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Susan E. Mazer, Ph.D. Blog

Thoughts and ideas on healthcare

Hi, and welcome to my blog! I'm Susan E. Mazer -- a knowledge expert and thought leader on how the environment of care impacts the patient experience. Topics I write about include safety, satisfaction, hospital noise, nursing, care at the bedside, and much more.

Miracles Happen When You Share Patient Stories

May 1, 2015

In the beginning, humans made up stories to explain the mystery of life. And, while we may call it mythology, whatever we have come to believe is more about the story than about scientific study.

The patient experience is revealing itself from patient stories. Stories coming from those who have lived it and want to talk or write about it.

And, although we are making every effort to reduce these stories into neat operational processes, they are far too complex and rich for this to be effective.   Behind the story of an ICU patient, as well as in front of it, is a whole life that serves as a context for meaning and reflection.  For this reason, an authentic respect for the patient experience means their stories are everything.

At our company, we are all about our shared humanity and the lived experience of each patient. So, we decided to document some of the stories that come to us from patients, families, and staff who have used and been served by The C.A.R.E. Channel.

The Story Project is transforming each of one of us at Healing HealthCare Systems. We get letters, emails, or telephone calls. We hear from people so moved that they reached out to us to share their story.

And, when a real person who is deeply interested in what happened to them listens, they tell a story of life, illness, and recovery — whether that recovery is real, or one that has brought them to the other side of an untimely death of a loved one.

From the time we started producing The C.A.R.E. Channel in 1992, we have been conspirators to heal. We knew that music is the magic carpet that can carry us through the most difficult of times, raise our joy to heights unknown, and comfort our tears when they wash down our sadness.

We also knew that music and nature, together, brings into our moment a reason to live, evidence of a world of stunning beauty and wonder.

Now, we are sharing the evidence, one person at a time, of how lives change.

The Story Project starts with the tale of Matt Hankey, a normal 16-year old who went to bed one night with a headache and woke up paralyzed. And, still, miracles can happen — and they did. Watch.

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