From Guided Imagery And Acupuncture To Massage And Art Therapy... 

Outside the entrance to California Pacific Medical Center, a highly regarded acute-care hospital in San Francisco, patients in bathrobes are often seen making their way, in meditative silence, around a spiral painted walkway called a labyrinth. Sometimes they are joined by family members and even hospital staff, all of whom are seeking the healing power and inner peace of this ancient form of walking meditation, used in early Christian rituals and currently enjoying a revival in this country. 

No, this is not some scenario concocted by a New Age dreamer. California Pacific is one of dozens of U.S. hospitals seeking to integrate alternative and complementary healing therapies with mainstream medicine. The labyrinth is but one tangible symbol of the revolution taking place as Western medical science merges with older healing modalities. 

"I love what the juxtaposition represents -- having a labyrinth right next to this linear, concrete bastion of science," says Dr. William B. Stewart, medical director of the hospital's complementary-care unit called the Institute for Health and Healing. 

These days, many well-respected state-of-the-art hospitals in the nation's major cities -- mostly led by stalwart guardians of hard science like Dr. Stewart -- are exploring everything from guided imagery and massage therapy to acupuncture and art therapy in their quest to provide optimal patient care. Some estimates put the number of hospitals at well over 100; hundreds more may be experimenting informally. Needless to say, the halls of medicine will never be the same. 

California Pacific has been at the forefront of integrative medicine for more than a decade, but in 1994 it formally launched a "multidimensional program" incorporating the "invisible aspects of 
healing" to give patients a full range of treatment options, according to Dr. Stewart. 

In addition to the labyrinth, the hospital offers community wellness programs in yoga, meditation, tai chi and qi gong; sponsors education programs for health professionals, and provides in-hospital patient services, including guided imagery and massage, when requested either by patients or physicians (for a minimal charge). 

The Health and Healing Clinic, staffed by a team of board-certified physicians who have additional training in complementary modalities, helps patients devise a course of treatment using both conventional and alternative therapies. Care includes herbal and nutritional treatments, acupuncture, biofeedback, therapeutic touch, meditation and reiki (laying on of hands). 

Not surprisingly, says Dr. Stewart, educating physicians about alternative medicine has been a key component of the program. "Attitudes range from those who are quite visibly supportive to those who are visibly not supportive," he says. "Patients can refer themselves to our programs, but we try to coordinate with their physicians as much as possible."

In nearby Greenbrae, Calif., Marin General Hospital is also focusing on physician education, including quarterly presentations on acupuncture and other modalities during grand rounds. The effort is paying off, says Leslie Davenport, a specialist in guided imagery and director of the Institute for Health and Healing Humanities Program. "Two-thirds of our physicians are at least open to alternative therapies, with one-third now actively championing it."

The hospital's complementary health program began in 1989 by providing free services to patients and caregivers, such as therapeutic massage and guided imagery. Gradually, the program was expanded to offer retreats and programs for providers, as well as permanent and rotating art exhibits.

Perhaps most notable is the hospital's gardens. One of them, the Healing Garden, allows patients in the oncology ward to look out the wall-length window into a sea of multi-hued foliage and listen to the soothing sounds of a fountain. Each plant has cancer-curing properties, such as yew, which yields taxol used for treating ovarian and breast cancer. As Ms. Davenport explains, the garden allows patients to see more directly how nature provides medicines for cures and feel their connection to it.

While the program receives some funding from Marin General's operating budget, it also relies on outside grants and private donations. To keep costs down, volunteers and interns staff the massage, guided imagery and art therapy programs. In turn, these volunteers receive supervised experience toward licensure. 

Shands Hospital at the University of Florida (Gainesville) has faced similar funding and acceptance hurdles for its Arts In Medicine (AIM), but persistence has paid off there, too, says poet-pediatrician / oncologist Dr. John Graham-Pole, co-founder of the program along with nurse-artist Mary Rockwood Lane. Not only has the hospital begun putting more money toward maintaining the program, but more doctors are realizing the healing power of art, music, theater and storytelling in their treatment of patients.

AIM, created in 1991, offers regular workshops in patient units, such as piano playing, arts and crafts, comedy improvisation and ethnic dancing. Artists and trained volunteers also make daily patient and staff-requested visits to patients, engaging them and their families in all forms of artistic expression. 

In addition, AIM has focused on transforming the medical center environment from sterile and impersonal into something homey, colorful and soothing. A 30-foot Healing Wall stands in the atrium, consisting of more than 800 ceramic tiles painted by cancer patients, their families and staff members -- all testimonials of the artists' journeys through illness, recovery or death. Gallery 2000, located in the cancer center, features professional artwork on a rotating basis. The Friendly Forest, a 
Plexiglas and plywood mural hanging in the pediatric specialty clinic, incorporates images created by the clinic's young patients. 

"The goal is not to throw out all the marvelous contributions of modern medicine, but simply to bring in other things," insists Dr. Graham-Pole. "Whether it's art making, visual arts, music or literary arts, there's very compelling evidence that all are very good for our health."

Other hospitals have gone even further to enhance and de-institutionalize their facilities. Mid-Columbia Medical Center in The Dalles, Ore., a 49-bed facility featured on Bill Moyers' 1993 "Healing and the Mind" PBS TV series, is an example. The hospital is one of 19 U.S. affiliates of Planetree, a San Francisco-based nonprofit consulting group whose mission is to humanize hospitals and make care more nurturing. 
 

Home Away From Home

Since joining Planetree in 1989, Mid-Columbia has instituted hospital-wide changes aimed at creating a sort of home away from home. The sound of classical piano resounds through the hospital's atrium, along with the soothing gurgle of a waterfall. Harsh fluorescent bulbs have been replaced with soft lighting throughout the hospital. Patient rooms are cozy, sporting colorful bedspreads, upholstered chairs and personal stereos with headsets. Family members are allowed to visit 24-hours a day, stay overnight and even cook a meal or bake treats in kitchens which are located on every floor. 

Patients are also encouraged to become partners with their doctors and receive packets of information about their illness, including alternative treatment options. In addition, Mid-Columbia offers an arts program, music program, pet therapy program and a new Center for Mind-Body Medicine, begun three years ago, which allows patients to receive complementary therapies as an adjunct to regular medical treatment.

The key to Mid-Columbia's success, according to Diane Storby, vice president of clinical services, is "marketing, marketing, marketing." By continually profiling patient success stories in its newsletter, the word has filtered out to other patients, as well as doctors. "The best form of advertising is satisfied customers," she notes. "If a patient says, 'This was magic' or 'It saved my life,' other patients call wanting the same treatment. Doctors listen to that, too."