[susanmary]

"BUT DR. ____ PROMISED THAT I WOULD HAVE A PRIVATE ROOM. CALL HIM." If I had a nickel for every time I had a patient state that the doc promised a private room, I'd be vacationing on my personal island in the tropics right now.

[PeninsulaRN]

Originally Posted by susanmary

"BUT DR. ____ PROMISED THAT I WOULD HAVE A PRIVATE ROOM. CALL HIM." If I had a nickel for every time I had a patient state that the doc promised a private room, I'd be vacationing on my personal island in the tropics right now.

So true. "I"m sorry, ma'am, but this is the only room available right now. If Dr. Blank wants to come and construct a private room for you, that is between the two of you."

[caroladybelle]

What kills me is you put them in a semiprivate for 3-4 days without a roommate and then as soon as a roommate comes in, the first patient demands a private room immediately.

It's not like they didn't know that all that extra furniture wasn't there for a reason.

[PeninsulaRN]

Originally Posted by caroladybelle

What kills me is you put them in a semiprivate for 3-4 days without a roommate and then as soon as a roommate comes in, the first patient demands a private room immediately.

It's not like they didn't know that all that extra furniture wasn't there for a reason.

So true! LOL!

[Tweety]

The first hospital I worked in had all private rooms which I enjoyed.

We don't have private rooms here, and most insurance companies here won't pay for them. We try to give employees a courtesy private when we can. We always give CABG's private rooms. Our neuro surgeons copped a deal with administration to get their patients private rooms, saying they would bring more patients and $$$ if their patient alls got private rooms and a better nurse patient ratio (kudos for that one). It's a big pain sometimes to make them private rooms when the ER has been holding patients for 24 hours or more.

[SharkLPN]

You can bet I'd camp out in the ER and be someones overflow pt to ensure a private room if I had to be hospitalized, And yes, I'd go to my own facility, but not my own unit! (I have no history to hide from my immediate co-workers, but it would be awkward for us all if a bedpan was needed, you know?)

I'll backpedal from my earlier post - we've had elderly couples in semi-private rooms together, and they've done very well, and the occasional roomies who get along and make friends with each other during their stays. But that's an exception to the norm. Most will **** and moan about the others TV volume, visitors, snoring, odors, etc. I'd point out that they should be estatic that this country's healthcare is top of the line and rejoice in that, but it would fall on deaf ears. I don't like Leno and want sleep; tell that person to turn off the TV.

[?burntout]

Private rooms=GOOD
Semi Private rooms=BAD, bad, bad

The times I have been a patient for various reasons, twice I have been in a semi-private: the 1st time I had a roomie-she was nice, but she was on the light constantly (except when she was gone to dialysis) and she had lots of company. The 2nd time, I was pg and admitted for dehydration...didn't get a roomie then (Thank Goodness)...

I can guarantee ya'll next time I have to be admitted to a hospital, I will scream "HIPPA!"

[mattsmom81]

I was hospitalized for necessary surgery twice in the past few years and both times was placed in a room with screaming old confused women whose families had taken over the room, the sink, the bathroom and had zero respect for my needs or privacy. It is ridiculous in this day and age to have semi private rooms, IMO. I complained but there were 'no other options' I was told. So...I called the charge nurse and told her 'either sedate her or sedate me, preferably both' or I'm checking out AMA and will be quite vocal why. I felt I had to. Why should I put up with this when I am ill and hurting too??

The issue of infectious patients bothers me too. Psych and confused Hep C patients, who are leaving blood and body fluids all over the room to infect their roommates...this is unacceptable but this seen regularly on the general ward of my hospitals. If the nurses attempt to isolate these patients they are told they cannot, it is unnecessary and could be seen as discriminating against those patients. <sigh>

Hospitals are increasingly dangerous and unpleasant places to be. Unresponsive management does not take responsibility and places it square on the heads of the nurses, who are doing too often the best they can in bad circumstances.

[alli]

The unit I work on has only 4 private rooms the rest are four bedded rooms. The private rooms are predominantly used for MRSA or C-diff. Many people request single rooms but we can't accomidate most of them.
The feeling I get on the unit is that for the most part the nurses and the patient like the four bedded rooms over the private rooms, for one thing the patients keep an eye on each other and if something terrible happens another patient can call the nurse.
The patients in the private rooms often complain that they are too lonely.

[KaroSnowQueen]

Most of the units in my hospital are mostly privates, our unit has 36 beds and 28 of those are private room, and the other four are doubles. We also have on our floor but not really part of our unit, a four bed "hold" ward for ER overflow when there are no beds open. Patients hate the 4 bed ward, and most of them do not like the semi-privates.
I think it is a HIPAA violation because as the other posters said, the roommates and their families know all about the other one's business whether it is mentioned to them or not. We had a lady in her early 40's diagnosed with inoperable CA and the other pt's family was talking with her and about her and I doubt she appreciated the "sharing" of her info that was unavoidable....the docs in the room talking about chemo, etc. and the other people right there listening. They keep saying they are going to all privates and I wish they would.
But state or JACHO are going to have to come down on the powers that be before they turn loose of the extra dollars those double rooms are bringing in.