Hospitals May Not Be the Most Hospitable Place to Catch Some Zzzz's

Hi Honors Kids!

The readings for this week about the patients sleep in the health care setting really hit a cord with me.  My grandparents were really sick most of the time in their last years, with my grandfather having lung cancer and my grandma having COPD complications, so they were in and out of the hospital very often. I spent a significant amount of my childhood taking care of them and the one thing I always noticed was how intrusive the hospital staff was.  Not the needles or the pills, but the constant alarms and disruptions.  Even in the less serious patients halls there was constant noise, and even more in the ICU.  The article  For Hospitals, Sleep And Patient Satisfaction May Go Hand In Hand notes these same findings. It is crazy to me that the institution that is responsible for making you healthier is disrupting as we have learned one of the most vital human functions.  It does not take a specialist to see the connection between sleep and a more speedy recovery.  Even the author of the article seemed slightly annoyed by this in his statement "And, though few studies specifically link quality of shut-eye and patient outcomes, doctors interviewed said the connection is obvious: Patients need sleep. If they get more of it, they're likely to recover faster,"(Luthra, 2).  It is cost efficient for the hospital to allow these patients to sleep, because think about this breakdown: Turning off the lights in the hall lowers the electricity bill, less nurses in the room creates less paperwork and makes for better organization, plus the faster patient turnaround- the sooner a new paying client can come in.  That's the harsh and "moral aside" view but it is true.  From a moral stand point, the hospitals need to think about how they would want to be treated.  In a separate article I found researchers at Johns Hopkins, including Dr. Biren Kamdar and Dr. Needham, developed a project to ensure much like I listed above to help combat this issue.  I'm not saying hospitals are all to blame, interruptions cannot be avoided, but they can be reduced.

Sources:
http://www.healthcarebusinesstech.com/how-improving-patients-sleep-in-the-hospital-is-key-to-recovery/
https://wbu.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-1175594-dt-content-rid-8430281_1/courses/HONO1396FALL-PLV2015PL01/Luthra%20Hospitals%20Sleep%20and%20Patient%20Satisfaction%202015.pdfFor Hospitals, Sleep And Patient Satisfaction May Go Hand In Hand By Shefali Luthra
Comic:
https://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/o/obs.asp