 Visitor & Patient Services |
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Dining & Food Service Wholesome, nourishing and well-balanced meals are an important part of your treatment and recovery. Lake Region Healthcare makes every effort to provide nutritious meals that are prepared according to the diet prescribed by your doctor.
A full-service cafeteria is located on the ground floor of the hospital, as are vending machines. Visitors are welcome in the cafeteria or may bring their meal upstairs to the patient's room.
Smoking is not permitted anywhere on the health care campus including parking lots.
Latex balloons are not permitted in the facility as many people are acutely sensitive and allergic to latex products. Mylar balloons are acceptable.
Flowers & Mail Flowers and mail are distributed soon after their arrival. Incoming mail is distributed at least once a day. Letters you want to mail may be given to any member of the nursing staff. Any mail or flowers received after you have been discharged from the hospital will be forwarded to your home.
Telephones are available for each patient. Your room and bed extension number is located on your telephone. You may want to give this number to family and friends so they can call you directly during visiting hours. If you would like to not receive any calls, please notify your nurse.
To make local calls, dial 9, wait for a dial tone, then dial the number. For long distance calls, please call collect, use your credit card or have the calls billed to your home phone.
Books and magazines are available from the library cart provided by the LRH Auxiliary on Mondays and Thursdays. For reading material on other days, please let your nurse know. Before you leave the hospital, please leave any of these materials in your room or in the special container at the nurses station on your unit.
Patient education is provided by each department involved in your care. Staff members will use a variety of videos, pamphlets and handouts to help you and your family understand your condition and how to care for yourself upon discharge. A Patient Resource Center is located in the lower level of the hospital where a pre-surgery program is offered to surgical patients to better prepare and relieve some of their anxiety.
Visual and hearing impaired services will be offered to those with visual and hearing impairments. A variety of other communication equipment including a V/TDD telephone system and interpreter services are available at no direct charge to the patient. Please inform the nursing staff if you need these services.
Notary Public Service Notary public service is available in several departments. Inform a nurse that you need this service and arrangements will be made.
Chaplaincy services are available for spiritual care and guidance to you and your family members. If you would like a visit from the Chaplain, ask your nurse or call 8000 and ask for the Chaplain. You may wish to contact your pastor during your stay here if you haven’t already. The LRH Chapel, on the Second Floor, is open to you, family members and visitors at any time of the day.
Social workers are available to assist patients and families with questions and concerns in a number of areas including discharge planning, referrals to community service agencies, emotional support, counseling and financial questions.
Social workers can be of special assistance to individuals and families coping with the emotional effects of illness or diseases, considering nursing home placement, needing information about Medicare coverage, insurance, financial public assistance or in-home services. If you need help with personal or family problems while hospitalized or want to use any of the above services, please ask to see a social worker. There is no charge for this service.
Going home is often the best part of any hospital stay. When your doctor feels that you are medically ready to leave the hospital, he or she will write your discharge orders. Before you leave the hospital, the nursing staff will help you prepare to go home by helping you to:
We will assist you in making arrangements to go home. This may involve conferences with your physician and other healthcare professionals. If home care is necessary, we can assist through our Home Health Care department or a referral can be made to another agency of your choice. If you need to wait for someone to pick you up, you are welcome to stay in your room or in the lounge on your unit. If you need help in arranging a ride home, we will be happy to assist.
Your Bill Your bill will include all of the hospital charges incurred during your stay. Your physicians will provide you with a separate bill that covers their services. Our business office staff will assist you in understanding the financial implications of your hospital charges. The business office is open Mon. through Fri., 8am to 4:30 pm. If you have hospitalization insurance, we are able to take an “insurance assignment”, which authorizes your insurance company to pay us directly. We ask only that when you are discharged you pay the estimated difference between your total bill and your estimated insurance coverage. When you were admitted you were asked to sign an “insurance billing authorization” to enable us to bill and receive direct payment from your insurance company. Our hospital policy on self-pay accounts is payment-in-full within 30 days of notification of the balance due. Our business office staff will be happy to meet with you to discuss a payment plan if you need one. Payment plans must be an approved amount and time period that meet hospital guidelines. If you are without funds, several agencies are available to provide financial assistance. A staff member from the business office or a hospital social worker will assist you in making the necessary arrangements.
Patient satisfaction is important to us and we hope your stay with us will be positive. We strive to give you quality care and personal attention. A few days after you return home, you may receive a follow-up telephone survey. If you are selected, we would greatly appreciate you taking part as your feedback will be utilized to improve the quality of care provided to our patients. If you have concerns that need follow-up, please include your name and telephone number.
We want you to be happy with your stay at Lake Region Healthcare. Patients are encouraged to be involved in their own care by reporting any safety concerns or any other health care issues in question. If you have concerns about your stay here, please tell us right away. Ask to speak to a manager who can help with your concern. We want to hear from you. If you talk to a manager and you still have a grievance, you, your nearest relative, or the person responsible for you while you are a patient may call the Patient Representative at extension 8027, the Quality Director at extension 8361 or the Chief Nursing Executive at extension 8365. If they are unavailable, a voicemail may be left or immediate assistance may be gained by calling the LRH House Supervisor (736-8000 and page). If you are not satisfied with our response, or if you prefer at the outset, you may submit your grievance or complaint to one of the following:
Lake Region Healthcare Corporation main number: 736-8000 • 800 439-6424
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