Being an Inpatient

Partners in Healthcare
The most important thing you can do to ensure good care and prevent medical errors is to be an active partner in your own healthcare. You have a right to ask questions of anyone involved in your care — and we encourage you to do so. Make a list of your symptoms and any questions you have to ask the doctor or nurse. Take notes (or have a family or friend do so) when medical personnel talk to you to help you remember. And you should feel very free to speak up if you have any questions or concerns.

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Patient Rights

Hospital patients in New York State have certain rights and responsibilities. Upon admission, you will receive a booklet outlining all such information.

As a patient in a hospital in New York State, you have the right, consistent with law, to:

Understand and use these rights. If for any reason you do not understand or you need help, the hospital must provide assistance, including an interpreter.
Receive treatment without discrimination as to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, source of payment, or age.
Receive considerate and respectful care in a clean and safe environment free of unnecessary restraints.
Receive emergency care if you need it.
Be informed of the name and position of the doctor who will be in charge of your care in the hospital.
Know the names, positions and functions of any hospital staff involved in your care and refuse their treatment, examination or observation.
A no smoking room.
Receive complete information about your diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.
Receive all the information that you need to give informed consent for any proposed procedure or treatment. This information shall include the possible risks and benefits of the procedure or treatment.
Receive all the information you need to give informed consent for an order not to resuscitate. You also have the right to designate an individual to give this consent for you if you are too ill to do so. If you would like additional information, please ask for a copy of the pamphlet "Do Not Resuscitate Orders — A Guide for Patients and Families."
Refuse treatment and be told what effect this may have on your health.
Refuse to take part in research. In deciding whether or not to participate, you have the right to a full explanation.
Privacy while in the hospital and confidentiality of all information and records regarding your care.
Participate in all decisions about your treatment and discharge from the hospital. The hospital must provide you with a written discharge plan and written description of how you can appeal your discharge.
Review your medical record without charge. Obtain a copy of your medical record for which the hospital can charge a reasonable fee. You cannot be denied a copy solely because you cannot afford to pay.
Receive an itemized bill and explanation of all charges.
Complain without fear of reprisals about the care and services you are receiving and to have the hospital respond to you and if you request it, a written response. If you are not satisfied with the hospital's response, you can complain to the New York State Health Department. The hospital must provide you with the State Health Department telephone number.
Authorize those family members and other adults who will be given priority to visit consistent with your ability to receive visitors.
Make known your wishes in regard to anatomical gifts. You may document your wishes in your health care proxy or on a donor card, available from the hospital.

Public Health Law (PHL)2803 (1)(g)Patient's Rights, 10NYCRR, 405.7,405.7(a)(1),405.7(c)

Patient Responsibilities

Just as patients have certain rights, you will also have certain responsibilities as a patient at Crouse Hospital. You must:

Follow hospital rules and regulations.
Give information about past illnesses, hospitalizations, medications and other matters relating to your health.
Tell your doctor or nurse if you are in pain; to ask what to expect regarding pain relief; and to talk with your doctor or nurse about any worries you may have about pain or pain medication.
Cooperate with our staff, and to ask questions if you do not understand any instructions or information.
Be considerate of other patients, guests and hospital staff, and to see that your visitors are considerate as well.
Keep your appointments or to call the hospital if you must postpone them.
Follow the treatment plan you and your doctor make, and to report any changes in your condition.
Take reasonable measures to protect your personal belongings.
Be respectful of others' property, and the property of the hospital.
Fulfill the financial obligations of your healthcare.

Speak Up!

At Crouse Hospital, it is our privilege to serve you. Your stay with us — and how you are treated, the type of care you receive from our healthcare team and how satisfied you are with that care and treatment — are very important to us.

As a patient, you can make your care safer by being an active, involved and informed member of your healthcare team. Research shows that patients who take part in decisions about their own healthcare are more likely to get better faster.

To help prevent healthcare mistakes, patients are urged to “Speak Up.” We’re pleased to provide the following information, which you may find helpful if you’re going to be a patient at Crouse Hospital or any healthcare facility:

Speak up if you have questions or concerns, and if you don’t understand something you’ve been told, ask again. It’s your body and you have the right to know.

