How Healing Hospital Influence Philosophy of Caregiving and its Link to Spirituality

(Benchmark Assignment) Healing Hospital: A Daring Paradigm
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(Benchmark Assignment) Healing Hospital: A Daring Paradigm
The concept of spirituality and healing is not new in medicine. As humans evolve and become aware of their social and spiritual environment, they develop ways of improving care and concern for the sick. Generally, healing hospitals operate on the idea that the physical environment has a therapeutic effect on the health of the patient (Puchalski, 2001). Analysis of the components of healing hospitals helps one to appreciate the relationships that exist between different component and their overall effect on the patient and the community at large.
According to Culliford (n.d.), the major components of the healing hospital are the physical environment, integration of work and design, and radical care and love towards the patient. The three components intermingle with spirituality to help the patient recover. The component of physical environment focuses on the physical appearance of the hospitals rooms and outside the rooms. The physical appearance has a role on how the patient responds to healing and medication. Pulchaski (2001) explains that colors have a general soothing and healing effect. Greed, for instance, is said to be a universal healing color. Additionally, hospitals can be fitted with specific religious symbols depending on religious practices of patients. It is common, for instance, to see hospitals sponsored by Catholic churches having symbols of the cross. The environment is also free from noise and other interruptions such as dim or bright lights. The goal is to provide the patient and the family maximum comfort as they cope with stress or pain that accompanies diseases.
The component of work and design focuses on how the latest technology can be utilized to provide an emotional effect on the patient’s spiritual and physical well-being. This is mainly about privacy and patient autonomy. The doctor does not have to force the patient to make a decision without the patient’s consent. Additionally, work and design takes into considerat...