US Medical Practice in the Hospital and Hospice

In my previous post, we covered the divine healing that occurred at various times in Dr. Andrew Stenhouse's US Private Practice that he had for thirty years. Now in this segment, we'll cover his experiences practicing medicine at a VA Hospital and in a hospice in the USA.

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Andrew’s commitment to patient care extended far beyond his private practice. During his career in the United States, he also served as the Medical Director for a Veterans Administration hospital in Texas. The role held a special place in his heart. Growing up in Britain during World War II, he remembered American servicemen throwing candy from passing cars and tanks, risking everything to help save his homeland. He felt a deep, lifelong debt to honor them.

At the time, the VA healthcare system often carried a reputation for institutionalized, impersonal care. Andrew refused to let that happen under his watch. He made it his mission to ensure that both the veterans and the hospital staff were genuinely cared for. Under his leadership, the facility underwent a radical transformation, becoming recognized not only as the most improved VA hospital in the nation, but soaring into the top five of all hospitals across the United States.

When Andrew traveled to California to accept the national award, other physicians from the top-tier institutions cornered him with a mixture of bewilderment and curiosity.

"Stenhouse," one of them asked, "how did you get into this rarefied atmosphere?"

"It's a matter of caring for your patients and for your staff," Andrew replied.

The doctors looked at him blankly. "What is caring?" they asked, genuinely puzzled.

"You don't know what caring is?" Andrew responded. He explained that medicine was never just about applying clinical techniques to chase good metrics; it was about deeply valuing people—both the sick and those who served them.

That same deep compassion guided Andrew into hospice work toward the latter years of his practice, where he cared for patients navigating the final threshold of life. He always sought to minister to their eternal well-being as diligently as their physical comfort.

One evening, he sat beside a patient who was nearing the end. Andrew spoke with him about his eternal well-being and asked if he had a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. The man looked at him and said softly, "Well, I don't know how to go about this."

Andrew smiled gently. "Well, you know there's a door; and when you open a door you have to go through it to get through to the other side," he said, tapping his knuckles on the desk to make a sharp knocking sound. "Now, you have to open the door yourself, because the Lord is knocking on your door right now. All you have to do is open it, invite Him in, and thank Him for the work He did on the cross for you, for me, and for everyone."

Early the next morning, Andrew walked back into the hospice room. The patient was sitting up with a wide, radiant smile across his face.

"Are you keeping the door wide open?" Andrew asked.

"Yes, very wide open," the man replied happily. That very night, he passed peacefully into eternity.

Looking back on a lifetime of service—from bush clinics in Murupara and remote strips in Afghanistan to bustling Texas clinics and quiet hospice rooms—Andrew always deflected any personal praise. He often remarked that being called to medicine was a path he never could have imagined as a young man, yet it was an adventure he wouldn't trade for anything in the world. For him, the secret was never about natural talent or professional prestige; it was simply about having a willing heart, remaining obedient to the Father, and letting His compassion flow through a pair of willing hands.

Author's note: The next chapter in this series is about Dr. Stenhouse's extensive Credentials: Counting it All Loss. See the Home page of this blog for more podcasts on the life of Dr. Stenhouse. You may access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master. Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.