Your Hospital Stay
Advance Directives
Advance directives are documents that state your choices about medical treatment or name someone to make decisions about your medical treatment, if you are unable to make these decisions or choices yourself. They are called “advance” directives, because they are signed in advance to let your doctor and other healthcare providers know your wishes concerning medical treatment. Patients’ advance directives are kept as part of the permanent medical record. If you do not have an advance directive, you will be given information on the types of directives that may be issued and the rights associated with them. An advance directive can be changed or revoked at any time.
If a physician or hospital administrator is unwilling to comply with the wishes in an advance directive or those made by the agent, the physician or administrator must take all reasonable steps to arrange your transfer to another physician and/or facility to carry out your wishes.
Quality of Care/Patient Safety
Carlsbad Medical Center has a process to address quality of care/safety concerns and questions from employees, medical staff and patients. Clinical staff and other employees have the responsibility to report patient care or safety issues to their charge nurse or departmental director. If the concern is not resolved to your satisfaction, the hospital's chain of command will be consulted. You may speak to someone from Administration by calling 887-4570. You may also report a safety or quality concern about care provided at Carlsbad Medical Center to the Joint Commission (JCAHO) at 630-792-5000 or at www.jcaho.org.
Discharge Checklist
The following checklist is provided to help you prepare for going home after a hospital stay:
- Your nurse will provide instructions about continuing care at home.
- Talk to your doctor about any home care needs.
- Pack all your personal items bought from home and everything acquired at the hospital.
- Withdraw valuables deposited in the hospital safe.
- Let your nurse know where you would like any packages or mail forwarded.
- Retrieve any medications being held at the pharmacy.
- If you have already made payment arrangements, you, or your representative, should go to the cashiers’ office to complete any necessary arrangements. You should plan to pay any charges that are not covered by your insurance at this time.
Discharge Planning and Case Management
Today’s healthcare insurance environment is complex for anyone dealing with Medicare, Medicaid, private insurers, or other regulatory governmental agencies. To assist you, a Case Manager is assigned to you while you are hospitalized. The Case Manager is a liaison between you and your insurers, as well as other members of the healthcare team.
Each Case Manager offers patients and families advice and assistance with various options available when a patient is ready to move to another level of care, whether it be in a hospital system, the community, or at home. This is called Discharge Planning.
For assistance in identifying your designated Case Manager, contact the Quality and Resource Management Department at 575-887-4478/4468.
Meals
Patients are served three times a day, plus between-meal snacks on a prescribed diet. Each day, patients may select the next day’s meal from a menu of options. Questions or concerns about your diet are answered by requesting to speak with the hospital dietician.
Please remember that insurance will not cover charges for guest meals. Details about Dietary Services are located under Hospital Services on the website.
Non-Discrimination Policy
In accordance with federal and state law, Carlsbad Medical Center will not, directly or through contractual arrangements, discriminate on the basis of:
- Age, race, color, religion, or national origin, regarding employment practices, admissions or its provisions of services and benefits, including assignments or transfers or referrals to or from Carlsbad Medical Center. Staff privileges are granted without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin.
- Disability in admission, access, treatment, or employment practices.
- Age in the provision of services, unless age is a factor necessary to normal operations or the achievement of any statutory objective.
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