Let's face it--chances are good that at at some point, someone you know and care about will become sick, making it necessary for you to visit them in the hospital. You'll rush to their side and want to do anything you can to help them recover as quick as possible.
As a registered nurse, I see many people in this situation every day. Oh sure, their intentions are usually good. They come to support, grieve and fight for those that they love--but nothing can and will make a nurse crazier (and possibly slow down the recovery of the patient) than breaking a few simple ground rules. What are they? I'm glad you asked! Nurses are never happier than seeing the patients we have invested ourselves in get better and go home to happy and functional lives. To hopefully speed up the process and increase the chances of a good outcome, here are ten things you should and shouldn't do when visiting the hospital.
1. Please, please, please! I am begging you--DO NOT bring children (especially small children) to the hospital, unless it is absolutely necessary! Don't underestimate the sincerity of this plea! Nothing haunts me like the vision of little junior playing on grandma's hospital room floor! Where do sick people go? To the hospital. What do sick people have? GERMS! Yeah, if there is a germ on this planet it will most likely be found in a hospital--especially on the floors. Not only do little-ones not have the immune systems that you and I have, but they are more prone to picking up nasty bugs because they like to put everything in their mouths, lick their fingers, stick their fingers in their eyes...you get my drift.
2. Please don't bring outside food, snacks or drinks in to the patient without first clearing it with the nursing staff. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to get Uncle Bob's sugar under control and finding the family has been sneaking in Snicker bars and 2-liters of Pepsi! What about Mom? Suppose she just had a cardiac bypass, but her family brought her a big-ol' hamburger because she was craving it "SO BAD"? Let's talk about the stroke patient who has been having trouble swallowing. The doctor has written an order for soft foods, but the family brings him in his favorite homemade meatloaf (to boost his spirits) and feeds him on the sly. Not only can this person choke, but if even a little of this goes down the wrong pipe he or she can end up with pneumonia. Trust me, this isn't a case of the nurses being mean or too strict--it's a matter of caring about what happens to the patient.
3. Don't use the patient's bathroom. Because of certain privacy issues, it's not always common knowledge all of the things that are wrong with your loved one. Perhaps they have a really nasty virus that you can easily pick up from using their toilet. You certainly don't want to end up in the bed down the hall! On the flip side, if their immune system is weakened for any reason, you could just as easily infect them.
4. Check with the nurse to make sure the patient can receive flowers. Nothing is a bigger shame than to see a big, beautiful (and expensive) floral arrangement sitting on the counter at the nurses station because the patient is unable to have it in their room. Certain conditions--headaches or certain respiratory problems for example--can be made much worse by smells or allergens. This is a good reason to also think about what perfumes or scented lotions you're wearing before visiting.
5. No pets. It doesn't matter how much Mom misses Fluffy, Fido or little Pickles, please don't bring pets to the hospital. There are many reasons for this: infection, allergens, risk of injury, etc. Instead, it might be a better idea to take a few gorgeous pictures of poochie or kitty to sit by the patients bed.
6. Try to keep the noise level down. I know that being around family and friends can make for a good time (no matter where you are), but there really are people in adjoining rooms (and what about your loved one too?) who don't feel good. Trust me, no one wants to be the jerk nurse who has to walk in and ask you to quiet down. Enjoy yourselves, but try to be considerate.
7. If it's time for medications or procedures, please be polite and offer to step out of the room. This just makes things more comfortable for everyone involved. Wouldn't you want the same consideration during one of the most vulnerable times of your life?
8. Try to observe visiting hours. It's not lost on the staff that are are times when it's necessary to visit late at night. But if Grandma is only in for a night or two for a toe infection, do you really don't need to visit at 2:00 in the morning? Not only is it impolite, but it's a matter of security. We don't know who you are when you come traipsing into the unit in the middle of the night!
9. Try to choose one family member to be the contact person. Imagine with me this scenario: nurse enters patient's room to give medications, but has to stop half-way through to answer phone. Family member wants an update, nurse happily gives one. Nurse re-enters patient's room to finish med pass, also tries to take patient to bathroom. Has to either return patient to bed or leave patient unattended in bathroom because there is another call. A different family member wants the same update. Nurse complies and then returns to room to help clean patient up (or whatever). Nurse quickly becomes frustrated because she can't care for the patient properly after being called to the phone by yet another family member wanting the same update. Multiply this by eight or nine patients and you can see what a difficult position the nurse is in. Of course you want to check on your loved one--no one doubts that! But the best idea is to choose one family member to be the contact/spokesperson. It will be that person's job to call for an update, and then pass on the info to the family. This makes it easier on everyone involved, and also makes it much easier to give our patients the care they need.
