The Healing Hospital
The Healing Hospital – A Daring Paradigm
Katherine Perona
02 June 2013
310HL-V – Spritiuality in Health Care
Prof. Verree Laughlin
The Healing Hospital – A Daring Paradigm 2
The medical community has reached a very important nexus in terms of providing care to the injured and infirm that find themselves in a hospital environment. The so-called Healing Hospital represents a radical shift from the traditional view of the role and function of a hospital or clinic in making an individual well. A contemporary hospital, when admitting a patient, will focus will laser intensity on what is “wrong” with them. That is to say, the entirety of their treatment is aimed at eradicating that which is ailing them. This is model that has served the medical community since the advent of modern health care. There a recent school of thought, however, that argues that it is no longer sufficient to simply treat a disease or injury. The so-named Healing Hospital Paradigm posits that true medicine ought to focus beyond the ailment and adopt a more “holistic” approach to making a person well. According to Carolyn Ross, M.D., healing is defined not just as a removal of disease but as a return to “wholeness” (Ross 2011). A Healing Hospital, then, endeavors to treat not only the complaint of the patient but their entire physical, mental and spiritual well-being. According to the proper application of this paradigm, then and only then can an individual be considered whole, as Dr. Ross would argue. As mention above, the Healing Hospital Paradigm sits upon a tripod of components. The first of these is the body (or physical) piece: which includes but it not at all limited to the original complaint that brought the patient to the hospital in the first place. Obviously, the healing hospital must effort towards to removal or disease or repair of injury, but once that segment of
Katherine Perona
02 June 2013
310HL-V – Spritiuality in Health Care
Prof. Verree Laughlin
The Healing Hospital – A Daring Paradigm 2
The medical community has reached a very important nexus in terms of providing care to the injured and infirm that find themselves in a hospital environment. The so-called Healing Hospital represents a radical shift from the traditional view of the role and function of a hospital or clinic in making an individual well. A contemporary hospital, when admitting a patient, will focus will laser intensity on what is “wrong” with them. That is to say, the entirety of their treatment is aimed at eradicating that which is ailing them. This is model that has served the medical community since the advent of modern health care. There a recent school of thought, however, that argues that it is no longer sufficient to simply treat a disease or injury. The so-named Healing Hospital Paradigm posits that true medicine ought to focus beyond the ailment and adopt a more “holistic” approach to making a person well. According to Carolyn Ross, M.D., healing is defined not just as a removal of disease but as a return to “wholeness” (Ross 2011). A Healing Hospital, then, endeavors to treat not only the complaint of the patient but their entire physical, mental and spiritual well-being. According to the proper application of this paradigm, then and only then can an individual be considered whole, as Dr. Ross would argue. As mention above, the Healing Hospital Paradigm sits upon a tripod of components. The first of these is the body (or physical) piece: which includes but it not at all limited to the original complaint that brought the patient to the hospital in the first place. Obviously, the healing hospital must effort towards to removal or disease or repair of injury, but once that segment of
References: Carolyn C Ross. “Real Healing – The Healing Paradigm”. Psychology Today. February 12, 2011. Barlow F, Lewith G, Walker J. Experience of proximate spiritual healing in women with breast cancer, who are receiving long-term hormonal therapy. Journal Of Alternative & Complementary Medicine [seral online]. April 2008;14(3):227-231. Available from: CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Ipswich, MA. Accessed June 3, 2013. The Holy Bible – 1 Peter 5:10