The Healing Hospital Paradigm

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The inception of the “Healing Hospital” is not new. Healing hospitals in various forms have been around throughout history. As hospitals were slowly taken over by religious orders they became more holistic concentrating on all aspects of healing including physical, mental, and spiritual. Instead of focusing on the patient as a carrier of disease and death they began to look at them as a person that has certain fundamental needs for existence. One of these needs as fore mentioned is spirituality. Spirituality simply defined “is that which relates to or affects the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things. Spirituality touches that part of you that is not dependent on material things or physical comforts” (Living Words of Wisdom, n.d.)

“A healing hospital is built on the ancient tradition that love is at the center of healing. Within that framework, the Golden Thread – a symbol of our faith in God – requires that we strike a balance between the latest scientific advancements and the demands of the human spirit. As healthcare providers, we are called upon to tend to our patient’s heart and head. For a hospital to truly be healing, the Golden Thread must be continuous. As both healers and patients, it is the Golden Thread that connects us all” (Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, n.d.).

As the religious orders began to be unable to maintain the hospitals due to changes in regulations and a decline in their membership hospitals in the twentieth century then began to be taken over by business interests. That in turn changed hospitals into businesses that were responsible to boardrooms and shareholders. At that time the practices of spirituality and compassion were replaced by the move toward financial gain. We now hav...

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...ironment an environment that is made up of those that have faith and positivity and in return they are receiving an increased sense of well- being. He is using radical loving care as shown by the number of those that he is healing in this session. He is placing his need for rest, food, and relaxation secondary to those that he is serving. In other words he is going the extra mile to benefit those that need help.

Works Cited

. Retrieved April, 20, 2011, from http://www.livingwordsofwisdom.com/definition-of-spirituality.html

Chapman, E. (2007). Radical Loving Care. Nashville, Tennessee: Vaughan Printing.

Mercy Gilbert Medical Center (n.d.). The Golden Thread of Compassionate Care Defined . Retrieved April 18, 2011, from http://www.mercygilbert.org/Patients_And_Visitors/189191

The Holy Bible New International Version (1987). Grand Rapids: Zondervan Corporation.

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