Ack!

It is close to midnight and I almost forgot to blog!!!

Today I went to visit my sister in the hospital. She is doing well, thanks to wonderful pain meds they have been giving her ;-) The point of mentioning the visit however is to write about the hospital she is in. The building? Brand new. 3 weeks old actually. And it is beautiful. In fact, when walking in you would never know you were in a hospital. It looks like a cosmopolitan beautiful hotel lobby. HUGE lobby. Off the lobby is a chapel. It is beyond peaceful and beautiful with lots of different colored glass. The wall as well as the large winding staircase in the lobby are made of the same marble that the wailing wall in Jerusalem is made of. Quarried from the same place. And this of course is just the main floor.

The place is gorgeous, I can not tell a lie. But, is it necessary? This hospital addition almost didn't happen due to budget issues. It was built during one of the most prevalent recessions in American history. How much more could they have done if they had used locally quarried stone? Or glass? Are the larger flat screen tv's in the hotel like private rooms helpful in a person's recovery?

I have mixed feelings. I understand that the medical field has mutated to a competitive business. How can we get more customers? Oppps..... Patients? How can we recruit the best staff with the #1 Johns Hopkins just down the road? How do we make money? How do we give hospitals a new "feeling?" Warm and inviting instead of cold and sterile?

Do any of these things actually help patients recover? Are there better outcomes due to the Jerusalem marble? I personally don't think so. But, this hospital did do a good job with my sister. Her surgery was very successful and she is recovering well. They are taking very good care of her and she is as comfortable as you can possibly be in a hospital. I suppose that's all that matters.