Pay attention to the care you are receiving. Make sure you’re getting the right treatments and medications by the right healthcare professionals. Don’t assume anything.

Educate yourself about your diagnosis, the medical tests you are undergoing, and your treatment plan.

Ask a trusted family member or friend to be your advocate.

Know what medications you take and why you take them. Medication errors are the most common healthcare mistakes.

Use a hospital, clinic, surgery center, or other type of healthcare organization that has undergone a rigorous on-site evaluation against established, state-of-the-art quality and safety standards, such as that provided by the Joint Commission.

Participate in all decisions about your treatment. Remember: You are the center of the healthcare team.

Privacy and Confidentiality
As a patient at Crouse Hospital you have the right to physical privacy during medical treatment and personal hygiene functions, unless you need assistance. Crouse Hospital also ensures confidential treatment of information about you. Information in your records will not be released to anyone outside the hospital without your approval, unless required by law. Crouse Hospital uses and discloses protected health information for treatment, payment and operations and otherwise indicated in the Notice of Privacy Practices. As a patient, you will be asked upon admission to designate a person(s) who may receive information about your health status. The person(s) identified will be given a four-digit code and instructed that the code will be asked for when telephoning for information regarding your health status.

Release of Information
Your privacy is very important to us. Upon admission you may request that your name not be included in the hospital patient directory. By doing so, your name and room number will not be made available to visitors or callers. In addition, Crouse Hospital will not deliver mail or flowers to your room, and upon discharge your mail will not be forwarded to your home. If you wish to change your status, please notify your nurse.

Patient Complaints

While we strive to provide you with the best patient care and quality service, if you have been disappointed during your stay at Crouse, please let us know why.

You have the right to express complaints about your care and services, and to have the hospital investigate such complaints. To voice a complaint or concern, please call Patient and Guest Relations at 315/470-7087. If you request, we will provide you or your designee a written response indicating the findings of the investigation. If you are not satisfied with Unity Hospital's response, you may contact:

New York State Department of Health
Centralized Hospital Intake Program
433 River Street 6th Floor
Troy, New York 12180
800-804-5447
You may also contact The Joint Commission at 800-994-6610.

Managing Pain

One of your responsibilities as a patient is to tell your doctor or nurse if you are in pain; to ask what to expect regarding pain relief; and to talk with your doctor or nurse about any worries you may have about pain or pain medication.

Pain control is necessary to enhance your recovery. Crouse Hospital uses the zero to 10 pain scale, and you will be asked to express the level of pain your may experience according to this number system.

Care Coordination Services

Care Coordination is our quality commitment to you. Our team works with your physician, the healthcare team and your insurance company to make sure you receive the right care once you leave our hospital. We also provide psychosocial assessment and intervention for patients and families with social, psychological and/or environmental needs. These needs may be related to future or current admission, diagnosis, medical treatment and discharge.

ID Bracelet
Once admitted you will be given an identification bracelet with your name and Crouse Hospital medical record number. For your safety, please do not remove the bracelet until you are discharged from the hospital.

Palliative Medicine
The trained staff of our Palliative Medicine is available to help meet the needs of patients and families with an experienced, compassionate multidisciplinary team that includes specially trained physicians, nurse practitioners, social workers, chaplains, volunteers and ethicists. Patients, family members, physicians and hospital staff may request a consultation by calling 315/470-7111 to page a Palliative Medicine team member.

Valuable or Lost Items
If you lose something during your stay in the hospital, please notify your nurse immediately and we will make every effort to help you find it. You may inquire about lost and found items by calling Security at 315/470-7826. For further assistance, please call Patient and Guest Relations at 315/470-7087.

Accommodations

Our nursing and support staff will strike to make your stay at Crouse as comfortable as possible through some of the following amenities and services.

Telephone Service
Unlimited local phone service is available for $4 a day. To order telephone service dial call 315/470-8080 from your bedside phone. Service may also be ordered for you from outside the hospital by calling 1-800/288-7351. After local service has been ordered, long-distance calls may be made by either dialing directly at operated assisted rates or by using a credit card, calling card or phone card. Please note: dialing long distance directly is quite expensive. For your convenience, calling cards may be purchased in the hospital gift shop located in the Irving Lobby, or you may bring in a calling card.

