Patient Guide

We are committed to your care.

Our goal is to provide the best quality care. To do so, we ask for feedback from patients like you. You may be contacted by phone, email or text and asked to complete a confidential survey. Please take the time to complete the survey. Your feedback will help us know what we’re doing well and where we can improve.

Privacy Practices Patient Rights & Responsibilities Concerns About Your Care

Fast facts about your stay.

Support for Caregivers

We encourage patients to pick a single key person to support them during their hospital stay. To ensure proper information is provided and our staff can care for our community, we ask that patients choose only one person to receive health updates and provide that information to the entirety of those who care for you and your well-being. A “code word” can be established upon admission to keep your privacy intact.

Whether you are that primary support person, or just one of many people caring for and supporting your loved one, you can play an important role in making sure your loved one gets the safest and best care both here and beyond the hospital.

If you feel like you need a break or help, reach out to friends and family. And consult the resources listed here: National Alliance for Caregiving | Family Caregiver Alliance | Caregiver Action Network

What to Know When You Arrive

If possible before your arrival, please know your primary physician’s name, location, phone number so that medical records can be shared. Know your preferred pharmacy. Come with your driver’s license, insurance card(s). Know your social security number. A trusted caregiver can also provide this information upon admission or before discharge.

A member of our Care Management team ensures to meet with you within 24 hours of arrival to our inpatient floor, more typically within the hour of arrival, we ask you to accompany your family to the inpatient room and allow us to get the inpatient information to you for progress of your care.

What to Know Before You Leave

Caregivers can help ensure the best outcome for their loved one after a hospital stay by getting the answers to these three questions:

What is the next step for medical care (home or facility, follow-up with primary care physician or physical therapy, etc.)? Help your loved one arrange the details to make this happen—financial plan, transportation, scheduling, etc.
What new and former medicines does my loved one need to take? Help your loved one understand the details—timing, dosing instructions, side effects, prescription refills, etc.
What health warning signs do I need to watch for and what do I do if they happen? Help your loved one by writing these symptoms down as well as the name and contact number to call.

Facts About Your Stay

Bedside Shift Report

We want you to feel comfortable and cared for throughout your stay, so at each nursing shift change—about every 12 hours—your nurse will introduce your new nurse to you. The team will talk about your progress, medicine and tests scheduled for the day. Ask questions. The more you’re involved, the better and safer your care.

Here at Harris Regional Hospital, we do bedside shift report at 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM. Your nurse or nurse's aide will do their last round prior to 6:30 to limit distractions during the hours at shift change, we ask in your assistance in this by allowing us to meet your needs during that final round for that shift. Each provider has a unique schedule to meet their patient needs; your nursing team will communicate when your provider(s) will be visiting your room.

Bedside Technology

During your stay, you may see your doctors and nurses using computers, cellphones, and tablets. While this may feel as though team members are on their personal devices, we ask for your understanding in this has been the most direct and effective communication device to provide the best care for your loved one as well as our community. These tools help them care for you by providing around-the-clock monitoring, a variety of resources, and quick communication with the rest of your healthcare team. If you have any questions, ask your doctor or nurse.

Patients who need more constant supervision may be asked for consent to have a video-monitoring system in place. With the patient’s consent, a 24/7 live video feed is set up in the patient’s room. This allows staff to have more supervision of the patient for any condition changes, new needs, or safety management. The device is unable to record or save any footage, and it can be turned off at any time for any reason. Any concerns or questions can be addressed by team members at any time.

Breastfeeding Mothers

All breastfeeding mothers visiting are welcome to breastfeed in any public areas. We also have a private lactation room accessible to all 24/7. This can be found on the 1st floor near administration. Please ask a staff member for assistance with locating.

Café and Dining

Location: 1st Floor

Breakfast Hours:
Monday through Friday: 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Saturday and Sunday: 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Lunch Hours:
Daily: 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Visitors may use the dining room at any time. Due to dietary restrictions, patients may not be served in the cafeteria.

Calling Your Nurse

Your room is connected to the nursing station via an intercom system. To call for your nurse, press the red “ NURSE ” call button located at your bedside, not the one located on the bed rail. If you have any questions on how to use the call button, ask a staff member to show you.

Concerns About Your Care

Please speak with your nurse or nursing supervisor if you have any questions or concerns about your care. If your issue still is not resolved, then contact the hospital patient advocate at 828.586.7429. You also have the right to file your complaint with either:

The NC Division of Health Service Regulation
Complaint Intake Unit
2711 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699
Telephone: 800.624.3004

Office of Quality and Patient Safety
The Joint Commission
One Renaissance Blvd.
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
Website: www.jointcommission.org, then click “Report patient safety event”

Sometimes a healthcare choice can involve an ethical concern—such as a wish to refuse life-saving treatment or a disagreement over advance directives. Our medical ethics committee can help you and those who are here to support you make difficult decisions.

Fire Safety

We conduct fire and other emergency drills from time to time. If you hear an alarm, stay where you are. In an actual emergency, hospital staff will tell you what to do.

In the instance of an actual emergency, we ask that you help us maintain patient confidentiality and reduce interruptions and “onlooking” as this often creates a distraction for caregivers in proving the care we strive to provide.