10. Last, but certainly not least! Appreciate your nurses! When you find yourself in a stressful, emotionally draining situation it's easy to take things or people for granted. It's also easy to snap at people. Please know that a nurse is a nurse for a reason. Nurses are human too, and can have good days and bad days. Overall, nurses are in this profession because they really do want to help. They spend their days caring for people in the most intimate ways that you can imagine. They are there with you in the trenches--and that's no small feat! They understand your stress because they are stressed themselves--but they are there because they care. Everything works smoother when we all choose to support and appreciate each other. Remembering the "golden rule" is always wise--"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
If and when you find yourself facing a loved one being hospitalized, your journey will be easier if you take these rules to heart. Not only for your benefit, but the patient will probably have a better recovery too--and isn't that what we're all after?
Veronica Baum is a freelance writer based in the Cleveland, OH area. Also a registered nurse, wife and mother of four.
My writing primarily deals with personal accounts of difficulty, abuse and health issues-and fabulous ways you can overcome them! I choose to focus on ways to improve your quality of life-and joy-while dealing with the everyday struggles of marriage, parenting and career.
How do you meet all of the demands in your world, while still satisfying that still, small voice in your gut telling you what you are called to do in this life? How do you get to the point of decision to not carry around old baggage anymore, leaving it at the nearest Goodwill drop-off instead? These are the issues my writing addresses. I've been there, and I've done that-now I want to share what I've learned. Inspiration, self-help, encouragement and hope are my main themes.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Choosing the right veterinary hospital
Choosing the right veterinary hospital for you and your pet is almost as important as actually choosing your pet! It's a good idea to choose the hospital before you choose your new pet. That way if you have a sudden emergency, you will not have the added stress of picking a veterinary hospital on the spot. Start your search by asking family and friends for recommendations. Doing this helps you begin to narrow down the hospitals. Once you have done that, visit the hospitals that are on your list.
Here are some things to keep in mind during your visits to potential veterinary hospitals:
• Office hours: Be sure to notice if there are regular office hours and make sure that the hours work with your schedule. Also make sure you find out who covers the hospital when the veterinarian is not available.
• Professional staff: The attitude of the staff is very important when choosing a hospital. Take notice of how routine phone calls are handled. Find out if you can request appointments with specific veterinarians and most importantly, make sure that you feel comfortable talking to the entire staff.
• Services: Some hospitals offer services that others do not. Find out what kinds of services are offered at the hospital you're visiting.
• Emergency care: Not all veterinary hospitals handle emergencies, especially after hours. If the hospital doesn't handle during or after hour emergencies, find out if they have an affiliate hospital where they send their patients to in the case of an emergency.
• Fees and payment: Find out what types of payment the hospital accepts. Also, are payments required on the day of a visit, or can you use a payment plan?
• Professional affiliations: Find out if the veterinarians are part of any national veterinary associations.
• Facility: Take a tour of the hospital and make sure that it looks clean and orderly. Also, check for any foul odors.
Once you have made sure that the hospital facilities meet your standards and expectations, you want to make sure that you are comfortable with the veterinarian as well. You should be able to comfortably communicate with your pet's doctor. Make sure that you feel that you can ask questions and that the answers are clearly explained. Your relationship with your veterinarian is essential to your pet's health. Your pet cannot tell the doctor when something is not right, so you need to be able to.
Choosing the right veterinary hospital is an important step in choosing a new pet. Be sure to carefully choose your hospital. Be sure that your pet is going to be as important to the veterinarian as it is to you!
Here are some things to keep in mind during your visits to potential veterinary hospitals:
• Office hours: Be sure to notice if there are regular office hours and make sure that the hours work with your schedule. Also make sure you find out who covers the hospital when the veterinarian is not available.
• Professional staff: The attitude of the staff is very important when choosing a hospital. Take notice of how routine phone calls are handled. Find out if you can request appointments with specific veterinarians and most importantly, make sure that you feel comfortable talking to the entire staff.
