Welcome About BRRH Your Stay Your Hospital Team Your Safety and Security Your Visitors Special Services   Financial Arrangements/Billing Going Home Advance Directives Opportunities to Help The BRRH Foundation Telephone Listing Patient Rights and Responsibilities

Welcome

Welcome to Blue Ridge Regional Hospital. We are pleased that you and your physician have entrusted your health and well-being to us. It is our challenge to do everything we can to justify that trust.

We know that hospitalization is never an entirely pleasant experience, but we will do our best to make you as comfortable as possible. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask your physician or your nurse.

During or after your stay with us, you are likely to be asked about your experience. We hope you will respond frankly. Only by hearing from patients like you can we know if we are doing a good job, and can we find ways to improve our service. Whether or not you are asked to complete one of our patient satisfaction surveys, we encourage you to write to us about any specific problems, questions or compliments you may have. Email us at [email protected]

Again, thank you for choosing Blue Ridge Regional Hospital. We wish you well.

Keith Holtsclaw, CEO
Blue Ridge Regional Hospital

Visitors

Visitors are an important part of the healing process. We try to make visiting as easy and convenient as possible, but we also want to make sure each patient receives enough rest and privacy.

There are special guidelines for visitors in each nursing department. Families will be given this information. Depending on the patient's condition, visitors may be asked to limit their time in the patient's room. Our nurses can address any specific questions you might have.

Patients may have one overnight guest in their room under most circumstances.

Well-meaning visitors can make it hard to get enough rest and privacy. If a patient wishes to limit visitors or incoming calls, arrangements can be made with that patient's nurse.

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About Blue Ridge Regional Hospital

Our Mission

We exist to serve our community and surrounding area by providing access to quality health services for all people. We will do this by promoting wellness, meeting or exceeding our patient’s needs and continually striving for excellence.

Our Vision

We will be leaders in providing health services and creating partnerships that improve our community’s health.

Our Values

• Commitment
• Compassion
• Integrity
• Pursuit of excellence
• Dignity of the individual

A Little About Our History

The need for a community hospital in this area was felt as far back as 1926. Dr. Charles Peterson and Dr. Paul McBee began the necessary groundwork, but when the Great Depression struck in 1929, plans for the community hospital were shelved.

Through the years, discussion continued and convictions for a hospital deepened. In 1953, the Spruce Pine Junior Woman's Club believed the time had come to try again. Participating in the "Finer Carolina Program," this club initiated a project they hoped would stimulate community interest for a more adequate medical facility.

After a highly attended town-wide meeting, a $100,000 hospital building campaign was launched. Everyone living within a 50-mile radius of Spruce Pine was asked to give his or her support. In six short weeks, approximately 2,500 people made donations totaling $102,000. With additional funding from the State and the Duke Endowment, the dream of having a modern hospital in this small, mountain community became a reality.

Blue Ridge Regional Hospital, then Spruce Pine Community Hospital, opened its doors to the public in November of 1955. And today, thanks to the continued support of its community, Blue Ridge Regional Hospital is one of the most financially stable small hospitals in the Carolinas.

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Your Stay

Your Accommodations

Because our nursing units are specialized, your room assignment will be based upon your admitting diagnosis and the bed availability on the day of your admission. The staff on your unit is uniquely prepared to take care of your medical needs.

Your Room

All of our patient rooms are private rooms. This ensures no disturbances or unwanted visitors, and maintains the confidentiality of each patient. If you have any questions, or need assistance with accommodations, please ask your nurse.

Your Bed

Our hospital beds are electronically operated, and your nurse will show you how to work your bed properly. Your bed is probably higher and narrower than your bed at home. Bedside rails are for your protection. They may be raised at night or during the day if you’re resting, recovering from surgery, or taking certain medications that may make you at risk for falls.

Calling Your Nurse

Your nurse will show you the call button and how to use it. Please call for help when you need it, especially if you feel your condition has changed. When you call, please mention what you need. This will help us send the right person to you as quickly as possible.

During the Night

Strange surroundings and sleeping medications may create a hazard if you get out of bed. If you feel you need assistance during the night, please use your call button.

