Diagnosed: How To Score Best Hospital Friend

Diagnosed “best hospital friend?”
Be the friend who leaves patients (and staff) happier when you visit.
Here’s the cheat sheet on ranking high on the charts of Hospital Visitor Etiquette.

 

Yes, this really is a thing, if you pay attention to what hospitalized friends say.

Some visitors leave the patient relaxed and smiling when they leave.

And some patients heave a sigh of relief and ask the nurse to shut her room door when guests finally disappear into the elevator.

Also, too many cards, gifts and flower bouquets make the caregiving staff sigh, when they can’t find a single empty space to put stuff down.

 

Diagnosed: best hospital friend

When my mother-in-law was in the hospital, her doctor banned flowers, because “they suck oxygen out of the room and slow the healing process.”  Overkill?  Was he simply fed up with no space for his IPad?

The lack of oxygen didn’t concern her, because flower gifts are a huge part of her love language.  The cards and flowers made her feel loved and cared for, and that is important when someone is ill.

Now during the Covid pandemic patients are not allowed visitors or flowers. So this is the time to shower them with cards and letters. Phone calls are good, but they also need physical evidence of caring.

 

 

When a patient is happy, they heal faster.

“The heart of the matter is that it is the heart that matters.
To have optimal cardiovascular health, your emotional and spiritual heart
is just as important as your physical heart,
and care must be given to all aspects of this vital organ.”  

Dr. Cynthia Thaik

Dr. Thaik used scientific words for her conclusions in an article in The Huffington Post.

Words like “…instantaneous cascade of hundreds, if not thousands, of neuropeptides…” and “…production in your brain of norepinephrine and dopamine…”

 

If love is science,
how can you be a good practitioner
for healing in the hospital?
Here’s the cheat sheet:

 

• A get-well card is number one!  Bring this one, or this!
• Bring a gift.  Yes, even flowers, if you know the patient really loves to get flowers.  Promote happiness for all involved by taking the time to replace ugly water in vases already there, trash older wilting bouquets to make room for new, after you ask permission of the patient in a way that they can’t say no.  (Some people find it hard to throw away a gift.)  While pretty flowers are health inducing, faded, stinky flowers are not.
• Bring a book or magazine.  Time moves so slowly when the highlight of your day is the nurse’s chatter as she checks your vitals.
• If the patient is up to it, bring goodies.  Besides the books and magazines, add little packages of favorite snacks; chocolate; cute non-slip socks; luxury lotions and soaps… use your imagination.
• Bring a pretty basket for the accumulation of cards.  While notes and well-wishes are important, it’s also important to have a clutter-free space while keeping them nearby.  The nurses will thank you.
• Love your patient:  Don’t stay too long; stay long enough; come! (Some people don’t like hospitals, and their sick friends feel forgotten); keep the noise at manageable levels; leave the kids at home or bring them in one at a time.
• If you can’t handle going to visit in the hospital, send a card and tell your patient you mowed her lawn or brought in the newspapers or watered her plants.  Do something for her.
• If family is with the patient all the time, include some money in a card for them, for vending machines and cafeteria meals.  Better yet, include a gift card to a nice restaurant for the family for a change from hospital cuisine.

 

These days a lot of these tips don’t apply,
as hospitals have banned visitors.
Can you share your special ideas
on how to show you care during Covid?

 

PS: Read more Inspirational Essays.

PPS: Find Hand Painted Inspirational kimenink© prints and cards here.