VIP rooms

[CountrifiedRN]

I have been to a few hospitals for clinical rotations and each of them has what are called VIP rooms. In one hosp it was basically a private room, all the other rooms had 2 beds. In the other two, there was a noticable difference in the decor of the VIP room from the other rooms. The VIP room had carpet and oak cabinets and a nicer bed, the regular rooms had standard hosp floor and white cabinets.

Anyone else have these? How do you feel about them?

IMO, every pt should be treated the same, regardless of economical status. And I think it is in poor taste to have an implied higher standard of treatment for what the hosp considers "VIP'S" (usually people who have donated lots of money, doctors family, or administrators) These rooms are in the same unit next to other "lower standard" rooms and pts/families walking by can see the difference in the rooms if the door is left open. What do you tell the pt when they ask why their room doesn't look as nice as that room?

[VAC]

I agree that all patients should be treated the same. Patients sharing a bathroom is more disgusting than sharing a room. The newer hospitals around here have private rooms.

I agree all rooms should be private. In ICU of course the rooms are private, but in the rest of the hospital the only private rooms are resp isolation. Our hospital frequently is so full that patients spend the night in the ER or Recovery room; there just aren't any beds for anyone to pay extra for.

I don't have as much of a problem with room arrangements for VIP's as with the kissing up that is expected.

SJoe, The staff nurse has to care for the same number of patients regardless of whether they are street people or million dollar donors, and I've never had my load lightened by a private duty sitter.

[sjoe]

vac writes: "SJoe, The staff nurse has to care for the same number of patients regardless of whether they are street people or million dollar donors, and I've never had my load lightened by a private duty sitter"

Every hospital gets to make its own rules. As I said, IN MY EXPERIENCE, the VIP patients often hired their own private nurses (one I remember had two on each shift, around the clock. He was fully ambulatory, frankly didn't need a nurse at all, and apparently wanted the company. He was in for chemo and left the floor for the actual treatments.) who did MOST of their care. Your hospital apparently does things differently.

[CountrifiedRN]

Originally posted by sjoe

"IMO, every pt should be treated the same, regardless of economical status. "

On what do you base this attitude?

If people are willing to pay the extra money, as they might for their automobile, home, or lunch, why is this a problem for you or for anyone else?

If this is the way these people choose to spend their money, so what?

Isn't it obvious that the extra income/profit can be very useful for the hospital, many of which are in tight financial situations these days?

In my experience, these VIPs often can and do hire their own private nurses as well, which lessens the workload of the floor nurses AND provides another opportunity for nurses who want to work privately.

It has been a win-win situation for me when I was a staff nurse.

I base this attitude on my own personal standards for patient care.

I don't have a problem with someone who has the money who does want to hire a private nurse, but this is not always the case. In one of the places I mentioned I have seen a DON tell the nurse to pay "extra special attention" to Mr Moneybags in the VIP room, and no, he didn't have a personal nurse. The staff was expected to put priority on him and his family for what ever they needed, over other patients needs. (except in an emergency, I assume) The staff was not too happy about this either, but no one spoke up to the DON about it.

Call me crazy, but I happen to think that the one place that should have an equal playing field is the hospital. A person should not receive better treatment just because of their social or economic status. It is a problem to me if any other patient is made to feel less worthy because they do not have extra money to fork out for an already outrageously high hospital bill.

I can understand the allure of VIP rooms for certain people, but why not seperate the VIP rooms from the regular rooms?

[nimbex, RN]

we don't have VIP rooms, all are private. I just don't see why care would differ here. Take any hall of patients and some naturally try to demand private nursing care while others appreciative for any efforts, we all deal with this daily.

My problem, loosly linked to this thread is VIP's getting better treatment due to their status. We had a county commissioner in, and the CEO had the hospital provide steak dinners for him and wife with all the thrills through his stay, all at hospital expense.

I feel that it is unjust situations like this, that can give the perception that VIP rooms equal unfair VIP treatment, and it never itended to be this way.

