‘God’s Hotel’ by Victoria Sweet. (2012, 338 pages) Rarely, a book comes along that not only instructs and delights but also deepens your humanity.  Dr. Sweet has PhD in medieval history as well as an MD, and shares the ancient Latin and Greek etymologies of many terms used in patient care today. Hospitality, community, charity – what do they really mean? Dr Sweet shows how those words form the foundational principles of Laguna Honda Hospital. The last almshouse in the US – its patients the poor, the mentally ill, the unlucky, those with nowhere else to go.

Dr. Sweet sucks you in; she is enthusiastic about this “slower” way of caring for sick people. The human heart of the book is the case histories which are invigorating, enlightening, infuriating and heartbreaking. Sometimes the patient goes to the brink of death, the ‘anima’ already halfway in ascent, and turns back. Other times, the patients make miraculous recoveries only to succumb to drugs or neglect once discharged.

Entwined in patient care is the heart-breaking bureaucracy that governs healthcare. The end makes you sad as Dr. Sweet has won your heart from how effective the “old” way is. I wish there were still some “God’s Hotels” in America where people could be healed not just medically, but also healed in their whole body and mind. They would have a community of care around them, led by an interdisciplinary team who would be allowed the extra time it takes to truly listen to their patients amidst the myriad of things they must do to meet regulations.

This is a moving, compelling, and wonderfully human read. This should be a required read for every medical and healthcare professional as a reminder that progress doesn’t have to throw out the baby with the bath water as far as what has worked before.