Journal of Sacred Work

Days 126-130 – A Dream Hospital (1950s) in 60 seconds

 

   In just sixty seconds of film industrialist Henry Kaiser offers his dream hospital. Then-new fluoroscopy offers a view "of every part of the body." A nervous father stubs out a cigarette in the waiting room. Babies are delivered to their mothers through slots in the wall.

   The film engages classic '50s-style narration. It is a fascinating one-minute window into the times. 

   The best idea I saw was an outdoor swimming pool on the hospital grounds. If it it was for the staff it suggests an early awareness of the need for self care. On the other hand, what would patients have thought if they had glanced from their beds at nurses and doctors frolicking in the water?

   Noticeably absent was any reference the hospital's mission: to offer compassion as well as technology. Industrialists & hospital executives are often blind to such "soft skills." How do you portray them? How do you measure them?

   American healthcare has been out of balance for decades. When technology invaded hospitals a century ago the men in charge of care back then were enchanted. That obsession continues. 

   Technology brings magic to curing. It does little for healing. The love invisible to the fluoroscopy of then and the MRIs of now is the only thing that can make healing visible. 

-Erie Chapman

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6 responses to “Days 126-130 – A Dream Hospital (1950s) in 60 seconds”

  1. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    What an interesting glimpse into this time period in healthcare. It has been impressive to see what Kaiser has been able to accomplish. They are light years ahead of what many health systems are currently struggling to accomplish, which is to have an electronic medical record that is available across all care settings. Kaiser has an integrated care delivery. The patient’s medical record is available to all practitioners as well as patients. Patients have ready access to the medical team through e-mail and can text their MD’s as well. It may not be a perfect system but they have made some impressive leaps forward.
    Healthcare back in the 50’s was very paternalistic and patients were ready to turn their lives over to doctors and say fix me. These days MD’s/providers are more informative and to tell you the facts and options of care. However, Atul Gawande MD (author of Being Mortal) believes that is not enough. We need to find out what is important to people in living a meaningful life and then help guide decision-making based on the person’s goals. Illness is personal. This approach to care is humanistic and it is so aligned with your vision of RLC, which you have promoted during your entire distinguished career, Erie. Healthcare is finally ready to listen.

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  2. JVD Avatar
    JVD

    Thank you Erie for reaching into the past to find something that was presented as our future. One wonders how we survived the ‘the advances’ of medicine when we look too far back. It almost plays like an episode of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color and his vision of the future. A Tomorrowland of Healthcare. And they actually built the hospitals. Kaiser Permanente has a very nice history website.
    Thank you Liz for for bringing to my attention Atul Gawande MD. I looked him up and immediately knew why you are drawn to him. A Holistic – Whole Person – approach to life and death choices for all of us. It is easy to quote a medical book or Google for answers, but as caregivers we are trained to listen. Listening is a Quality of Life prerequisite. Listening and communication.
    I recommend watching Atul Gawande’s episode of PBS’s Frontline from February 2015 (but you may want to have a box of Kleenex nearby).
    http://kaiserpermanentehistory.org/tag/baby-in-drawer/
    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/being-mortal/

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  3. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    Thoreau’s Journal: 06-May-1854
    “All that a man has to say or do that can possibly concern mankind, is in some shape or other to tell the story of his love,—to sing; and, if he is fortunate and keeps alive, he will be forever in love. This alone is to be alive to the extremities. It is a pity that this divine creature should ever suffer from cold feet; a still greater pity that the coldness so often reaches to his heart. I look over the report of the doings of a scientific association and am surprised that there is so little life to be reported; I am put off with a parcel of dry technical terms. Anything living is easily and naturally expressed in popular language. I cannot help suspecting that the life of these learned professors has been almost as inhuman and wooden as a rain-gauge or self-registering magnetic machine. They communicate no fact which rises to the temperature of blood-heat. It doesn’t amount to one rhyme.”
    This seemed to resonate and was written by Thoreau on this very day, oh so many years ago…

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  4. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    JVD, so glad you had the opportunity to watch the Frontline video. What a gift to be invited in to the story of peoples lives.

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  5. erie chapman Avatar
    erie chapman

    Thank you so much for posting this Thoreau quote, Liz. Plan to add it to my new book.

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  6. erie chapman Avatar
    erie chapman

    Thank you so much for posting this eloquent comment and for the links you offered as well, JVD. You contributions are fantastic.

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