Today’s hospitals are designed to be modern and comfortable. They use the
most advanced health care providers available. When you think about a hospital,
what comes to mind? Is it the bright lights and the flurry of the emergency
room? Is it waiting rooms full of long tables and magazines? Is it high-tech
equipment that helps to save a patient’s life?
Candy stripers-High school girls who had an
interest in nursing once had the opportunity to volunteer at area hospitals as
a Candy Striper. The program began in 1944 and continued until the late 1960s.
The name came from the pink-and-white pinstriped pinafores the girls wore while
they delivered flowers to patients, refilled water pitchers, and changed
babies’ diapers in the nursery. At one time they were even charged with
carrying blood and other specimens from the operating room to the laboratory.
The pinafore has since been retired and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act) laws have redefined what they can and cannot do, but “candy
stripers” live on in the guise of the Junior Volunteers program, which features
a uniform consisting of a polo shirt and slacks.
Five-day hospital stays for new moms-The average hospital stay for a new
mother after giving birth was 3.9 days in 1970. That was in the case of a
natural childbirth, no complications, no drugs administered. Prior to that, it
wasn’t uncommon for new mothers to be hospitalized for anywhere from five to
ten days after giving birth, and only seeing their newborns during scheduled
feeding times. There are two schools of thought when it comes to the current
trend of sending mom home 48 hours after checking in versus the previous
long-stay regimen. True, those old-school moms had less “bonding time” with
their babies, since they only held them a few times per day and the nurses did
all the diaper changing. But those extended hospital stays also gave mom time
to get some uninterrupted sleep before going home to the never-ending duties of
caring for a newborn.
Foot-of-the-bed clipboards-A patient’s most personal
information used to be noted on a series of forms that were attached to a
clipboard, traditionally hung at the foot of the bed. This was for the
convenience of doctors and nurses as they made their rounds. How reading the
doctor’s notes from your visit can save your life. But truth be told, any bored stranger could browse Mrs. X’s
medical history (not to mention other personal details, including home address,
birth date, and pre-existing conditions) while she slept. Thanks mainly to
HIPAA laws; hospitals take more care to guard patients’ privacy. Most hospitals
now utilize whiteboards above the patient’s bed for critical care information,
but keep their personal details on an electronic tablet.
Glass thermometers-How many of us remember when the
nurse repeatedly shook the glass thermometer during an exam, and threatened to
“stick it elsewhere” if we couldn’t keep it under our tongue for the required
minute? Turns out mercury-filled thermometers were actually a health hazard
when they dropped on the floor and shattered. Who knew that little silver
globule could contaminate the surrounding air if not cleaned up properly? Not
to mention if the patient happened to break the thermometer by chomping down on
it.
Hot water bottles-These Vulcanized rubber bladders
filled with hot water were once the go-to device when a patient required
localized heat on a particular bodily area. Today, microwave ovens and gel
packs have taken the place of the old-fashioned hot water bottle. No waiting
for water to boil, and flexible packs come in varying sizes and flexibility to
soothe the most curvy and angular areas of pain.
Oxygen tents-For many years when a patient needed
continuous oxygen feed, they were placed inside an oxygen tent (or, more
properly, a “mist tent”) — a clear plastic “canopy” that covered them from
their head to their midsection. Oxygen was pumped into the tent along with a
cooling mist provided by ice that was packed into the back of the machinery.
Eventually it was determined that oxygen was delivered more efficiently and
effectively via a nasal cannula. Mist tents were occasionally resurrected from
the hospital storage room in the 1980s for the fussy child who kept pulling the
cannula off of his face, but that canopy came with its own set of problems:
hospitalized children are frequently frightened and are comforted by a parent
lying in bed next to them. That plastic barrier made cuddling almost
impossible. So doctors learned to have patience with their tiniest patients and
let them adjust to the nose tubes.
Pristine white nurse uniforms-The white head-to-toe uniform for
nurses (including cap, dress, stockings and shoes) was meant to be a sign of
purity and cleanliness. That is all right when the nurse first gets dressed in
the morning. But after a few hours of tending to patients, their clothes got
stained, shoes got scuffed, and caps fell off at the most inconvenient times.
The seeds of change were sowed in the 1970s, when hospitals started cutting
costs and one of those money-saving measures was no longer providing free
laundering of uniforms. In addition, more males were entering the profession,
and their white shirt-and-trouser uniform was deemed too similar to that of a
doctor, causing confusion. The colored scrubs that are now the norm; studies
have even shown that such attire has a calming effect on patients.
Smoking-There was a time when an ashtray was
a staple item of every hospital nightstand. Patients were not discouraged from
smoking while incapacitated. Indeed, candy stripers used to sell cigarettes to
patients who were too ill to amble down to the commissary on their own.
Pedestal ashtrays dotted hospital corridors, and it was not uncommon for
doctors to grab a puff or two while filling out a chart during their rounds.
That hospital smell-That distinctive aroma, recognizable
even if blindfolded, meant doctors and nurses and poking and prodding and
shots. How many of us immediately had our insides automatically tighten and clench
up when we walked through the doors of a hospital when we were young? One of
the primary culprits for that old-school hospital smell was the topical
antiseptic Povidone-iodine, better known as Betadine. Betadine is still used in
as a surgical scrub, but due to the many possible side effects has fallen out
of use as a disinfectant for minor wounds. Another contributor to that hospital
odor was the strong disinfectants used to scrub the floors. In recent years,
less aromatic detergents have been developed for hospital usage in
acknowledgement of those patients who are sensitive to smells.
A waiting room for dad-It wasn’t until the early 1970s that the
father was included in the actual birth process and allowed to stay beside mom
throughout labor and delivery. But even then, he still had the option to avoid
the hard part and could instead stand vigil in that staple of every maternity
ward at the time — the father’s waiting room. Dads paced, smoked, and read
outdated magazines until a nurse summoned them to the viewing window in the
nursery. Baby was already cleaned and wrapped up in an adorable bundle.
White surgical scrubs-Surgeons traditionally wore bright
white scrubs in the operating room. After all, white was the color of purity
and cleanliness. One French surgeon, René Leriche, started wearing blue scrubs
in surgery way back in 1914. It reduced eye strain for doctors while working
long hours during World War I. He also advocated that hospitals use a distinct
color for
clothes and sheets used in the operating room. It took a long time for his
concept to catch on, but eventually hospital administrators learned that the
bright white lights in the operating room plus the red blood of the patients
caused not only literal headaches for surgeons, but also optical illusions
while quickly glancing from patient to the white uniform of an assistant.
Hospitals began using “surgical green” scrubs until the early 1970s, when the
first primitive video cameras were placed above the room to record procedures
for use in teaching medical students. White scrubs and white lights constantly
disrupted the camera’s focus. Ceil blue turned out to be the best color for
surgeons when it came to optimal surgical precision and their on-camera
close-ups.
"The truth is
that airports have seen more sincere kisses than the wedding halls, and the walls of hospitals have heard more prayers than the
walls of a church." (Popsugar)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“5 Things You Didn’t Know About Hospitals” by
America’s Healthcare
·
“11 things you no longer see in hospitals” by Kara Kovalchik
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