients on where to step (Haggard & Hosking, 2003).
A culture of care
It is easy to put in place physical structures that promote healing. However, if providers do not have a culture that promotes healing, then patient healing would be compromised. A culture of care is utilized to describe how patients are handled in a healthcare facility (Chapman, 2007). A spiritual approach to healing ensures that healthcare personnel adopt a loving, compassionate and holistic culture of providing care to patients. Erie Chapman was the first person to introduce the aspect of a loving culture that promotes patient healing (Chapman, 2007). In order for healthcare providers to have an exemplary culture, they need to be aware why they went into healthcare. If they were motivated to join the profession, then they would work toward offering the best care to their patients. They would adopt a holistic approach that meets emotional and spiritual needs of patients (Chapman, 2007).
The challenges of creating a healing hospital
Many challenges could impact the process of realizing a healing hospital negatively. First, lack of finances could hinder the creation of a healing hospital because there would be inadequate personnel and equipment. Also, lack of funds would imply that a hospital does not have proper physical facilities like patient rooms. Second, some healthcare institutions could have limited technology that supports healing. This could be in the form of health information systems, laboratory test equipment or patient elevators, among others. This would mean that patients obtain substandard care because there would be an insufficient technological infrastructure to enhance healing. Third, lack of technical and architectural expertise within hospitals would lead to poor structural designs and utilization of technological applications. Fourth, healthcare personnel could be unwilling to adopt a holistic approach to provide patient care due to lack of sensitization or motivation. Thus, they would offer care that is not aimed to promote healing. Fifth, accidents could also impact negatively the endeavors of a hospital to create a healing environment. For instance, patient elevators might fall down and result in patient injuries (Haggard & Hosking, 2003).
Biblical passage
Biblically, God aims to heal people so that they would have good health and prosperous lives. Matthew 10.8 focuses on healing the sick, cleansing lepers and giving freely (Clinebell & McKeever, 2011). Within the context of hospital healing, healthcare facilities should aim to provide abundant patient care that would help patients achieve better health and live better lives. Jeremiah 33.6 talks about taking the sick to God so that they would be helped. In relation to healing hospitals, patients should take their health conditions to hospitals so that God uses them to cure their conditions (Clinebell & McKeever, 2011). The rationale for the selection of the biblical passages is based on the premises that they focus on healing and abundant health.
Conclusion
In an era when the healthcare industry is experiencing rediscovery, spirituality plays an important role in patient healing. Spirituality is integrated into healthcare to promote a holistic approach to healing. The use of advanced technological applications, ideal physical environments, improved structural designs, and culture care goes a long way in ensuring that healthcare is offered in a holistic way. Many challenges affect the way hospitals create healing environments. However, healthcare facilities stand to benefit by adopting components of healing that are involving spirituality.
References
Chapman, E. (2007). Radical loving care: Building the healing hospital in America. Nashville, TN: Vaughn Printing.
Clinebell, H., & McKeever, S. B. C. (2011). Basic types of pastoral care and counseling: Resources for the ministry of healing and growth. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
Haggard, L., & Hosking, S. (2003). Healing the hospital environment: Design, management and maintenance of healthcare premises. London, United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.
Marks, E. (1999). The working of the law of the spirit of life to dispense the life of the triune God into the tripartite man. Affirmation & Critique, 4(2), 14-24.