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Consider Hospital Rules and Services

While quality of care should be a major factor in deciding which hospital to choose, other factors will certainly play into your decision, such as the convenience of the location, any hospital restrictions, and the services provided to patients. You can learn about these matters by contacting the office of the hospital administrator and by taking a hospital tour.

Hospital Location and Environment

Location. The ability of family and friends to spend time with you in the hospital, and to act as an intermediary for you (see Arrange Support Network) can be crucial to the quality of your care. How quickly they can get to and from the hospital may affect how much time they can spend overseeing your care, in which case the more convenient hospital may be an important consideration.

Rooms. Whether you will be in a private room or will be required to share a room with another patient may be important to you, especially if you are having a baby or expect to be in the hospital for an extended period. Similarly, the size, light, and amenities of the rooms vary from hospital to hospital, as do the space and conveniences available to visitors. A tour of the hospital is the best way to find out about these differences among hospitals.

Visting hours and overnight guests. There is also the question of rules regarding numbers of visitors and visiting hours. It may be particularly important for a spouse, partner, parent, or adult child to be permitted to stay overnight with you. This means checking on rules permitting such overnight stays, and the availability of facilities to accommodate them.

Patient Services

Language or dietary needs. If English is not your primary language, you should find out if the hospital can provide you with good language assistance. This may mean having speakers of your first language among the staff who will attend to you. Or, it may mean having translators available around-the-clock. And are the hospital's written materials available in your primary language? These language issues can be especially important if you aren't going to have a fully bilingual family member or friend with you at all times.

The hospital should also be able to meet any special dietary needs you have. These needs might be based on allergies, digestive problems or other health concerns, or on ethical or religious restrictions.

Support Services

Most of the direct care you receive in the hospital comes from physicians, nurses, and aides. But patients sometimes need help with matters that the clinical care staff can't provide. (Also see Help in the Hospital.)

Ombudsman. This person acts as an advocate between the patient and the hospital administration, or between the patient and an insurance plan, to represent and speak for the patient if a dispute arises. An ombudsman might deal with things as small as problems with the television in a patient's room or as important as how long a patient should remain hospitalized. Find out from the hospital administrator whether the hospital has a patient ombudsman or representative, how often that person is available, and how a patient gets in contact.

Social worker. Many hospitals have one or more social workers on their staff. A social worker can help patients with Medicare, Medi-Cal, and other insurance and payment matters. They may also be able to help with other kinds of financial assistance, such as Social Security, SSI, and disability benefits, as well as work-related issues, such as compassionate care leave.

Discharge planner. Planning for your recovery is as important as planning for your treatment or procedure. Your recovery might involve time in a skilled nursing facility. You might require visiting nurses and other home health care, the use of medical equipment, dietary and movement restrictions, or adjustment to new medications. And you might need to make repeated trips for doctor, therapy, or other treatments. To work smoothly and effectively, all this takes planning and organization before you leave the hospital. (See Leaving the Hospital.) Many hospitals have a discharge planner on staff whose sole responsibility is making discharge arrangements. However, in other hospitals, discharge planning is combined with other tasks performed by a hospital administrator or social worker. Before choosing a hospital, you may want to ask the hospital administrator who handles discharge planning, what their training is, and whether that is their sole responsibility.

Hospital Tour

Visiting a hospital can be a good way to get a feel for things that data and descriptions simply don't capture. This may be particularly useful if you are trying to decide between two hospitals that, on paper, seem about the same.

Most hospitals will arrange a guided tour for any prospective patient. When arranging a tour, be sure to let the hospital administrator know what specific treatment or procedure you will be having so you can be sure to see the part of the hospital where you are most likely to spend time. This may mean seeing both acute care and sub-acute care patient rooms. You can also see the facilities for visitors, including family rooms, overnight facilities (if the hospital has them), and the cafeteria.