The last time I playfully flew on a plane for a vacation was over three years ago. I couldn’t visit California, where I love the coast. Nor in Rome, where her husband and I lived for a while.
Still, I am told that I have embarked on a journey. Actually he is on two journeys. first,”Traumatic Brain Injury JourneyThat’s what I experienced at Johns Hopkins Hospital after I hit my head and had problems with my balance and walking. She has recently been accompanying her husband on his travels.cancer journey” at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York City.
These two are the highest ranked hospitals in the country. The care at both locations was excellent. But neither of these trips resembled my biking in Ireland or wine-tasting trip to Sonoma a few years ago.
In the American medical community, many serious illnesses are seen as adventures.experts speak stroke journey.Hospital system invites people kidney transplant Journey. This word is gradually making its way into advertising. hair removal Travel and weight loss travel (which has recently become popular thanks to Wegovy and similar drugs). The journey through heartbreak also comes with a map.
map? But a trip like this probably won’t take you anywhere other than a hospital or clinic. Hospitals and clinics are also likely to buy into the travel concept. For the past 20 years, American hospitals have moved away from being limited to the sick business (what a downer) and into the hotel-like hospitality business (sick is fun!). And while care may remain robust, the focus on luxury amenities and the luxurious new buildings that house them means that costs for patients have soared significantly, with prices far exceeding those in other developed countries. This is one of the reasons why.
In this version of medicine, I am no longer the patient. Even if I am sick and do not choose this journey, I am still a client, customer, or (worse) guest. I value a little luxury and privacy as much as the person next door. But Americans are living shorter lives; 4/10 Adults say the cost delays them or leaves them without the care they need, but is it worth it?
Tight budgets, staffing shortages and burnout have hit American hospitals in recent years. At the same time, many medical centers in the United States, including some of the most prestigious medical centers and some community hospitals, were transformed into seven-star hotels. New hospital buildings (such as recent projects at the hospital) University of Michigan Medical Center Valley Hospital in Paramus, New Jersey, offers fully private rooms, often equipped with sofas and flat-screen TVs. A hospital might boast about its views, high-thread-count sheets, and the food it serves. Michelin star chef.
Who commissioned and designed these pavilions? cite research Private rooms have been shown to be better for healing because they offer better sleep opportunities and less chance of infection. (in fact, the evidence is pretty vague. )
But we’re not good at this kind of thing; the industry knows Even small consolations can make you feel better, regardless of whether you’re actually getting better or not. Back in 2008, researchers at the National Bureau of Economic Research found that when hospitals invested in amenities, demand increased by 38 percent, whereas similar investments in clinical quality increased demand by 13 percent. I estimated it would stay. Recently, Hospital executives said boston globe it is The main reason Hospitals moving in this direction means that “people’s expectations have changed,” creating a “competitive advantage” that they can sell to potential customers.
Therefore, Mayo Clinic is currently free concierge Services that can help recommend nearby restaurants or find pet care. I think this is the hospitality version of what used to be called a hospital “help desk”. Its function was simply to tell visitors how to get to the hospital room. His clinic in Cleveland employs a team of curators, and he owns one of the largest clinics. contemporary art collection Leaders in the region see the collection as one of the tools to “positively impact patient outcomes.” Cedars-Sinai patients can experience its “Therapeutic Arts Collection” Chagall, Picasso, Oldenburg.
Hospital food now tastes so much better that In some areas, people go local hospital for haute cuisine Not medical needs. And remember, when you look at the numbers on your hospital bill, all of this adds up. For the price that American patients (or their insurance companies) would pay for a trip to a luxury hospital, they could sign up for a Virgin Galactic suborbital joy ride.
The transformation from hospitals to hospitality has filled hospital executives with tasks such as: chief experience officersWhose the function is As the publication explains, to “manage the patient experience throughout the healthcare journey.” health tech. Cleveland Clinic was the first major academic medical center to expand in 2007. Some health systems are now hiring people directly from the hospitality industry to fill this and similar positions, including former managers at Ritz-Carlton and Trump hotels. 
The American Hospital Association recognizes and champions this change. “These are more than just ‘nice to have’s,” Nancy Foster, AHA’s vice president of quality and patient safety policy, wrote me in an email. “Steps hospitals can take to reduce stress and provide other psychological support can have a meaningful impact on patients’ physical and behavioral health, including their ability to recover more quickly.” But pretending illness is an Abercrombie & Kent safari is actually harmful. These amenities cost money, but a joint replacement costs him $100,000 and a CT scan costs him $9,000, so it’s not worth what we’re paying. At many hospitals, room charges can exceed $1,000 per night. Additionally, even outpatient procedures and consultations can have “facility fees” that can run into the hundreds of dollars and do not exist anywhere else. The function of a hospital is to diagnose and treat sick people at a price they can afford. I dream of a hospital for no-frills care, like Target or IKEA.
That doesn’t mean hospitals have to resemble prisons. The hospital certainly has room to improve its breakfast, which features a plastic cup of red beans with orange juice and a rubbery egg. But to understand one of the many reasons Americans pay so much for health care, consider this. Europe’s best hospitals are utilitarian buildings that most closely resemble urban high schools. At Gemelli Hospital, where the Pope is being treated, I was sitting on a stretcher in a large, dark room with other patients as they stitched up a deep cut on his forehead.
Instead of offering free coffee and a piano in art-filled high-rise marble lobbies, the U.S. health care system should be doing the very basic things it often doesn’t, such as fixing the health care system. Why not focus on that? Will it be easier for patients to schedule appointments?shorten something that is too long waiting time Do you want to see a doctor who is covered by your insurance plan? Are we paying for adequate staffing on nights and weekends so that patients don’t linger unnecessarily in bed for two days until the social worker returns on Monday? Or do you end your two-day stay in the emergency room once all inpatient beds are full? (Hotels aim to operate at full capacity to maximize revenue) , I would argue that hospitals shouldn’t do that.)
This winter, I’m planning a trip to enjoy delicious food and art. The exact location has not yet been determined, but it will not be a hospital in the United States.