PT's that require a private room

loriangel14, RN · Aug 13, 2013

Anyone that is on any kind of precautions (e.g. contact, droplet ).E.g. MRSA positive,c-diff, etc.

And palliative patients of course.

christina731 · Aug 13, 2013

Several of the newer hospitals near me have all private rooms. So if you end up there, you get a private room by default. The site where I did my sub-acute rotation had 2 patients to a room and sometimes one would be on contact precautions and the other would not. Shared bathroom and everything. I never quite understood that. My mom was recently at a rehab hospital and she was given the choice of private or shared, as long as her insurance covered it (which they did). So I guess it could be for a variety of reasons.

Jenngirl34RN · Aug 13, 2013

I have Googled this info and nothing really came up that was worth my while. So, i'm going to ask my fellow students and the nurses on here for some help.
What type of patients need a private room?
I am assuming a pt who is getting radiation therapy, Ebola, and immuno-compromised.
Can you guys think of any other pt's who would need a private room?
Thanks in advance.

I am not sure that a private room would be all that helpful in the case of an Ebola patient, as chances are they would have come in contact with others in the hospital before making it to that private room, but luckily Ebola is not really something we need to worry about overly much :)

I would say a private room would be needed for anyone with an airborne (or potentially airborne) infectious disease, like an active TB infection or influenza.

SaoirseRN · Aug 13, 2013

Ideally, a person who is dying should also have a private room.

kp1987 · Aug 13, 2013

Couldn't anyone willing to pay or have the medical coverage stay in a private room? I'm my area pretty much all maternity wards are all private rooms

SaoirseRN · Aug 13, 2013

Couldn't anyone willing to pay or have the medical coverage stay in a private room? I'm my area pretty much all maternity wards are all private rooms

I work in an older facility, with limited amounts of private rooms (even in maternity) and while people have the option of requesting and/or paying for a private room, those who actually require one will get the private room over someone simply requesting to pay for one.

allnurses Guide · Aug 13, 2013

It depends on your hospital's policies. In the past, pneumonia pts all got private rooms, and stayed in the ER until one was available. That has changed a few years ago. Immunosuppressed pts, airborne or contact precautions, especially Cdiff and open wounds.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Aug 14, 2013

Not all immunocompromised patients get private rooms. I've taken care of many oncology patients admitted for fever/neutropenia who were in double rooms. Radiation therapy also doesn't automatically get one a private room unless it's internal radiotherapy. Your average patient who's getting 30 minute XRT sessions daily can be in a double room if he's even hospitalized... though most of these patients walk in to radiation, sit in a waiting room with several other patients and walk out and are around other people all day long. Ebola isn't really something we see in this part of the world.

Most common things you'll see patients on precautions for are things like MRSA, VRE, C-Diff, Influenza, Varicella, TB.

Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN · Aug 14, 2013

Pts who are disruptive at night - calling out, climbing out of bed, etc. We put them in private rooms to minimalize the disruption to other pts.

As an off shoot - my hospital just added a new wing. Almost all private rooms - this is the way of the future apparently. Very nice in some aspects, but man oh man- those hallways are long now! So much more walking.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Aug 14, 2013

Patients who snore

Boog'sCRRN246, RN · Aug 14, 2013

Patients with conditions that cause them to become overstimulated or distracted easily (i.e., head injuries).