Leaving Your Room

You may feel well enough to walk around during your recovery, and your doctor may recommend it. If so, we would prefer that you stay on your nursing unit. If you do leave, please tell your nurse first.

Television

Color television sets with remote controls are provided in each patient room. A wide variety of popular cable channels is available.

Telephones

Telephones are provided in each patient room. Courtesy phones are also located in waiting areas throughout the hospital: Ground Floor lobby, Emergency Department waiting area, Outpatient/Surgical waiting area, First Floor Solarium, CCU waiting area, Second Floor Solarium.

Local calls are free. Dial 9 to get an outside line, and then dial the number you wish to call. For calls to Burnsville or Asheville, dial 8. For long distance or credit card calls, dial 0 for the operator’s assistance. The operator will be glad to help you place your call.

Let your family and friends know that the hospital has a toll-free number: 1-877-777-8230.

Rest and Privacy

Your hospital stay is likely to be short and very busy. You need as much rest as possible between tests and procedures. If you feel you are having too many visitors and telephone calls, a nurse can place a "Do Not Disturb" sign on your door and temporarily block incoming calls.

Food and Nutrition

Wholesome, nourishing and well-balanced meals are an important part of your treatment and recovery. We make every effort to provide nutritious meals that are prepared according to your doctor’s orders.

Patients are generally served breakfast at 7:45 a.m., lunch at 11:45 a.m. and supper at 4:45 p.m.

Occasionally your meal may be delayed if you are scheduled for a special test or treatment. Whenever possible, you will be served after your examination or test.

If you are on a special diet prescribed by your doctor, you will receive food selections tailored to your specific needs.

If a family member or friend wants to eat in your room with you, he or she may go to the cafeteria, buy a meal there and take it back to your room. If your visitor does not want to go to the cafeteria, a guest meal tray can be delivered to your room. Please see your nurse about this arrangement.

Vending machines are available in the Second Floor Solarium, on the First Floor near the elevators, in the Emergency Department waiting room and in the cafeteria on the Ground Floor. Please note that the cafeteria closes at 6 p.m. each evening.

Mail and Flowers

Each day, mail and flowers addressed to you will be brought to your room. Mail received after your discharge will be forwarded to your home address.

Tobacco Use

As a hospital, we promote wellness and are committed to providing the cleanest, healthiest environment possible for our patients, visitors and staff. As a result, tobacco use of any kind is not permitted anywhere on the hospital campus.

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Your Hospital Team

Many people will care for you during your hospital stay. All Blue Ridge Regional Hospital staff wear official name tags. We hope that you will speak up about what you want and need. Write down your questions so that you will be ready to ask your doctor or nurse. Don’t hesitate to express your concerns. This will help us meet your needs.

The Medical Staff

The physician who admits you is responsible for directing your care while you are in the hospital. As the coordinator for your treatment, he or she should be consulted if you have questions about your illness.

The Nursing Staff

Twenty-four hour nursing care is provided by a team of professional registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and certified nurse assistants. The nursing unit director is the manager of your nursing unit and has overall responsibility for its operation. If you have questions or concerns about the care you are receiving, or have a compliment to share, please ask for your unit supervisor.

Hospital Chaplains

Hospital chaplains are available to provide spiritual and emotional support to all patients or their families, regardless of their faith or religious tradition, 24 hours a day. Your nurse can contact a chaplain at your request, or you can dial 0 for the operator and request the chaplain on call.

We welcome your own priest, minister or rabbi to visit you while you are here; however, because of the privacy practices outlined in the Healthcare Information Portability and Accessibility Act of 1996, we will not automatically notify your church that you are hospitalized. If you choose to be a “No Information” patient, meaning that your name and room number are not listed in the hospital directory, you must make sure your church or synagogue has your room number.

Bibles are available in English and Spanish. Please ask your nurse.

Discharge Planners

If emotional, social or financial problems related to your medical condition arise while you are here, medical social workers are available to help. Their services include counseling information and referral and discharge planning. Our healthcare professionals can also assist you with needs following your stay, such as finding appropriate home health or other follow-up care. Medical social workers are knowledgeable about resources in your community, such as Meals on Wheels, and can help put you in touch with them. To reach one of these professionals, ask your nurse to contact the Discharge Planner.