Cell Phone Usage
For patient and visitor convenience, cellular devices (phones, PDAs, two-way pagers, family walkie-talkies, etc.) may be used in lobbies, cafeterias, visitor waiting areas, and private offices at Crouse Hospital. However, these devices need to be powered OFF when carried into certain clinical areas (all restricted areas will be indicated with appropriate signage).

Frequently Called Numbers
The main telephone number for Crouse Hospital is 315/470-7111 and Patient Information is 315/470-7511. Since room assignments may change, your relatives and friends should check with Patient Information for your correct number. To dial your room directly from outside the hospital, the number is (315) 299 plus the four-digits of the phone number for your bed. Here's a list of other important phone numbers at Crouse Hospital.

Television Service
TV service (including network and 60 cable channels) can be ordered anytime by dialing ext. 8700 from your bedside phone. There is a one-time activation charge of $3.50 and a daily fee of $5 that will be added to your home telephone bill or to a designated credit card. It is not necessary for you to pay for these services while you are in the hospital. Fees will be placed on your monthly home telephone bill as “billed on behalf of Pathway Solutions” on the ESBI portion of your bill, or on the bill of a designated credit card. When you are discharged, you do not need to call to cancel television or phone service as it will be done automatically. If you are transferred to another room while a patient here, please activate the service using the phone in your new room. Your current account information will be transferred and you will not incur a new activation charge. Hospital channels are available at no cost whether you activate the television service or not.

Free Wireless Internet Access
Crouse Hospital is pleased to provide our patients, families and visitors with free wireless Internet service. Crouse Wi-Fi is available throughout the hospital.

Meals
You will be visited by a member of the Food and Nutrition Services Department to select meals for the following day.

Your nutritional needs are supervised by a dietician. If you have any problems with your menu selections, food delivery, or quality of your food, please contact Nutritional Services. Visitors are not allowed to bring you food or beverages unless approved by your doctor, dietician, or nurse.

Favors
Patients and visitors may call our Favors line at ext. 3111 to order food items, such as sandwiches, salads and snacks. Once a dietician has confirmed that your order meets your prescribed diet, your order will be delivered to your room. While this service is free-of-charge for patients, normal cafeteria prices will apply for visitors. Items from the gift shop, such as newspapers and writing materials, are also offered for the comfort and convenience of our patients. Favors hours are from 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., weekdays.

Spiritual Care
The spiritual needs of patients and their families are important to the concept of total healthcare at Crouse Hospital. If you would like to speak with a chaplain from Spiritual Care Services, please ask your nurse or any staff person to let us know if you would like a visit, or contact 315/470-7615 or the hospital operator.

S-h-h-h
You may notice “S-h-h-h” signs throughout the hospital. That’s because we take our patient’s needs for rest and sleep seriously as you recuperate. You can help by keeping your television volume high enough for you to hear but low enough so that your roommate will be able to rest. To help you to hear better and to preserve your neighbor’s “quiet zone,” we can provide you with a headset that attaches to the pillow speaker or amplifiers to give you the level of sound so that you can enjoy television programming. There is no charge for this.

Smoking
For the health of our patients and visitors, Crouse Hospital is 100% smoke-free. Smoking outside of the hospital is restricted to areas that are more than 100 feet away from hospital property.

Language Assistance Program
Language barriers can make it difficult for patients to obtain information about medical services, make appointments and navigate the healthcare system. Crouse Hospital’s Language Assistance Program is in place to ensure appropriate access to care and services for patients with limited English proficiency and/or hearing impairment who require communication assistance.

If you are hearing impaired or need a language interpreter, please let us know. Special TDD phones are available. Our TDD line is 315/470-7914. Interpretation services for non-English speaking patients are also available upon request.

Care Coordination
Your medical team will work with you so you may leave the hospital as quickly as possible, but only when leaving will be more beneficial to you than continuing your stay. Our Care Coordination Services staff starts to plan for your discharge almost as soon as you arrive. You and your family will meet with a social worker who will help you plan for your transition from hospital to home, or to other facilities as needed.