Preview

Health Care and Hospitals

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
465 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Health Care and Hospitals
Hospitals have always existed with the purpose of facilitating health care. However, our methods to amend suffering of the ill and wounded have improved dramatically in the last century. Unlike modern hospitals, alleviated by the help of revolutionary medicines such as penicillin and anesthesia, hospitals one hundred years ago were forced to proceed with unconventional methods of practice. The changes that have been implemented have served to produce more reputable results.

Some of the very first executions of health care were provoked by the church. Public health and religion coincided, creating negligence in the actual curing of diseases. All primary actions were influenced heavily by the belief that the job was ultimately left for God to complete. Treatments would mainly include several reverent acts of prayer without the patient undergoing any further ministration. Hospitals would be more accurately described as a place for one to go to die (Mohr, 1999).

Health care was first elicited as more of an experimentation towards patients. Without our advancements in science and education, the treatments issued often endangered the patients even further. To prevent the spreading of infection limbs were regularly amputated. Instead of using reformed anesthesia, chloroform was administered to render the patient unconscious. This resulted in several cases of overdose and death, forcing them to endure intense pain and agony to avoid anesthetics.

Our advancements in healthcare have been holistic. Psychiatric care facilities of the 19th century were abhorrently inhumane. The hospitals were institutional prisons for the mentally ill, seeking more to confine them from the general public than to minimize their discomforts. Treatments ranged in severity, escalating as far as to be considered torturous for the patients. It was common for them to inject patients with large amounts of insulin and prefrontal leucotomy (Brunton, n.d.), or conduct electroshock therapy

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Health Care

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages

    "Jerry McCall is Dr. William 's office assistant. He has received professional training as both a medical assistant and a LPN. He is handling all the phone calls while the receptionist is at lunch. A patient calls and says he must have a prescription refill for Valium, an antidepressant medication, called in right away to his pharmacy, since he is leaving for the airport in thirty minutes. He says that Dr. Williams is a personal friend and always gives him a small supply of Valium when he has to fly. No one except Jerry is in the office at this time. What should he do"(Fremgen, 2009, p. 85)?…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In present days, anesthesiology is a very complex, yet everyday practice for putting people under while they undergo a surgery. In the 1860s this practice had just been developed; therefore, the simplicity was very evident. The most common use of anesthesia was through the use of chloroform, which was used in 75% of all operations. A chloroform soaked cloth was held over a patient’s nose and mouth until the patient was unconscious. The surgeon would perform surgery with the patient still unconscious, and soon after the surgery the patient would regain consciousness. It was not as efficient as the way doctors now use anesthesiology, but it was still very efficient in regards to the time period and only had a mortality rate of 0.4%.…

    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Civil War Medicine History

    • 1518 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Several early hospitals were unsanitary and were a breeding ground for diseases such as dysentery, malaria, and typhoid. Doctors possessed a primitive knowledge of antiseptic and sterilization; it was exceedingly rare for them to be seen cleaning their tools. This practice often led to infectious wounds, which turned gangrenous. When a wound was gangrenous, as it often was, or a soldier’s limb needed to be saved, physicians turned to amputation, which was a quick and efficient treatment in the Civil War. Contrary to popular belief, chloroform was equipped as a form of anesthesia, and surgeons were known to complete operations in ten minutes, allotting them more time to treat other patients. (Paul, para. 7). All of these early forms of battlefield medicine have helped to shape the medical community in one way or another. Without the rudimentary medical practices displayed above, modern medicine could not have developed into what it is…

    • 1518 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dwale (an anesthetic) was created by a doctor in England (Lyons). During this time, everyone believed Dwale worked even though it really did not work (Lyons). This was due to the decrease of the deaths when Dwale was introduced. But in the mid-19th century, an actual anesthetic was made. Later during this period, Ambrose Pare, an army physician who lived in England, discovered that hygiene was a huge deal while the wounds are healing (Ramsey). This medical discovery changed the way hospitals were maintained. So, from then on, the hospitals were a lot cleaner. This affects the way how people think about medicine and hospitals…

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Awakenings Project

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages

    1. The abuses at Bainbridge Hospital reflected a broken system at that time. Any person who was deemed untreatable was put into a “garden”- where people were treated like flowers that were simply “watered” and “fed” every day. The attitude of the people who worked at the institution was of people who had accepted the system’s failures as a way of life; they did not strive for change, they simply “went with the flow.” Dr. Sayer introduces a number of attitudes that can be seen in modern care facilities. For example, his unfailing persistence in not giving up on patients who he believed had a chance at life. These patients had been immobile for decades, with countless people telling him that they would never get better. By believing in their cognizance and their persistent awareness of their surroundings, Dr. Sayer creates the hospital environment of today, punctuated with the idea that all patients should have the chance to have the best chance in life. He never gave up hope. However, Dr. Sayer also faced many different obstacles in attempting to treat his patients. For example, he needed to first overcome the mockery of his fellow coworkers. The doctors and nurses who worked with him did not understand his desires to pursue what seemed like a meaningless waste of time. However, in doing so, he gave life back to people who would have otherwise been trapped forever, in a state of permanent limbo. Later, he also faced the crisis of dosage with his “patient zero”, Leonard. Would he cross the line and illegally dose Leonard without the consent of the pharmacist? In doing so, he achieved success. However, he had to do so by compromising the laws set by society. Moreover, he had to muster funding for the drug for all the patients that had been affected at the institution. He could have given up after the head of the hospital told him that it was simply too much money, but he persisted in his efforts and was rewarded with enough funding for…

