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Show How Hospitals Are Banishing Patient Blues By JAMES H. WINCHESTER HE PATIENT reported for surgery at the Hos- ECHR inavocado pital of St. Anthony de Padua in Chicago and the first thing the nurse told him was, “It’s time for yourclass.” For the next hour, before he could begin broodiag about his upcoming operation, hospital staff members briefed him and other new arrivals on what they might all anticipate before, during, and LimitedTime Offer! Both for only *2198 Spice up your kitchen with these color-matched work-savers by Cosco. available in avocado, tan, white, or yellow! The stool has roomy, rubber-treaded steps, plus @ contoured, cushioned seat that lifts up for step-up convenience The cart rolls on two-inch casters, has three 16" x 22” shelves and a twin-outlet, 15-amp cerd. Buy either for $10.99 or the entire $27.00 value for only $21.98! ““wmbOSCO after surgery. Everyone became relaxed and informal. Muchof the patient’s anxiety is cancelled by this new program, Designed by famed architect Edward Durrell Stone, it has nothing but private rooms, every one of which opens onto a patio. Letting pediatric-ward nurses wear colored street dresses is another way in which many hospitals are now helping to make things less scary for their small patients. Anything that can help lessen fears speeds a child’s recovery. At Montreal's Children’s Hospital visiting hours are virtually unlimited, Fathers often drop in on their way home from work for a few minutes’ visit. Mothers pop in whenever they get away from housework. Tender loving care is stressed rather than formality. which is just one of many won- Many hospitals now encourage derful ways hospitals are erasing children to bring favorite toys. They provide a feeling of familiarity, comfort, and continuity, and help them maintain an interest in the outside world while they’re confined. The University of Michigan’s hospital in Ann Arbor, for example, provides its children’s floor with a miniature zoo. Even hospital food is getting fancy. Each year at the Minneapolis Veterans’ Hospital, hunters donate freshly shot game for the patients’ trays. Pheasant and venison are favorites. On the West Coast, the Kaiser Foundation Hospitals use pre-packaged frozen and dehydrated foods for regular gourmet meals. Administrators now are realizing that austerity and sterility heighten patients’ anxieties. So they are changing the face of the modern hospital, making it more human—and that may be one of the best medicines of all. patients’ fears, The Montclair Community Hospital in New Jersey, for example, offers wheel-chair guided tours to entertain convalescents. Philadelphia’s Misericordia Hospital invites new parents to an in- teresting “farewell” dinner. It is a candlelight gourmet meal for two, the idea being that with the new baby, the mother and father will have little chance for a quiet meal in the next few months. The sterile institutional look of hospitals is fading everywhere. Wall colors are brighter, and some of the new sick-room furnishings are like those at home. Today's trend is to the natural wood look, instead of metal. To go with the mellower furnishings, warm and intense colors are used, Patients call the Community Hospital on California’s Monterey Peninsula the “Carmel Hilton.” New parents dine elegantly in the maternity ward of one hospital. |