• Services: Some hospitals offer services that others do not. Find out what kinds of services are offered at the hospital you're visiting.
• Emergency care: Not all veterinary hospitals handle emergencies, especially after hours. If the hospital doesn't handle during or after hour emergencies, find out if they have an affiliate hospital where they send their patients to in the case of an emergency.
• Fees and payment: Find out what types of payment the hospital accepts. Also, are payments required on the day of a visit, or can you use a payment plan?
• Professional affiliations: Find out if the veterinarians are part of any national veterinary associations.
• Facility: Take a tour of the hospital and make sure that it looks clean and orderly. Also, check for any foul odors.
Once you have made sure that the hospital facilities meet your standards and expectations, you want to make sure that you are comfortable with the veterinarian as well. You should be able to comfortably communicate with your pet's doctor. Make sure that you feel that you can ask questions and that the answers are clearly explained. Your relationship with your veterinarian is essential to your pet's health. Your pet cannot tell the doctor when something is not right, so you need to be able to.
Choosing the right veterinary hospital is an important step in choosing a new pet. Be sure to carefully choose your hospital. Be sure that your pet is going to be as important to the veterinarian as it is to you!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Important Health Services Rendered In Hospitals
It's said that like there is no ‘free lunch’, there are no easy answers, especially when it comes to health care. The recent radical changes in the health care industry have changed all the trends… the health care industry is emerging in a new shape, offering new opportunities and ushering in a new era. With the way the industry continues to change, I've come to realize, even with almost a decade's experience behind me, I have as many questions as I do answers.
Marketing professionals are continually faced with the Herculean task of sending exciting new messages to the target audience – messages which evoke interest and make them visit your health care facility, enable your facility to stand up to face and fare well in the wake of the constant new challenges.
The problem arises when, in zeal to come up with something new, they forget to cash on the goodwill and equity generated by the previous marketing messages. We forget to be consistent.
Being consistent in all our communications going out to the public at large, enables them to identify and relate to a common denominator which is being conveyed through all messages – it can be the customer friendly approach / hospitable staff or an IT savvy health care facility … the message needs to be consistent in all communications to drive home the factor and market it as a USP.
Your marketing message must consistently reinforce the image that you hope is present in every customer's mind. Losing sight of that message causes the perception you've worked hard to develop to slowly erode away.
Consistency is an important aspect in all domains of health care marketing - it's a key component to outstanding customer service. Have you ever thought about how your customers (patients) view your system's services after traversing the continuum of care – from the point of entry into the hospital system to the point of discharge from the hospital system- from the emergency department and admissions to nursing units, radiology, and the lab, patients are treated with varying levels of respect and courtesy. These inconsistencies cause the process to seem disjointed, and the patient to feel unimportant.
Consistency is also vital for your non-hospital services, as well.
Are all of your physicians delivering the same high standard for customer service? What about the physician that has a reputation for always being behind schedule? It's important to remember, in the patient's eyes, your whole system is only as good as the patient's worst experience. It needs to be understood that we need to be explicit when setting customer service expectations for our organization. By giving specific guidelines to all parts of the organization, we can assure a consistent interpretation of what the organization expects when it comes to good customer service.
Marketing professionals are continually faced with the Herculean task of sending exciting new messages to the target audience – messages which evoke interest and make them visit your health care facility, enable your facility to stand up to face and fare well in the wake of the constant new challenges.
The problem arises when, in zeal to come up with something new, they forget to cash on the goodwill and equity generated by the previous marketing messages. We forget to be consistent.
Being consistent in all our communications going out to the public at large, enables them to identify and relate to a common denominator which is being conveyed through all messages – it can be the customer friendly approach / hospitable staff or an IT savvy health care facility … the message needs to be consistent in all communications to drive home the factor and market it as a USP.
Your marketing message must consistently reinforce the image that you hope is present in every customer's mind. Losing sight of that message causes the perception you've worked hard to develop to slowly erode away.
Consistency is an important aspect in all domains of health care marketing - it's a key component to outstanding customer service. Have you ever thought about how your customers (patients) view your system's services after traversing the continuum of care – from the point of entry into the hospital system to the point of discharge from the hospital system- from the emergency department and admissions to nursing units, radiology, and the lab, patients are treated with varying levels of respect and courtesy. These inconsistencies cause the process to seem disjointed, and the patient to feel unimportant.