Business Office

A representative from the Business Office can answer questions about your hospital bill and help you interpret financial policies and billing procedures at the hospital. Please refer to the “Financial Arrangements/Billing” section in the Guide to Patient and Visitor Services handbook located in every patient room, or contact the Business Office at (828) 766-1725 for more information.

Other Important Team Members

Our volunteers are members of the community who help in many ways. They serve in waiting areas, bring mail and flowers, and can get you magazines, books or special items from our Gift Shop.

A dietitian or a diet technician will work with you to recommend diets for health and healing, and work on any special dietary needs you may have.

Pharmacists make sure that you receive the correct medication and that it works with your diet, medical condition and the other medications you are taking.

A member of our housekeeping staff will clean your room daily. If there is a housekeeping problem in your room, tell your nurse and it will be taken care of as soon as possible.

Phlebotomists draw samples of your blood for testing in the Laboratory.

Physical therapists help you regain strength and coordination with special exercises.

Respiratory therapists provide breathing help and treatments.

In addition, your healthcare team includes many behind-the-scenes staff, such as accountants, engineers, secretaries, food service workers and others who contribute greatly to your well-being while you are here.

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Your Safety and Security

Oxygen

Special regulations are in effect in areas where patients are receiving oxygen. Electrically operated equipment and aerosol products are not permitted in these areas. Smoking or tobacco use of any kind is not permitted on the hospital campus.

Medications

All medications you take while in the hospital are prescribed by your doctor, dispensed by the hospital pharmacy, and administered by a nurse. Patients are not permitted to administer their own drugs or keep personal medications at their bedside, except with physician orders. If you must bring your personal medications in to show your physician and nurse what you are taking, please have someone then take them home. While you are here, you will be given the same medicines from the hospital pharmacy (as your physician prescribes).

If you are an inpatient and would like to speak with a pharmacist about your medication therapy, you may call 1840 and ask the office personnel to connect you with the pharmacist.

Name Badges

All Blue Ridge Regional Hospital employees are required to wear an official name badge. If someone enters your room not wearing a name badge, ask to see the person’s badge. If he or she cannot show you proper identification, ring the nurses’ call bell.

Valuable or Lost Items

Please leave all credit cards, jewelry or valuables at home, and if you must have cash for incidentals, please keep only a small amount in your room. Make sure your car has been locked and valuables have been placed in the trunk. Limit your personal items from home and store your belongings carefully in your assigned room to help prevent loss. Your nurse can provide you with special containers for your glasses, dentures or hearing aids. To trace lost and found items, please ask your nurse.

Electrical Appliances

We discourage the use of personal electrical appliances brought from home such as curling irons, radios or hair dryers. All appliances should be UL approved. Ask your nurse to inspect them before using.

Standard Precautions

Infections can occur after many types of medical procedures. This is particularly true if you are having surgery. There are several things you can do to help prevent infections from developing in the hospital:

• Wash your hands carefully after handling any type of soiled material. This is especially important after you have gone to the bathroom.
• Since you are part of your healthcare team, do not be afraid to remind doctors and nurses about washing their hands before working with you.
• If you have an intravenous catheter, keep the skin around the dressing clean and dry.
• Tell your nurse promptly if the dressing works loose or gets wet.
• Likewise, if you have a dressing on a wound, let your nurse know promptly if it works loose or gets wet.
• If you have any type of catheter or drainage tube, let your nurse know promptly if it becomes loose or dislodged.
• If you have diabetes, be sure that you and your doctor discuss the best way to control your blood sugar before, during and after your hospital stay. High blood sugar increases the risk of infection noticeably.
• If you are overweight, losing weight will reduce the risk of infection following surgery.
• If you are a smoker, you should consider a smoking cessation program. This will reduce the chance of developing a lung infection while in the hospital and may also improve your healing abilities following surgery.
• Carefully follow your doctor’s instructions regarding breathing treatments and getting out of bed.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help, advice or sufficient pain medications!
• If possible, ask your friends and relatives not to visit if they themselves feel ill.

“Speak Out” if you have questions about your care

Blue Ridge Regional Hospital is committed to your recovery while you are a patient at our facility. You will find a list of Patient Rights in a handbook in your room that clarifies what you can expect as a patient at BRRH. To help you have a safer stay at our organization, we ask that you consider the following suggestions.

