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Hospitals can be dangerous places.
Yes, we patients usually enter the hospital expecting to leave in better shape than when we went in.
But being hospitalized exposes us to dangers we don’t usually deal with at home. We lose control of our bodies; other people we don’t know take charge of everything that happens to us. We may be loopy from drugs given to us to alleviate pain or prepare us for procedures. We may have open wounds from an injury or surgery making us vulnerable to infections. Statistics show that hospital dangers kill or maim thousands of Americans each year.
But we aren’t entirely helpless. We can protect ourselves from some of those potential problems by planning ahead, and packing a few accessories:
• Identification: Upon admission to the hospital, you’ll be issued an ID bracelet. Anyone who treats you is supposed to check that bracelet before treating you. But it doesn’t always happen. Mistaken identities can cause patients to be given the wrong drugs or the wrong tests or procedures.
Before you go to the hospital, print your name, boldly and neatly, on a large piece of neon-colored poster board. Then hang it over your hospital bed so there is no question about who you are.
• Antiseptic wipes or sprays (preferably the ones that contain bleach): Once you’re in your room, and periodically during your stay, use these germ-killers on anything you touch – bedrails, telephone, bedside table, TV remote, bathroom door handles – everything. That will help prevent the spread of infection that others may bring into your room. If you can’t do it yourself, ask a visitor or advocate to help.
• Shoes or slippers with rubber soles. When you walk to the bathroom or down the hall, those rubbery treads will keep you from slipping or falling.
• A cell phone and the phone number for the hospital’s front desk or emergency department: Upon arrival, make note of your room number. Many patients find themselves needing immediate help. They push their call buttons and wait, and wait and wait – and wait. If you find yourself in a true emergency, one worth interrupting hospital personnel, then make that phone call, provide your room number and describe your emergency.
There are few times in our lives we feel as vulnerable as we do in the hospital. Preparing ahead , and taking a patient advocate with you, will relieve some of that feeling, and will keep us safer while we are there. |
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Learn more:
How to Choose the Best Hospital for You
What is a Hospital Never Event?
How the Calendar and Time of Day Affect Hospital Medical Mistakes |