For your safety, we reserve the right to inspect and/or deny any electrical appliances brought into the hospital.

Flowers

Flowers are delivered to registration on the first floor or to the nurse’s station on the patient’s floor by individual florists. Please note that flowers are not allowed in Intensive Care Units or in rooms with neutropenic precautions in place.

Hearing Impaired

We have services available for people who are deaf or hearing impaired. If you need these services, please contact a member of your care team.

Hourly Rounding

A member of your care team will visit you every hour during the day and every two hours at night to check on your comfort, help you change positions in bed, assist with trips to the bathroom, and make sure you can reach your phone, call light, and personal items easily. Please understand during this time, staff are still caring for additional patients and try to think of all the things you might need for the next hour or two during these rounds, to ensure we are able to respond to those needs. If you have an urgent need before your next rounding visit, please use your call bell.

Housekeeping Services

Various members of our housekeeping team will come in throughout your hospital stay to empty trash and clean your room. If you have concerns about cleanliness or need to speak to a member of the housekeeping team, let a member of your care team know.

Interpreters and Translation Services

Interpreter services are available for patients. Please contact your nurse for assistance.

Mail

Mail sent to admitted patients is delivered Monday through Friday by hospital volunteers and staff members.

Mail received after discharge will be sent back to the sender’s address. Outgoing mail may be taken to the nurses' station or given to your attending nurse. Postage stamps are not provided. Please understand mail will likely not reach your loved one prior to discharge, therefore it is encouraged to mail all correspondence to their physical address.

Medicines

Please do not bring any prescription or over-the-counter medicines to the hospital unless asked by our staff. All medicines you take during your hospital stay need to be prescribed, filled and given to you by hospital staff. Tell your doctor about any medicines you regularly take. If you still need them, hospital staff will give them to you.

Pastoral Care

If you would like a visit from the chaplain for spiritual care and comfort, please ask your nurse. They will contact our list of chaplains that best fit your needs and arrange a meeting. The chapel is always open for prayer and meditation. It’s located on the first floor, near the registration area. Chapel services are 9:00 a.m. Monday through Friday, and all are invited to attend.

Personal Belongings and Valuables

Personal care items such as contact lenses, eyeglasses, hearing aids and dentures can be stored in your bedside stand when not in use. Please do not put them on your bed or food tray to help avoid them being lost or damaged. Leave valuables like jewelry or cash at home or give them to a trusted relative or friend to watch over. If this is not an option, valuables may be locked up by Security at your request. Harris Regional Hospital cannot be responsible for replacing personal belongings. If you happen to lose a personal belonging, please contact security at 828.586.7000.

Public Restrooms

For everyone’s health and safety, we ask visitors not to use patient restrooms. Public restrooms are located throughout the hospital. Ask hospital staff to direct you to the nearest one.

If a sharps container is needed by a guest, please use the provided one in the public restrooms, not the one in the patient’s room.

Service Animals

Harris Regional Hospital only allows service animals that are registered by definition of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The animal must be trained to do tasks that assist an individual with their disability.

We do not allow emotional support animals under any circumstance.

Permitted service animals must be house-trained and kept under control of their owner at all times. A caregiver that is not the patient must be present 24/7 to provide care for the service animal. Hospital staff are not permitted to feed or otherwise care for service animals. All staff members have the right to ask what work or task the animal has been trained to perform at any time.

Smoking

We are a 100 percent tobacco-free campus by law. No smoking or tobacco products will be used while on property, parking lots, associated buildings and vehicles. Patients and visitors must not smoke during their hospital visit.

While you are in the hospital, please do not suffer from nicotine withdrawal. You can receive nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) or other appropriate support during your hospital visit. Please ask your nurse for more information.

Telephone

All patient rooms have phones. To dial local, dial 9+the local number. To dial long distance, dial 9+1+Area Code+phone number.

TV

Each patient room has a television. Please be considerate of others by keeping the volume down and turning off your TV at bedtime. TVs are controlled by the bedside pillow speaker or separate remote provided. Closed captioning is available for the hearing impaired. Ask a staff member if you have any questions on using your TV. TV guides can be found on the back of all patient guide booklets.

Vending Machines

Here you can find beverages and snacks 24 hours a day. Located on the 1st floor next to the Emergency Department check-in station and on the 2nd floor across from Administration.

Visiting Hours

Visiting hours are subject to change. Please ask your nurse for official hours during your stay.

To promote healing and safety and limit infection, some units may limit the number of visitors you can receive at one time.

General Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., however, visitors are sometimes permitted after these hours if needed. We ask for these hours to be maintained to limit noise in order to enhance healing. Note: Patients have the right to choose to receive visitors from among family, friends or other individuals at any time during their stay.

Visiting Overnight
One visitor may stay overnight at the nurse’s discretion and prior approval. Approval can change at any time due to hospital policy, safety measures, and/or patient needs.

Wi-Fi

Please utilize our guest Wi-Fi channel on all devices. Please note that you must accept our terms and conditions in the pop-up before internet is available for your device. At this time, we do not offer ethernet plug-ins for guests or patients.