• Be an active member of your healthcare team. This means taking part in every decision about your healthcare. Patients who are more involved in their care tend to get better results.
• Make sure your doctors know about every medicine you are taking. This includes prescription and over-the-counter medicines and dietary supplements such as vitamins and herbal medicines.
• Make sure your doctor knows about any allergies and adverse reactions you have had to medicines.
• When your doctor writes you a prescription, make sure you can read it. If you can’t read it, your pharmacist may not be able to either.
• Ask for information about your medicines in terms you can understand. What is the medicine for? What side effects are likely? Should I take this medicine with food or drink?
• Ask all healthcare workers who have direct contact with you whether they have washed their hands.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions about your care so that you fully understand your treatment plan and expected outcomes. You and your family and friends will be able to better facilitate your recovery.

Wheelchairs

Wheelchairs are available on all nursing units, but getting in and out of them without assistance may be hazardous. Please ask for help from a member of our hospital staff.

Fire Drills

If a fire drill occurs while you are here, a staff member will shut your door. Please remain in your room with your visitors and do not become alarmed. If a true fire does occur, our staff will direct and assist you to the proper exit. The hospital is a fire-resistant building, and the staff is trained in fire protection.

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Your Visitors

Visiting Hours and Regulations

Visitors are an important part of the healing process. We try to make visiting as easy and convenient as possible, but we also want to make sure each patient receives enough rest and privacy.

There are special guidelines for visitors in each nursing department. Families will be given this information. Depending on the patient’s condition, visitors may be asked to limit their time in the patient’s room. If you have questions, please ask your nurse.

Patients may have one overnight guest stay with them in their room under most circumstances. A day bed is provided in each patient room to accommodate visitors and family members staying overnight.

A note for patients: Well-meaning visitors can make it hard to get enough rest and privacy. If you would like to limit visitors, or have your incoming calls temporarily blocked, ask your nurse.

Condition Reports

Any personal information about your diagnosis and treatment must come from your physicians, and this information is only available to members of your immediate family or others you designate to receive it.

Gifts for Patients

Visitors should check with the nurse before bringing gifts of food or drink to patients. Please check with the nurse to make sure your gift is appropriate.

Gift Shop

The Blue Ridge Regional Hospital Gift Shop offers toiletries, artificial flowers, sweets, toys, balloons, baby items and other unique gifts. All proceeds from our Gift Shop and special sales events are used to fund medical scholarships, the Green Thumb Committee that maintains the hospital’s flowerbeds and the volunteers’ hospitality cart that’s available to visitors of critically ill patients. The Gift Shop is located in the Ground Floor Lobby. Hours vary and are posted on the Gift Shop door.

Parking

Blue Ridge Regional Hospital provides free parking for your convenience. If your stay will be extended, you might prefer to have a friend or relative drive your car home. As always, please remember to lock your car and place valuables out of sight or in the trunk. As we continue our expansion and renovation project, please bear with us as parking changes may take place. Please look for directional signs, and take advantage of our friendly staff and volunteers to help guide you on your way.

Waiting Areas

There are specially designated lounge areas for visitors on each patient floor and on the Ground Floor in the lobby. Specific waiting areas have been designated for families of patients in the Critical Care Unit, the Emergency Department and the Outpatient/Surgical Services Department. During certain hours, a volunteer is on duty in the Outpatient/Surgical Services waiting area to assist family members during the patient's surgery.

Accommodations

There are several hotels and bed & breakfasts in close proximity to Blue Ridge Regional Hospital in a variety of price ranges.

Spruce Pine (in town):

Pinebridge Inn, (828) 765-5543

Pine Valley Motel, (828) 765-6276

Richmond Inn Bed & Breakfast, (828) 765-6993

Little Switzerland (10-minute drive):

Big Lynn Lodge, (828) 765-4257

Switzerland Inn, (828) 765-2153

Bakersville (15-minute drive):

Bakersville Bed & Breakfast, (828) 688-6012

Bicycle Inn, (828) 688-9333

Chapel

The hospital's chapel is still undergoing construction. When it is complete, the chapel will be located next to the Gift Shop just off the main lobby to accommodate all patients and visitors.

