In the blur of machines, human touch helps heal
Results called 'miraculous'
Hob Osterlund, RN, MS, CHTP, clinical coordinator of pain management services at The Queens Medical Center in Honolulu, uses healing touch for ICU and other patients. About 50 to 70 patients are referred to her each day, and she and her staff gave 3,000 healing touch treatments in the past year. The hospital's ICU is often full of tourists who have seriously injured themselves by overdoing their vacation adventures, she notes. They are in pain and far away from their accustomed support systems.
"We're as high-tech as you can get because of all the things that can happen in critical care, but when patients are attached to five different pumps and bleeping machines, they need something human," Osterlund says. "Our technology is wonderful, but on top of that, people need the human touch."
Osterlund says results are nothing short of "miraculous." Not only is pain reduced and relaxation enhanced, but "so many people experience something profound spiritually as a result of their care."
Patient satisfaction surveys distributed the day after healing touch treatments yield comments such as:
r I could finally tolerate my chemotherapy.
r I didn't need so much morphine.
r I got a good night's sleep.
r My son could finally rest.
r My mother could die in peace.
"After a while, you see so many of those comments that you can't not do it," she says. "We know too much to not do this kind of thing anymore. It's simply coming to people with honor and respect. We bring an unconditional positive intention for recovery or peaceful death."
Osterlund admits some people are still skeptical about the program, which has been in place since 1991, but feedback from patients and families are all positive. To meet patient demand, the program relies heavily on a corps of 40 trained volunteers, many of them retired nurses. In addition, 250 hospital staff members have been trained in healing touch.
"There is so much [medical science] doesn't know about pain management, and more patients these days are interested in complementary therapies," she says. "In Hawaii, we have an ideal culture for this to thrive. The majority are Asian and Polynesian, and those cultures already understand energy. There is almost no one in Hawaii who hasn't been to a complementary therapist. On top of that, we have an administration that is so supportive that it almost couldn't fail."
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content