Putting the Patient First

As much as I believe we currently have a very broken system of health care in this country that is in urgent need of healing; when I see an organization that is doing right by the patient and families it serves, I readily applaud their success. Such is the case with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston. While not part of the mega-Partners Healthcare group in the Boston area, they have been an institution at the fore of patient centered care, being one of the first hospitals in the country to institute primary care nursing over 30 years ago. I regularly follow the blog written by the CEO of BIDMC, Paul Levy. Through his blog, Running a Hospital, he has added transparency, humanness and compassion to the commonly hidden world of hospital administration. He has also helped to create a culture of cooperation and patient centered care among hospital staff that is truly remarkable. This culture of cooperation is evident by the following letter from a patient Paul Levy posted on his blog:

"As far as I'm concerned, you can take all those posted quality metrics and throw them out the window when you get a letter like this one that I received from a patient:

BIDMC is a special place. The nursing care deflates your stress about being
in the hospital. The doctor's talent makes you believe you have the best
possible care. The atmosphere makes you feel that people like their jobs and
feel invested in them, so you feel that everybody is paying attention, whether
they are cleaners, food service, transport, department heads, trustees.I
especially noticed the employees' investment in their jobs. (NURSE: "Doctor, I
noticed you are testing Ms. X for TB. If we believe she might have TB, should we
institute those protocols now?" TRANSPORT: "The nurses are really busy. I'll
reconnect your oxygen so you can go back to bed and I'll tell them that I did."
NURSE: Let's not wait for the bed to be changed. I want it to be dry for you
when you have these fevers." She changed the bed and me three times that
night.)Symbol of cooperation regardless of rank or function: Nobody left my room
without taking my meal tray with them.

Posted by Paul Levy at 11/20/2008 10:28:00 AM"

Wow!!!!! All I can say is kudos to Paul Levy and the staff at BIDMC for creating and maintaining a culture of cooperation and compassion and showing us that it is possible.

Road to Hope

"Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many
people walk on it, the road comes into existence." Lin Yutang 1895-1976

As I came across this quote, I immediately thought of the monumental election on November 4 in which we have just participated. With any change there can be natural resistance and fear of the unknown, but this can also be coupled with unexpected opportunity. No matter if you aligned yourself "Blue" or "Red" during the past year, let us come together in this historic time and build a road of hope together, by walking side by side until the road comes into existence. I wish you hope, healing and gratitude during this month of Thanksgiving.

Saying OM instead of Ahh in NYC

Kudos to fashion designer Donna Karan for putting her money where her mouth is by donating $850,000 for the initiation of a pilot program on integrative therapies at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. The program, highlighted in today's New York Times ,will include yoga, reflexology and aromatherapy as integral parts of a patient's treatment plan, if they wish. I am a firm believer that we can enhance our healing process if we are given options and choices in creating our own care plan, including the best that modern medicine and traditional healing practices have to offer. What a wonderful resource to have a myriad of options available to the patients at Beth Israel. I wish the pilot program much success!

Opportunity Within Crisis

barn's burnt down;
now I can see the moon

~ Masahide

I came across this poignant haiku this morning. Mizuta Masahide was a samurai in the Zeze domain of Ohmi Province. In 1688 Masahide's house was burnt down, prompting him to write his most famous haiku. The haiku seems very current and relevant to our challenging present times. Can we also see the opportunity within the crisis?

There Is More To Life Than Increasing Its Speed

"There is more to life than increasing its speed"
Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948)

Challenging times call for challenging the way we view life. Our natural instinct, when we perceive danger and crisis, is to speed up, try to escape, run away or attack...this works well if you are confronting an aggressive wild animal, but not so well if your "wild animal" looks like economic uncertainty, 24-7 technology, or lack of job security. As counterintuitive as it may seem, research supports mindfully slowing down in times of crisis to decrease the harmful physical effects of stress, increase mental focus and productivity and to regain a sense of internal equilibrium. While we cannot always change external forces in our lives, we can focus on skills to build our resiliency, slowing down, taking a breath, and challenging ourselves to create new ways of viewing life.

What are your thoughts about building resiliency during challenging times?