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The word “healing” comes from an Anglo-Saxon word Haelen, which means to make whole (Zborowsky, 2008). Healing hospitals strive to promote harmony of the spirit, body, and mind. These environments help to reduce patients’ anxiety and stress in effort to help the body heal itself. Florence Nightingale spoke of this when she spoke of the importance of natural light, fresh air and quiet for healing. These principals are not new but were forgotten in mainstream western medicine. Spirituality has made a comeback in contemporary medicine and healing hospitals are a great example of…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gorman Case

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages

    This case in particular is a clash between two cultures; the modern medicine culture of Linda Gorman and the traditional cure lu Mien culture of Mrs. Saeto. Before casting judgment on who is right and who is wrong with regards to Marie, it is important to decode these two particular cultures so we can distinguish the differences between the American culture and the lu Mien culture; considering upon reading about the burns, most if not all Americans would agree that this curing practice is barbaric and abusive. Every culture comes with stories, symbols and world views; and often times they are in disagreement. For instance, at the heart of the lu Mien culture is the theory of animism, “the view that the world is inhabited by spirits that reside in things, including people” (Hachen, n.d.) Not to mention the cure used on Marie is also considered a ceremony in lu Mien culture, thusly the objects used have symbolic value (Hachen, n.d.) With regards to Linda’s modern medicine culture; this practice comes with rituals in the form of examinations, symbols with regards to white walls and various sterile instruments used to conduct the examinations, and worldviews with regards to science and the scientific method. Upon differentiating the two cultures, we come to the conclusion that in the American culture the acts bestowed upon Marie are wrong and potential harmful, while the lu Mien culture considers them useful and effective. Therefore, we encroach upon the dilemma of cultural relativity, “the view that practices and behaviors can be judged only by the cultural standards of the culture in which those practices occur” (Hachen, n.d.). In a situation such as this, if we disregard cultural relativity it will certainly imply that there are universal standards by which the practices in all cultures can be evaluated. “The problem with this position is that often when people claim there are such universal standards, it turns out that those standards are just the standards of…

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Medicine in Colonial America was much different from today, but gave us a lot of insight in the human body’s needs. Due to lack of education, experience, proper tools, and hygiene, many patients died. However, there were also many people who were saved through the medical procedures and lived full and healthy lives.…

    • 1489 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Now that we understand what exactly physician aided death is, let look into some of the reasons as to why physician aided death even exist in the first…

    • 883 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Considering all the treatment methods used at Mclean Hospital, harsh physical treatments were rarely productive. Methods such as seclusion, ice-baths, Electro-shock therapy, and even the Hospitals atmosphere itself can make one wonder how anyone came out of there better than they went in. It seems odd that people teetering on the edge of sanity were subjected to such horrible treatments. Although such treatments sometimes worked, it in no way outweighs the horrible side effects that usually happen.…

    • 1149 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the 1900s people viewed mental illness as a disease of individual weakness or a spiritual disease, in which the mentally ill were sent to asylums. This was a temporary solution in hope to remove “lunatics” from the community. This caused a severe overcrowding, which led to a decline in patient care and reviving the old procedures and medical treatments. Early treatments to cure mental illness were really forms of torture. Asylums used wrist and ankle restraints, ice water baths, shock machines, straightjackets, electro-convulsive therapy, even branding patients, and the notorious lobotomy and “bleeding practice”. These early treatments seen some improvement in patients, although today this eras method of handling the mentally ill is considered barbaric, the majority of people were content because the “lunatics” were no longer visible in society.…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Health Care

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The United States Congress consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the Washington, D. C. in the U.S. Capitol. Each state has two members representing it in the Senate, regardless of the population of the state. The Senate has certain powers that the House does not. These include accepting to treaties as a precondition to their ratification and accepting or confirmation of appointments of Cabinet secretaries, federal judges, military officers and other federal government officials. The number of House of Representatives for each state is determined by the population of each state. Powers that the House of Representatives hold include the power to start revenue bills, impeach officials, and the power to elect the President in Electoral College deadlocks.…

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “It became apparent to all the world that surgical anesthesia had became a reality and that pain was no longer the master but the servant of the body,” by J. Collins Warren ("The influence of anaesthesia"). This quote describes pain being taken over by anesthesia in the surgical world. When you are little, you are asked what you want to be when you grow up. A common answer to this would be a nurse, or a doctor. As we are little, we don't think there is anything more to that. In reality, there are millions of stuff you can do in the medical field. Everyday people are hurt, or need medical care. There is never a dull moment in hospitals, facilities, or doctor’s offices. A big part of the medical field, is the medicine. Medicine is given before,…

    • 1585 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The history of hospitals has been shaped by principles in accord with the teachings of Christ and the commandment of fraternal charity. The origin of the institutions of the early Christian era that we now call hospitals, was the hospice and had the explicit duty of carrying out the functions of hospitals. His duty was to help needy brethren in the name of the Christian community. The Christian virtue of hospitality had broad significance, its purpose was to extend various forms of assistance, both individual and collective, and to meet a diversity of needs such as Hospices sheltered travelers, give help to the poor, the sick, the aged, orphans, abandoned children, and widows.…

    • 390 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    If we were to go back in time 300 years to a hospital, someone in the first room is giving birth, in the second room someone is getting treatment for stomach pain, and in the third room someone is screaming their lungs out because they are experiencing the dreadful sensation of something we find painless today which is surgery. Why is surgery painless now but extremely horrendous 300 years ago? In 1846 a dentist named William T.G Morton invented a drug that is called Anesthesia. In these very long boring two to three minutes I will tell you how anesthesia works, what is in it, and how it affected the doctors, patients, and the medical community for the people of 1846.…

    • 158 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays