Patients

Healing Touch is effective in relieving pain and anxiety, two of the most talked about components that effect healing. Patients that are more relaxed and comfortable heal faster. Combining integrative therapies like Healing Touch with traditional medical care provides patients the best possible avenues for healing and wellness. Healing Touch offers heart-centered care that is personal and non-invasive. When your patients feel cared for and nurtured, they have a better personal experience and are likely to be more satisfied.

“A patient asked for something for a headache and was told he had nothing ordered but his doctor would be contacted for something. When I offered a Healing Touch treatment, he indicated he would like to give it a try.” [Three simple techniques were used and his pain was reduced from 8/10 to 4/10. When the nurse took him Tylenol later he told her his headache was gone and he didn’t need anything.] Night shift nurse

Empower and Educate Patients
Healing Touch is also a beneficial self-care method that patients can use at home. In as little as 10 minutes a patient can be taught one or two Healing Touch techniques that they can use to relieve anxiety and pain. Providing the patient with simple instructions and receiving confirmation that they understand how to use the technique empowers and educates them.

Patient Family Members

A stay in a healthcare facility is often a time of high stress for patients and their family members. Having a loved one nearby can reduce the patient’s stress level and help them feel supported. Administering Healing Touch to family members while they are in the facility with their loved one provides emotional support. Their anxiety and stress are reduced when they experience personal care that supports relaxation. Sharing with them that their emotional state impacts their loved one can help them understand the importance of self-care when caring for another.

Family members often take on a different role when their loved one is ill or receiving treatment, and they sometimes find it hard to feel like they can help or make a difference. Family members can be taught one or two simple Healing Touch techniques that they can apply together with a nurse, or even by themselves, to their loved one. This can help a family member feel like they are contributing to the care of their loved one and making a positive impact on their healing. These techniques can be used at home for their loved one, and for their own personal self-care. Empowering family members to use self-care and to support their loved one has a significant impact.

Nurses

Nurses report that providing Healing Touch to patients increases their job satisfaction. They cite relieving their patients’ pain and feeling a deeper connection to their patient as the two top reasons.

Facilities that embrace a culture of self-care for nurses find that Healing Touch is extremely effective. Administering as little as 10 minutes of Healing Touch to floor nurses helps relieve their stress, tension and pain, allowing them to be more present to their patients.

There is much published on therapeutic presence in nursing and how the patient is impacted by the nurse’s personal state of being and ability to be present in the moment. It is widely being recognized that in order to provide exceptional patient-centered care, nurses need to feel supported, invested in and cared for. Providing care at work for nurses increases retention, thereby reducing the extraordinary cost of turnover.

Facility

Healing Touch is an extremely cost effective method that delivers broad benefits to a healthcare facility.

Improved Patient Satisfaction Scores
Healing Touch provides fast and effective relief from pain and anxiety, thereby decreasing the need for pain and mood modification medications. This contributes greatly to improving HCAHPS patient satisfaction scores.

Staff Satisfaction, Productivity and Retention
Nurses report increased job satisfaction when they provide Healing Touch to patients and increased productivity when they receive Healing Touch at work. Turnover decreases when nurses are more satisfied. Using Healing Touch for self-care supports overall health of the body, mind and spirit, decreasing sick time.

Industry Standards, Reputation and Referrals
Consumers increasingly want integrative care options combined with medical care and Healing Touch is an evidence-based, standardized and credentialed modality. Healing Touch helps facilities meet and improve JCAHO, Magnet and Planetree standards. Also, satisfied patients, and their family members, refer their family and friends to your facility for care.