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Special Services

Translation Services

Blue Ridge Regional Hospital offers translation services; if you need an interpreter, please ask your nurse to contact one.

For the Hearing Impaired

Specialized hearing devices are available for use on all units free-of-charge to our patients. If you need to use one, please ask your nurse.

Ethics Committee

Decisions about healthcare are not always easy. Family members can be uncertain about what the patient would want. The Ethics Committee can help. The committee assists patients and their families or caregivers in talking through hard choices. You can speak with your nurse or any hospital employee about your concerns and they can contact the administrator on call. The administrator will contact a committee member for you. Dial 0 for the hospital operator who can put you in touch with the administrator on call.

Notary Services

Several employees at the hospital are Notary Publics. If you should need Notary Public services, please call 1695.

Newspapers

Newspaper racks are located at the Ground Floor/Main Entrance of the hospital as well as the Outpatient Entrance on the First Floor.

Hospitality Cart

The hospital's volunteers provide a hospitality cart with snacks and beverages for family members of patients who are terminally ill.

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Financial Arrangements/Billing

When you are hospitalized, you will be asked a number of questions about how you will pay your bill. By asking questions and working closely with patients, we have saved hundreds of patients thousands of dollars. We appreciate your working with us on getting your bill paid. There are two main reasons for asking so many questions:

• Providing high quality healthcare is expensive. The way to keep charges as low as possible is for all patients to maintain an active role in ensuring their hospital bills get paid.
• Because hospitalization is so expensive, it is important to use every possible means of help available to you. By asking questions about your insurance, we help you determine whether it will cover your procedure and if you have followed all the insurance company’s rules for getting your bills paid, including compliance with pre-certification requirements.

In some cases, patients may be eligible for financial assistance with their medical bills and not be aware of this potential benefit. If you do not have insurance, we may ask you many questions to find out if you qualify for one of the programs available. These questions might be about your savings, what property you own, whether you are married, and how many children you have to support. If you are eligible for medical assistance, we will serve as your advocate and do all that we can to get you qualified. If you have insurance, Medicare or Medicaid, we may still need to ask questions. In addition, if you have been in an accident, we may ask if the other driver might have been at fault and who should be the one to pay for your hospitalization. We will also verify your demographic information to ensure accuracy for your bill and your medical record.

Our patient counselors can help you sort out the necessary insurance and financial information relating to your hospital bill. If you have questions or concerns regarding your bill, please let our patient counselors be of assistance. To speak with a patient counselor, please call

828-766-1725.

Payment Arrangements

Your hospital bill is due and payable at the Cashier’s Office at the time you are discharged. The hospital will allow you credit for items covered by your insurance policy. Our Business Office will do everything possible to try to finish your paperwork prior to your discharge. We are happy to come to your room at your request. Please have your discharge planner contact us to arrange a visit.

A representative from the Business Office will be assigned to help you make financial arrangements and answer any questions you may have. Payment arrangements are available for patients who cannot pay the entire balance of their bill in the event they do not qualify for our payment plan. We try to make our payment system as flexible as possible. You will receive an updated statement for each of your accounts monthly.

Blue Ridge Regional Hospital offers a Personal Assistance Program which provides needed health care services to those who require such care regardless of ability to pay.  To read more about the Personal Assistance Program click here, or speak with your Patient Counselor.  To speak with a patient counselor, please all 828-766-1725.

Understanding Your Bill

A summary statement of your bill will be mailed to your home within a few days of your discharge. If you have difficulty understanding portions of your bill, please contact us at the phone number or address printed on your bill. As a courtesy to you, Blue Ridge Regional Hospital will file as many as three different insurance claims.

In addition to your hospital bill, you may receive separate bills from other healthcare providers such as the pathologist, radiologist and your personal physician. The statement you receive from Blue Ridge Regional Hospital will not include the charges from these other providers.

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Going Home

Discharge Planning

From the minute you arrive at Blue Ridge Regional Hospital, the discharge planners are available to assist in planning for your departure. They are trained to consider your medical, psychological, food, shelter, transportation and financial needs. The discharge planning staff works closely with community agencies such as the Mitchell and Yancey Counties' Departments of Social Services, Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare and vocational rehabilitation to provide patients and their families with needed services. For assistance with discharge planning, ask your nurse.

