Healing Hospital Benchmark Assignment: A Daring Paradigm

(Benchmark Assignment) Healing Hospital: A Daring Paradigm
Spirituality in health care
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Components of a healing hospital and their relationship to spirituality
Care giving is associated with caring for patients, and integrating spirituality in care is a more holistic approach to health that focuses on the body, mind and spirit. Increasingly, the healing hospital approach enhances love and compassionate care in a healing environment. The concept of healing hospitals takes into consideration patient needs, and the interaction of staff as caregivers, patients and family members. When staff members have a positive attitude of the healing hospital they are more likely to implement changes and integrate compassionate care in practice. According to Eberst (2008), the three main components of a healing hospital are having a healing physical environment, the integration of work design and technology and culture of radical loving care.
To improve patient outcomes through holistic care, it is necessary to engage employees and families. Eberst (2008), identified the Mercy Gilbert Medical Center as one of the first to implement the concept of healing hospital, to improve the physical environment, and facilitate healing where patients can cope with stress. The case for a therapeutic physical environment is that this reduces anxiety, and when the surroundings are quiet this promotes healing and reduces stress for caregivers and patients. Healing therapeutic environments are associated with healthy communities, where employees focus on healing rather than simply treating symptoms or signs of illnesses.
One of the concerns in the health care sector is how to maintain privacy and security, and work designs that integrate the most appropriate can make a big difference in improving results. Investment in technology has returns, when the work designs take into account the unique features of an organization (Eberst, 2008). Technology is a tool to improve patient outcome, while nursing response should demonstrate care and respect. Patient privacy influences their perceptions of the interventions and satisfaction with health care. Healing hospitals should not only use advanced technology to improve patient outcome, but also integrate the technology to support compassionate care (Eberst, 2008).
The case of Mercy Gilbert Hospital supporting radical loving care, highlights that compassionate care is ‘contagious’ spreading to various staff levels (Eberst, 2008). Erie Chapman proposed that Radical Loving Care as an essential element for healing hospi...