Day 5: 6/14/18
I really enjoyed my time touring Mission hospital in Asheville. I have only experienced the pediatric unit at Methodist hospital, so this was a huge change. The thing that stuck out most to me was the small details in the pediatric section of the hospital. The art on the walls and the little things the staff does to help the children is what really makes a difference in my opinion. For example, if a child needed a procedure done such as starting an IV, they have a separate room for those procedures to happen. They do this so the child does not associate the procedures and anxiety with their actual room in the hospital. It was amazing to see neonatal intensive care, labor and delivery, pediatrics, and pediatric intensive care at Mission. I hope to take some of what I learned there and apply it when I am working with pediatrics when I become a registered nurse.
Hospitalization puts a lot of stress on children and especially their families. Mission applies family-centered care by encouraging families to stay with their children or visit often. The staff takes care of the family as well as the patient by providing food and drinks, a comfortable environment, a play room for the parents to play with their child or relax by themselves, and they also involve the parents in every aspect of the child's care (especially in the neonatal intensive care unit).
The physical environment of Asheville is definitely different from Cherokee. Mission has a more modern feel, and it is more closed off; whereas the Cherokee hospital applies many natural elements to its architecture and it is more open. Also, Mission has the multidisciplinary team members in different places, and sometimes in a completely separate building. In Cherokee, the team members were all very close to each other and in every unit. I think because Cherokee is a smaller hospital, it feels more comforting and like the staff truly takes the time to get to know their patients and their coworkers. I understand that this is more difficult to do in a hospital the size of Mission, but I think it really makes a difference in the patient's care.
What stood out most to me today was the hand prints on the walls at the Mission outpatient pediatric clinic. There is a section of the clinic where children go to be assessed for potential physical or emotional abuse. Each child that comes into the clinic gets to put their hand in paint and leave their hand print on the wall. The walls in the main hallway and the hallway around the corner were filled with hand prints. It is one thing to simply learn about child abuse, but to actually see the hand prints of children that have been abused is a totally different experience.
Hospitalization puts a lot of stress on children and especially their families. Mission applies family-centered care by encouraging families to stay with their children or visit often. The staff takes care of the family as well as the patient by providing food and drinks, a comfortable environment, a play room for the parents to play with their child or relax by themselves, and they also involve the parents in every aspect of the child's care (especially in the neonatal intensive care unit).
The physical environment of Asheville is definitely different from Cherokee. Mission has a more modern feel, and it is more closed off; whereas the Cherokee hospital applies many natural elements to its architecture and it is more open. Also, Mission has the multidisciplinary team members in different places, and sometimes in a completely separate building. In Cherokee, the team members were all very close to each other and in every unit. I think because Cherokee is a smaller hospital, it feels more comforting and like the staff truly takes the time to get to know their patients and their coworkers. I understand that this is more difficult to do in a hospital the size of Mission, but I think it really makes a difference in the patient's care.
What stood out most to me today was the hand prints on the walls at the Mission outpatient pediatric clinic. There is a section of the clinic where children go to be assessed for potential physical or emotional abuse. Each child that comes into the clinic gets to put their hand in paint and leave their hand print on the wall. The walls in the main hallway and the hallway around the corner were filled with hand prints. It is one thing to simply learn about child abuse, but to actually see the hand prints of children that have been abused is a totally different experience.
Hannah,
ReplyDeleteThe environment is very different in its own good and bad to the location in Cherokee and Asheville. Like you said Hannah Mission is more closed off and I feel like more judgmental regarding mothers that have a substance abuse disorder. Compared to Cherokee where they are very supportive of the patient and try to overcome their addiction. I like that Cherokee will not be the one to judge the family member like they said everyone has a story and instead of judging someone you need to hear their story first. The way they think like that is amazing because that is true should not be judging someone without knowing what that person went through. The Cherokee environment is more open-minded which is how I came here being open-minded on what I was going to see with this culture. Since it is a different culture I knew I needed to be open to seeing how they take care of their patients and the community.
Hannah,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that we have had the opportunity to tour through Mission Hospital also. It is mind blowing how large the hospital was. I was happy to see how well organized everything seemed throughout the hospital. I agree with you over the fact that the overally environment and working environment are different when comparing Asheville and Cherokee. Obviously one I much larger because it is providing care for so many people, compared to Cherokee. I thought it was a very moving movement when looking at all of the handprints of children who have been abused.