[SmilingBluEyes]

Just cause you have good insurance, it will NOT ensure you a private room where semi private rooms exist. IF all that is left is a bed in a semiprivate room you will have a roommate. That is a guarantee. Unless and until a hospital goes all private there are no guarantees when the floor census is high. Like said before, your wishes for privacy won't matter when the hospital needs to fill a bed. I still wonder how HIPAA regulations are being met in these situations. It's very hard, if not impossible, to comply with the use of semi-private rooms.

[nialloh]

Originally Posted by susanmary

For the most part, I favor private rooms. However, there are some patients who do better in a double/semiprivate room. I've had many patients who were actually good for each other and helped each other -- wonderful to see.

I have to agree, we often put confused pt's together as it often keeps them quiet, they just respond better with company.

[RN-PA]

Originally Posted by susanmary

For the most part, I favor private rooms. However, there are some patients who do better in a double/semiprivate room. I've had many patients who were actually good for each other and helped each other -- wonderful to see. Usually, private rooms work best -- patients are able to rest better, etc.

If a family member or I are hospitalized, I'll be one of "those" that request a private room -- I'll private pay, I don't care. Privacy. Able to sleep when you need to sleep/rest. Can watch tv without worrying about keeping the neighbor awake and won't be kept awake by their noise, visitors, etc.

I agree with everything mentioned here. I've worked in a hospital with all private rooms and now in one with semi-privates, and I much prefer the single rooms, and yet I've seen some really compatible patients who seemed to thrive with their roomates, and it's a great thing to see. But the Hippa issues are incredible with shared rooms. Before Hippa, a patient asked me what his new roomate was being admitted for. I said, "I can't tell you because of confidentiality, but you'll find out soon enough as I talk with him" (due to the thin curtain separating their beds. )

I'm also one who will "strongly" request a private room if I'm hospitalized, or at least one in a quieter area, OR I will be asking for a room change if I have a noisy roomate. I'm a bad sleeper to start with, and it makes me very sensitive to patients with roomate or noise issues.

[PeninsulaRN]

I agree private rooms are preferable for privacy and infection control issues. Unfortunately, I've never worked at a hospital with all private rooms.

The unit I'm on now is made up of "pods", each pod contains 2 semi-private rooms and 2 private rooms. We also have both negative and positive pressure rooms for AFB and neutropenic isolation, respectively. (I should mention here that the unit is divided into two halves and AFB and neutropenic patients would never be in the same section, for obvious reasons)

[traumaRUs]

We have one hospital in our area that has all private beds and it has a good reputation. Personally, I would demand a private room for myself or family also. I'm a very private person and would absolutely freak out if someone knew I was ill enough to be hospitalized.

[PeninsulaRN]

Meh, I would demand a private room also. There is such a profound lack of privacy in semi-privates, and you're already a bit off-kilter when you're ill enough to require hospitalization.

Besides, the last thing I would want is to listen to Jerry Springer at all hours of the day or to hear my roommate's whole freaking extended family visiting.

[fergus51]

Unfortunately, you can demand all you want, but if there isn't a private room left you won't get one. I hate semi-private rooms...

[TechieNurse]

Hi Everyone
Just to weigh in on this issue, my dad was hospitalized for a CABG and his roommate had undiagnosed TB (which is on the rise BTW).
He never contracted it, thankfully, but he had to have the full course of medication and now he always test positive. Great...
Now, if everyone had a private room, or at least were admitted to a private room until screening tests and lab work come back negative, maybe this could have been avoided...

Just my 2 cents

[PeninsulaRN]

Originally Posted by fergus51

Unfortunately, you can demand all you want, but if there isn't a private room left you won't get one. I hate semi-private rooms...

Very true, Fergus. At my facility the most they can do is put you on "the list" if the census is high and no privates are available. Generally they do what they can to ensure that employees get private rooms but that's not always possible, either.

Which begs the question: if you had to be hospitalized, would you prefer to be at your own facility, or another?

[rollingstone]

I don't have any feelings one way or the other, but methinks I prefer the private rooms.