The hospital of the future
Having spent the last 7 years of my life working in the hospital setting, I have gotten extremely familiar with the ins and outs of how our modern healthcare and hospital systems function and operate. Thousands of hours of exposure to multiple different hospitals has led me to see the similarities in how all the current hospital systems are ran and what the average experience of patients, their families and the staff of the hospital is during their time inside of these buildings. With my main passion residing in the realm of holistic heath for the greater part of 3 years now, it is apparent from the moment one walks into a standard patient room in the hospital setting that true health and well being can never be achieved based on the current model. Now obviously this cannot be achieved in a short time frame of someone being admitted to the hospital anyway, but the current model that almost every hospital is built around I believe is almost more of hinderance to patients health and healing than supporting their recovery during their time of acute health crisis.
To name just a few examples of what, from my experience and opinion, are wrong with the current models of hospitals:
Absolutely zero fresh air within the building.
Fluorescent blue light covering every square inch of each room and hallway.
An ocean of electromagnetic frequencies coming from hundreds of monitors and devices.
The “food” that is served looks and smells (and tastes from reports from patients I’ve taken care of) like it is completely inedible.
Disrupted circadian rhythms, destroyed by constant alarming and routine patient checks during the night.
Without going on a long rant listing off everything that I believe is wrong with our current system, I just wanted to rattle off a few of the examples that came to mind first. I am not naive in thinking that we can just abandon what we currently have completely, it certainly serves a function in its current capacity. However, for the vast majority of the people who walk through the doors of any hospital, our current model does not facilitate them getting any closer to a state of real health.
In an ideal world, these giant structures that have been set up as monuments for the current medical system would be greatly reduced down in size, purely due to the fact that there is no need for them to be as large and full as they currently stand. This would come as a result of people taking their health into their own hands, not outsourcing it to a system which is not functioning well in terms of improving the health of the collective. The hospitals of the future, I believe, can be broken down to 2 different categories. The first remaining relatively similar to our current model and operating under the need for what they currently do best; emergency situations. The second category, what I see as a possibility and hope for in the future, will be something brand new and will be a place where true health and well being can be worked towards and taught to those who enter its doors.
A new vision:
In this new center for health and wellness, each person who walks through the doors will get the felt sense of being in the presence of vitality and well-being. From the countless number of thriving plants cleaning the air and adding beauty to the environment, to the sunshine and fresh air coming through the open and numerous windows, and even from the staff working who all exude happiness and enthusiasm for being able to work in such a place, each individual will get the sense that they are in a space that life is able to grow and thrive in.
Everyone who comes in looking for assistance in their health journey will receive a comprehensive assessment with one of the trained professionals working there, who will take the time to hear the entirety of each persons personal myth of how they got to that very moment. Unlike our modern system that focuses on the very acute timeframe of what led a person to end up in the hospital at that time, every patient will get adequate time to explain their story and their struggles thoroughly in order to give the practitioner the proper information that is needed to best guide their care and education. Every practitioner at this center will be well aware of the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical components that are all required to be in alignment for someone to be in a state of true health. Without having all of these components in alignment, we might be able to temporarily fix an issue for someone, but long term the same issue can return if the underlying etiology is not addressed and worked with.
This center will be a multi-disciplinary environment, as the foundational ethos will be understood that true health can never be achieved by just focusing solely on one aspect of health. With medical doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors, therapists, nutritionists, nurses and holistic health practitioners, the center will be able to meet each patient where they are at currently. From there we will be able guide them to a particular practitioner that will be able to assist them best initially and then utilize the other practitioners around them to progress each patient further along their health journey when they are ready. Education will be the most critical factor in every patients care. Although the center will be able to provide immediate help to patients if needed, it will be understood that educating everyone on the importance of taking what they have been taught during their time in this new model of hospital and implementing it when they are no longer with us will get them the greatest results in their strides towards well-being.
The hospital of the future will not be a place solely for acute crisis like the current models we have set up today. It will be a lighthouse of inspiration and support that will be ongoing for patients as long as they need. The staff at this hospital will be a shining example of living the principles and teachings that are given to patients during their time here and will be able to offer real life examples of their own journey towards becoming the healthiest and most fulfilled version of themselves.
Overall, the hospital of the future will be a sigil of hope and prosperity that is very much needed in our culture at this time. It will signify to the world what is possible for the collective if we restructure our healthcare system from a sick-care system to a system that allows each individual to take responsibility for their own health and well-being. Our goal will be for our patients to not need our services once they feel complete with their care. Not because they are dissatisfied or haven’t gotten any better than before they came in, but because they are able to implement and live out what they have learned during their time with us and feel like they have the capacity to take charge of their health themselves.
Above the entrance way of the hospital will be the phrase “With each practice, I improve myself. When I improve myself, I improve humanity. An improved humanity brings more Heaven to Earth.” The ultimate goal and mission of the hospital of the future will be to bring more Heaven to Earth. This will serve as a reminder to each patient that whatever they do during their time with us, no matter how incrementally small their progress might feel in the moment, if they continue to learn and work towards becoming a better version of themselves than what they were before, they are working not only for the betterment of themselves but also the collective.
We are at a crisis point for the collective, looking around anywhere in the world this is very obvious to see. Being able to bring about ideas like what I have put forth here, no matter how fantastical it may seem is what is needed to inspire a new hope and vision for the health of us as a world population and for the planet. We need to rewrite the story that we have been telling for quite some time now, and it will take audacious ideas and radical action in order for that new story to unfold in the real world rather than just being stories on the internet. I hope to inspire others to see the vision that I can see and to bring forth a call to action to those whom these ideas resonate with. I will continue to improve myself each day through intention and practice and look forward to seeing some of you in the halls of these type of hospitals in the future, bringing more Heaven to Earth each and every single day.