Story originally printed in the Tomah Journal or online at www.tomahjournal.com
Published - Sunday, June 01, 2008
Column: Hospital visitors welcome ... any time
Two months ago, my mother underwent heart bypass surgery at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison.
I won’t go into the details of the surgery other than to say she’s back home in Baraboo and doing fine. During her stay, I learned something I never knew about hospitals -- visitors are welcome. Very welcome, not only by the patients, but by the doctors and staff.
It has been 15 years since I had visited anyone in a hospital, so I had to get updated on the policies concerning visitors’ hours. Turns out, visiting hours, at least at St. Mary’s, have gone the way of leaded gasoline; they don’t exist anymore. Visitors are encouraged to drop by any time, day or night.
Not only are visitors encouraged, the staff at St. Mary’s acknowledges and encourages visitors. Any staff member who enters the room -- ranging from the heart surgeon to the orderly who takes out the trash -- greets both visitor and patient and explains why he or she is the room. The only way St. Mary’s could make its policy on visitors more clear would be a big flashing sign that reads: “We love visitors!”
The staff at St. Mary’s obviously views visitors as a critical element of rehabilitation. Let’s face it, there’s not much to do in a hospital room. Reading is a challenge because of fatigue, and there’s only so much television a human being can watch. The most palatable activity for a patient, especially a heart patient, is to engage in light conversation with a friend or family member.
Visitors also provide an incentive to get better. There’s nothing like a steady stream of visitors to convince a patient that recovery is worth the effort. One can only imagine what goes through the mind of a patient who sits in bed all day with nobody outside the hospital who cares about his or her well-being.
While the staff at St. Mary’s did a wonderful job of making visitors feel welcome and encouraging them to return again and again, it’s difficult to believe that their approach is unique or novel. Medical professionals everywhere almost certainly recognize the importance of visitors, phone calls and cards and how they contribute to the positive mental aspect that’s so important in a patient’s recovery.
What I learned was very clear: There’s no bad time to visit a friend or loved one in the hospital. If you’re close to someone who’s in the hospital, visit as many times as you can. The doctors will appreciate it. The nurses will appreciate it. The orderlies will appreciate it. And most of all, the patient will appreciate it and return home as a happier and healthier out-patient.
Steve Rundio is the Perspective Page editor of Tomah Newspapers.
All stories copyright 2006 Tomah Journal and other attributed sources.