Checking Out

Your physician will decide when you can go home. Orders for discharge are usually written that day during your physician’s morning visit. Before you actually leave the hospital, your nurse will give you instructions for taking care of yourself at home, and a discharge release form. Please do not leave your room until the nurse has given you your discharge instructions and finished filling out the discharge papers. When you leave, you will be escorted by a nursing staff member or volunteer. You will probably be asked to use a wheelchair—this is our way of making sure you get safely to your car.

Important: Once your discharge has been completed, please make every effort to leave your room in a timely manner.

Your hospital bill is due and payable at the time you are discharged. The hospital will allow you credit for items covered by your insurance policy. Our Business Office will do everything possible to try to finish your paperwork before your discharge so that you can go straight to your car without having to stop by to see your Patient Account Representative to discuss your bill. If we are able to get the information we need to bill your account, or to apply for financial assistance, and if financial arrangements are made to meet your out-of-pocket expenses, you will probably be able to leave without stopping at the Cashier’s Office.

Your Patient Account Representative may also ask to meet with you before you leave. This will give us a chance to review your account and answer any questions you may have. A summary statement of your bill will be mailed to your home a few days after your discharge. The bill will not include fees for your private physician(s) or for services from the following hospital-based physicians: anesthesiologists, emergency room physicians, pathologists, radiologists and radiation oncologists. These physicians will bill you directly for their services. For a detailed statement of your charges, please call your Patient Account Representative.

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Advance Directives

The Patient Self-Determination Act of 1990 requires hospitals participating in Medicare or Medicaid to ask all adult inpatients if they have stated their medical wishes in legal documents called advance directives. In North Carolina, the types of advance directives are the Living Will and Healthcare Power of Attorney.

Ideally, advance directives, if you choose to have them, should be completed before you come to the hospital. However, if you do not have advance directives and would like to have them, speak to your nurse, who will be glad to help you obtain this information. We encourage you to read it carefully and talk it over with your family and physician.

Choices at the end of life are often the hardest ones to make. Patients do not always complete a Living Will. Families are not always clear about who has the right to make decisions for the patient. The Discharge Planners at Blue Ridge Regional Hospital can support you in talking through these tough choices and can also assist you with completion of advance directive documents. You can contact a Discharge Planner by calling 1695.

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Opportunities to Help

Making a difference as a hospital volunteer
Our volunteers bring special warmth and caring to families and patients. Many of them have been through hospitalization themselves and understand what you and your family are going through. Volunteers deliver mail and flowers, staff the Information Desk in our Outpatient/Surgical waiting area, operate the Gift Shop and escort patients at discharge. They are an integral part of our care team.

If you would like to make a caring difference, consider joining our Volunteer Services Department. Call our Volunteer Services Director at 1770 for more information.

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The Blue Ridge Regional Hospital Foundation

The cost of providing quality healthcare is high. Through the hard work of the Blue Ridge Regional Hospital Foundation, funds are generated to meet special and often immediate needs for equipment and programs. As a part of the expansion, the Blue Ridge Regional Hospital Foundation committed to raising $4 million of the $22.9 million needed to make the new clinical wing a reality. Through the help of the community, generous donors and foundations, the BRRH Foundation has exceeded the $4 million goal and continues to raise funds that support the expansion. The Foundation receives, maintains and administers gifts throughout the year for charitable, medical and educational purposes. If you wish to help the BRRH Foundation meet these needs, or if you have any other questions about the Foundation, please call our office at 1750.

Make a donation to the Blue Ridge Regional Hospital Foundation

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Telephone Listing

For in-hospital calls, simply dial the last four digits of each number indicated below. For local calls, dial 9 or 7 to get an outside line, and then dial the number you wish to call. Local calls are free. For calls to Burnsville or Asheville, dial 8. For long distance or credit card calls, dial 0 for the operator’s assistance. The operator will be glad to help you place your call.

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Patient Rights and Responsibilities

Blue Ridge Regional Hospital promotes caring and compassion. We respect your rights as a patient and want you to know about these rights. We also want you to know the things you can do to help us provide good care. Our staff can help you read this statement of your rights if you have trouble reading or knowing what these rights mean.