[OrthoNutter]

We have isolation rooms....no such thing as private or VIP rooms....if we get a staffer in or such, we will do our best to slot them in an iso room, simply because they're our colleagues and we know we would want the same treatment in return. However everyone knows that infections get priority in those rooms. We have private-share patients and they get the same treatment as everyone else. I don't care how much they or their fund is paying for them to be treated at my hospital, they will get the same treatment as the public patient in the very next bed.

[semstr]

We have VIP-hospitals here and in the general hospitals there are private rooms of course.

These VIP-hospitals are being used by people, who pay either cash or have extra insurances for these hospitals/ hotels.

A lot of famous, beautiful people go there, to become even more beautiful! (have to love these botox-faces!NOT)

[debRNo1]

Originally posted by OrthoNutter

We have isolation rooms....no such thing as private or VIP rooms.....

DITTO here..........

Private room = Isolation room

By virtue of how my unit is set up we do have more "one bedded rooms" than the rest of the hospital. Of course we get the infections transferred from other units and the occasional VIP

I had a VIP over the weekend and it was pure MISERY

However I did have 7 others to care for and had one CNA for 24 patients, not to mention NO ward clerk.

Dont know who or how they managed the "private" room but they were soooo demanding and there were sooo many visitors that I couldn't even get in the room. They appeared to be offended when I asked them to exuse themselves while we performed care. There were so many FLOWERS I could smell them down the hall. The dialogue seemed reheorificed and presented loudly in my presence. Everyone was a doctor or a nurse and I summoned the surgeon (at their request) who came RUNNING numerous times and wrote kooky orders, whatever they wanted-they got.

My w/e ended with one of the doctor daughters interupting report

to say, " I know your in the middle of report BUT..................

(blah blah blah )"

It made for a very tense w/e on the unit and Ill take the MRSA and VRE over a VIP any day.

[toodky]

At the hospital I work at, there is an entire floor like a "penthouse" for VIP's. They have amenities such as Gourmet chefs, inroom massage, inroom pedicure/manicures. They get robes and houseshoes and have the nices furniture and private bath. The rooms look like a 5 star hotel. It makes me ill!!!!!!!!

[hogan4736, BSN, RN]

Originally posted by sjoe

"IMO, every pt should be treated the same, regardless of economical status. "

On what do you base this attitude?

If people are willing to pay the extra money, as they might for their automobile, home, or lunch, why is this a problem for you or for anyone else?

If this is the way these people choose to spend their money, so what?

Isn't it obvious that the extra income/profit can be very useful for the hospital, many of which are in tight financial situations these days?

In my experience, these VIPs often can and do hire their own private nurses as well, which lessens the workload of the floor nurses AND provides another opportunity for nurses who want to work privately.

It has been a win-win situation for me when I was a staff nurse.

If they hire their own private nurses, then do it at home and use the "extra money" to get your admitting doc to round at your house...Think about it, less hospital acquired infection, no one leering into your room, no code blue overhead pages at 0200, etc...

And "the extra profit being useful for the hospital" I doubt that's what it's used for joe...

get out of my hospital w/ your VIP room and it's accompanying arrogance...

sean

[hogan4736, BSN, RN]

Originally posted by fab4fan

And I have had the misfortune of being in the hosp. and having a roommate find out that I was a nurse...good grief! You get bugged for everything when that happens.

just a question...how did the patient find out you were a nurse?

did you mention it to someone...

now, this is just me, but I've been hospitalized 2wice since I've been an RN, and I told anyone who asked that I was a web page designer each time...I'll only speak up (w/ the RN card) when I see bad nursing care (have done it once, when my wife was giving birth)...Otherwise being an RN (and stating it), (I'll get flamed for this) is IRRELEVANT, as a patient...

[KevinN]

If the patient has the money, and hospital is providing the accommodations . Why not! I am not going to dictate how people should spend their money. Yes in a perfect world every person would have their own private VIP room. However, until that day comes let us just accept that people with money usually get special privileges and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

Kevin

[sjoe]

"get out of my hospital w/ your VIP room and it's accompanying arrogance... "

That POV is termed "envy."