Thomas Moore talks healthcare with Pat Farnack

In today's opinion piece, "Pat Farnack: When you are sick", Farnack talks with Thomas Moore about his new book, Care of the Soul in Medicine (Hay House, 2010) for Bucks Local News serving Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey's Hunterdon County and Mercer County. Farnack, midday anchor at all news WCBS 880 AM and online at www.wcbs880.com, lives in Bucks County. She writes:

"Moore feels illness can be a "rite of passage." If it is approached thoughtfully, it can remind us of all the things that are truly important. He says that getting through that tough patch, though, can be quite intimidating. Our hospitals and medical centers are not geared to help humans through a time in which they are at their most vulnerable and afraid. Instead of decor that is sterile and cold, bringing in Mother Nature and making a room more cozy is something that wouldn't cost much but would make healing that much quicker and more comfortable. A bright but washable pillow from your bedroom, or a quilt around the shoulders or fluffy socks on ice cold tootsies will do a world of good for an ailing soul far from home.

Often, a sick person will tell you how much a kind word, a joke or a warm touch mattered during their hospital stay. "And often it is a person low on the totem pole" observed Moore, that really made the difference.

Doctors, nurses and other health care professionals are often so bogged down in money matters, insurance, short staffing and regulations, that it’s "almost like they forget their calling."

Just slowing down and realizing how frightened or depressed this human being in the bed might be – could make all the difference and keep despair at bay. They are looking to you to make a connection."

A link trial for the audio file is at the bottom of the opinion piece.