We pledge to do all we can to:

• Provide reasonable access to the care you need.
• Show respect for your dignity and privacy as care is given.
• Provide skilled, well-trained staff to care for you.
• Show respect for your values and beliefs, and support you in your beliefs as long as they do not hinder the well-being of others or your planned course of care.
• Keep your hospital and medical records private.
• Treat you and all patients without regard to race, gender, color, religion, national origin, disability, age or ability to pay.
• Listen to, review and try to resolve your concerns. If your concerns cannot be resolved, you may report them to the unit director or the administrator on call. Dial 0 on your room phone or (828) 765-4201 from a home phone. Ask the operator for the administrator on call.
• Inform a person of your choice when you have been admitted to the hospital. We will inform him or her promptly.
• Tell you the names and roles of the people caring for you.
• Tell you about your illness, treatments and likely outcomes.
• Help you take part in planning your care and having an active role in that plan of care. You may request or refuse treatment at any time. You and your physician will discuss the best care for you.
• Appropriately assess and manage your pain. Patients can expect information about pain and pain relief measures, a concerned staff committed to pain prevention and health professionals who respond quickly to reports of pain.
• Assist you in making decisions about your care and let you involve or exclude others in helping you make decisions.
• Take into account any advanced directives, such as a Living Will or Healthcare Power of Attorney, stating your choices about end-of-life medical care and provide information about these documents.
• Tell you which hospital rules and policies apply to you as a patient.
• Take steps to keep you safe.
• Protect you from any form of abuse or harassment by anyone while you are a patient.
• Help you present your concerns, get spiritual care and get advice about ethics, discharge planning and money matters.
• Help you get protection from abuse.
• Show you your bill and explain it to you, no matter how it is paid.
• Let someone you choose act for you and support your rights, if you ever cannot do so. You cannot be denied the right of access to the person or agency who has been given the right to act on your behalf.
• Give emergency care when needed, as quickly as we can.
• Give you quality healthcare.
• Maintain high standards for all healthcare staff.
• Consult you if a doctor wants you to take part in a research program or donor program, and let you choose whether or not to do so. You will receive good care whether you choose to take part or not.
• Get someone to translate for you if you do not speak English or if you have trouble reading, speaking or hearing.
• Provide a copy of patient rights in Braille for patients who are blind and who read Braille.
• Let you review your medical record, unless your doctor has asked that we not do so.
• Read and understand the information in your medical record. You or someone you choose will have access to this information promptly.
• Allow a person you choose to see your medical record even if your doctor has restricted your access to it.
• Give you treatment in such a way that you will not suffer needless physical or mental distress.
• Help you tell about your pain and provide relief for your pain.
• If you are dying, provide care that meets your needs for comfort and well-being.
• Avoid waking you up unless we must do so to follow your plan of care.
• Avoid doing the same medical or nursing procedure more than once, if at all possible.
• Avoid using restraints of any kind except when it is medically necessary. We will not use restraints to coerce you. We will not use restraints as a matter of convenience, discipline or as a method of retaliation by staff.
• Respect your choices for drugs, treatments or procedures offered by the facility. You will be informed of risks or healthcare outcomes to which your choices may lead.
• Help you bring in another doctor if you request, at your expense.
• Transfer you in a safe and prompt manner to another place for care if medically appropriate care cannot be provided, laws do not allow the care requested or you request a transfer.

The successful medical care of patients requires active participation by the patients themselves; therefore, you have a certain responsibility toward your own care. These responsibilities are presented in the spirit of mutual trust and respect.

• Give us correct, complete reports about your health.
• Let the hospital staff or your doctor know if you do not understand the plan for your care or your role in that plan.
• Follow the treatment plan prepared by the doctor and staff.
• Understand the fact that you may cause your health to become worse if you refuse treatment or do not follow the plan of treatment.
• Do what the hospital staff requests, within reason.
• Report changes in your health.
• Keep your appointments.
• Follow hospital rules.
• Take into account the needs and feelings of other patients and the hospital staff.
• Pay your hospital bills promptly.
• Provide advance directives (Living Will or Healthcare Power of Attorney) if you have any.

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