A hospital with heart?

Not many people like hospitals--- they tend to be cold, sterile, unemotional. More often than not, the hospital staff -- the doctors and nurses-- are the same way too.

In any organization or corporation, (or even family), it's the leader who usually sets the tone. And Dr. Herbert Pardes is setting the right tone for New York-Presbyterian Hospital--- one of genuine caring and helping the sick (rich and poor) feel comfortable while recuperating in the hospital. And Dr. Pardes is the right person for the job--- after all, he is the current president of New York-Presbyterian, former director of the National Institute of mental health, and former assistant surgeon general under the Carter and Reagan administrations (among his other former positions).

According to The New York Times article, "The Doctor Is In,"

His prescription for what ails his industry is an aggressive, patient-focused crusade that he believes will restore confidence and financial vitality to one of the nation's oldest and most crucial institutions: the American hospital. His efforts — from personally visiting patients' bedsides, insisting that nurses memorize all their patients' and family members' names and ordering that rooms and lobbies be painted in soothing pastel hues — have struck a powerful chord among patients and colleagues alike.

We need more leaders like this in the healthcare field. We're tired of hospitals being run as just businesses—cold hard, undetached, and looking out for their bottom line. Yes, hospitals are businesses--- but their main mission is to care for patients and (should also be) to make them feel comfortable while staying at the hospitals.

We congratulate Dr. Pardes for his role is changing the environment at a major American hospital.

Perhaps more hospitals will follow his example.