Consistency is also vital for your non-hospital services, as well.
Are all of your physicians delivering the same high standard for customer service? What about the physician that has a reputation for always being behind schedule? It's important to remember, in the patient's eyes, your whole system is only as good as the patient's worst experience. It needs to be understood that we need to be explicit when setting customer service expectations for our organization. By giving specific guidelines to all parts of the organization, we can assure a consistent interpretation of what the organization expects when it comes to good customer service.
Hospital And Health Care Services
Denver, Colorado offers the best quality healthcare in the state, as well as in the nation for specific medical specialties. Denver is easily accessible from I70 for east to west travelers, and I25 for travelers from the north or south, and is centrally located for patients coming from Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah, New Mexico, and Kansas. People come from all parts of the state and country seeking treatment at such well known Denver hospitals, as the National Jewish Medical and Research Center or the Denver Children’s Hospital.
There are over eighteen Denver hospitals and hospital-affiliated specialty facilities in the metro area, with many of them located within a very close proximity of each other in central Denver. Many online directories and reference sites are available, with links to the websites for all of these top rated medical facilities, including detailed information of types of services offered by each, contact information for various departments, and maps of where these facilities are located in the Denver metro area. Centrally located Denver hospitals include Denver Health Medical Center, a county hospital; Denver Children’s Hospital; specializing in every aspect of medical care for infants and children; Exempla St. Joseph Hospital, a teaching hospital that boasts a state of the art cardiac care unit, and an $8 million labor and delivery unit which delivers the most babies in the state (500 babies per month on average); Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center, specializing in women’s and children’s services; University of Colorado Hospitals and Clinics, a top rated medical school and teaching hospital; National Jewish Medical and Research Center, primarily specializing in respiratory disorders; and St. Anthony Hospital, a well respected trauma facility. Other hospitals located in the surrounding area include Aurora Medical Center, Porter Adventist Hospital, Avista Adventist Hospital, Littleton Adventist Hospital, Swedish Medical Center, US Veterans Medical Hospital, Exempla Lutheran Medical Center, St. Anthony North Hospital, Boulder Foothills Community Hospital, and Longmont United Hospital.
Whatever your medical needs, you will find excellent healthcare facilities in and around the Denver area, offering state of the art technology, highly skilled physicians, nurses, and support staff practicing care in a multitude of medical specialties. Whether you live in or close to the Denver metro area, or are coming from within or out of state, Denver hospitals offer it all. Checkout the many online resources to find which facility offers care for your specific healthcare needs.
There are over eighteen Denver hospitals and hospital-affiliated specialty facilities in the metro area, with many of them located within a very close proximity of each other in central Denver. Many online directories and reference sites are available, with links to the websites for all of these top rated medical facilities, including detailed information of types of services offered by each, contact information for various departments, and maps of where these facilities are located in the Denver metro area. Centrally located Denver hospitals include Denver Health Medical Center, a county hospital; Denver Children’s Hospital; specializing in every aspect of medical care for infants and children; Exempla St. Joseph Hospital, a teaching hospital that boasts a state of the art cardiac care unit, and an $8 million labor and delivery unit which delivers the most babies in the state (500 babies per month on average); Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center, specializing in women’s and children’s services; University of Colorado Hospitals and Clinics, a top rated medical school and teaching hospital; National Jewish Medical and Research Center, primarily specializing in respiratory disorders; and St. Anthony Hospital, a well respected trauma facility. Other hospitals located in the surrounding area include Aurora Medical Center, Porter Adventist Hospital, Avista Adventist Hospital, Littleton Adventist Hospital, Swedish Medical Center, US Veterans Medical Hospital, Exempla Lutheran Medical Center, St. Anthony North Hospital, Boulder Foothills Community Hospital, and Longmont United Hospital.
Whatever your medical needs, you will find excellent healthcare facilities in and around the Denver area, offering state of the art technology, highly skilled physicians, nurses, and support staff practicing care in a multitude of medical specialties. Whether you live in or close to the Denver metro area, or are coming from within or out of state, Denver hospitals offer it all. Checkout the many online resources to find which facility offers care for your specific healthcare needs.
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