cheryl
Administrator
Staff member
How Nature Helps Us Heal - Greater Good
A doctor explains why he prescribes time outside to his patients.
Here’s one silver lining to the pandemic: with gyms, museums, and stores closed, many of us were forced to spend more time outside. I was able to ditch my car and more safely pedal the 3.5 miles on pedestrian-friendly streets to work at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, where I work practicing hospital medicine.
One morning last spring, I was reflecting on how good the ride outside made me feel when I walked in to see a 68-year-old patient with several significant behavioral and medical problems.
Before I could say a thing, he jumped in as if in mid-conversation. “Dr. Hass, I can’t thank you enough. I swear that prescription you gave me mid-COVID lockdown saved my life!”
Nodding, I tried to hide the fact I didn’t recognize him; I assumed he was talking about an antibiotic or some other medicine.
“I was so depressed and isolated,” he said. “You gave me a prescription to ride my bike to the marina and watch the sunset. I have been watching that sunset almost every day until I got sick last week. And the prescription is still on the fridge! I can’t thank you enough!”
A doctor explains why he prescribes time outside to his patients.
Here’s one silver lining to the pandemic: with gyms, museums, and stores closed, many of us were forced to spend more time outside. I was able to ditch my car and more safely pedal the 3.5 miles on pedestrian-friendly streets to work at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, where I work practicing hospital medicine.
One morning last spring, I was reflecting on how good the ride outside made me feel when I walked in to see a 68-year-old patient with several significant behavioral and medical problems.
Before I could say a thing, he jumped in as if in mid-conversation. “Dr. Hass, I can’t thank you enough. I swear that prescription you gave me mid-COVID lockdown saved my life!”
Nodding, I tried to hide the fact I didn’t recognize him; I assumed he was talking about an antibiotic or some other medicine.
“I was so depressed and isolated,” he said. “You gave me a prescription to ride my bike to the marina and watch the sunset. I have been watching that sunset almost every day until I got sick last week. And the prescription is still on the fridge! I can’t thank you enough!”