Technological advancements in the last century have resulted in a focal paradigm shift in terms of healthcare from the traditional service-oriented methodologies to the technological care-oriented models. Technology has played a critical role in ensuring that life has been prolonged with the intentions of having patients emerge with desirable outcomes and satisfaction. However, recent advancements on the care provision paradigm have shifted from primarily focusing on science to the incorporation of a healing environment with spirituality (Dossey et al., 2012). The major challenge however that continues to face many patients is whether healthcare settings are in a position to create a caring and loving healing environment to ensure maximum satisfaction to them.
A healing hospital is the one that places focus on having a healing facility and a healing culture. The designation of these healing hospital forms the basis of the major components of a healing hospital environment. They include: a healing physical environment, integrating work design and technology and incorporating a radical culture of loving care.
The work design and technology play a crucial role in enabling the care providers to work in a more collaborative manner with the designers of the hospital. Different hospital designs are beneficial to the functions of the hospital staff in offering security and privacy to the patients which translate to an ideal healing environment. Privacy is crucial for some patients since it contributes to faster healing rates. Secondly, utilizing the best technology in the treatment process hastens the care provision process resulting in faster healing (Woolley et al., 2012). Additionally, technology assists in easier decision making. A radical and loving care culture works hand in hand with the physical environment and the technological designs since it contributes to healing from a holistic approach. As such, this dimension of healing addresses the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the patient. Thirdly, the physical environment is crucial in the healing process by the fact that it provides an aesthetic, compassionate and pleasing environment which translates to desirable outcomes. The physical set up of the hospitals is vital in assisting patients to cope up with stress brought about by illnesses. Factors like lower noise levels are important in assisting the bodies of patients repair completely since cells are able to regenerate. Additionally, a quiet environment is vital in promoting a stress-free environment to the care providers which is beneficial to them for their working.
These three factors are important in ensuring that the patient achieves complete healing since they play a significant role in meeting the physical, emotional and the spiritual needs of the patient. To achieve this objective, care providers are supposed to be conscious of the religious beliefs and practices of the patient in order to assist them to achieve holistic healing. As such, there is the need for the physicians to develop culturally competent skills which will be essential in addressing both the physical and the spiritual needs of their patients. It should be noted that religious beliefs are key aspects in the lives of individuals that are seeking medical care and as such, physicians are not supposed to impose their personal religious beliefs to those of their patients.
Despite the efforts that have been put in place in making sure that patients benefit from the benefits brought about by a healing environment, there are challenges that face the achievement of this objective. Considering the fact that many healthcare settings are mostly focused on the way their workflows in healthcare settings, little attention is given on how this environment will be achieved. As such, patients may not receive the required desirable outcomes that come along with healing hospitals. Additionally, the fact that the spiritual aspect of healing environments requires healthcare providers to consider the religious beliefs of the patients, it may be challenging for them to have a good understanding of the patients’ spiritual needs since these care providers have got varying ideological standings thereby not solving the clienteles’ problems exhaustively (Dossey et al., 2012). Finally, there are financial aspects that come along with developing these ideal environments notably the designs and technologies required. As such, it becomes challenging to create these environments.
There are also biblical aspects that support the concept of the healing hospital. From the book of Jeremiah 33:6, there is the realization that health and healing is an important aspect in helping individuals to achieve the concepts of security and peace in their lives (Jeremiah 33: 6 New King James Version, 2015). This apprehension is in line with the fact that care providers are tasked with making sure that patients receive physical, emotional and spiritual wellness which is vital in providing a sense of peace and security to them.
References
Dossey, B. M., Certificate, C. D. I. N. C., Keegan, L., & Co-Director International Nurse Coach Association. (2012). Holistic nursing. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
New King James Version. (2015). Jeremiah 33:6 NKJV - Behold, I will bring it health and - Bible Gateway. Retrieved from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+33%3A6&version=NKJV
Woolley, J., Perkins, R., Laird, P., Palmer, J., Schitter, M. B., Tarter, K., & Woolsey, M. (2012). Relationship-based care: implementing a caring, healing environment. Medsurg Nursing, 21(3), 179.
