What's it like in the VIP wing of a hospital?

amoLucia · Oct 6, 2020

One NOC, I remember being floated to our small (10 bed?) private unit (for the 'special' pts) . Was doing something for one alert, oriented lady when she burped really close to my face. And she then profusely and embarrassedly APOLOGIZED over & over to me. Was so polite & mortified.

I remember it took me by such surprise because I usually worked our medical 'service' unit. We were a city hospital and we took in all kinds. And here was someone apologizing!

mfdteacher, BSN · Oct 7, 2020

I remember being floated years ago from my ICU position to the "special" unit. My duties that evening basically involved making drinks (etoh) for the GBS patient and his girlfriend. I've always cringed when I'm told, "The service here is really good." I am NOT a servant, I am an educated experienced professional Nurse!

MelEpiRN · Oct 7, 2020

A hospital I used to work at was hoity-toity. Most patients had insurance, highly educated, etc. We had what I guess you would call a "VIP" wing- most of the patients who used it were plastics/ one night stay. I never went up there. Honestly, the VIPs stayed throughout the facility on the most appropriate unit for their medical condition. We saw senators, royalty, diplomats, etc.

What I learned was the people who were actual VIPs (by that I mean famous in some way/shape/form) were quite nice- the ones who thought they commanded some sort of VIP treatment (OK you're a lawyer...that's nice?) were super demanding and rude.

Hirene Onne, ASN · Oct 8, 2020

On 10/4/2020 at 8:21 PM, NRSKarenRN said:

PENN Health/Hosp. of Univ of Pennsylvania (HUP) has growing clientele from overseas Princes and Kings coming for care along with star entertainers desiring privacy--- thusly unit created per newspaper reports few years ago when unit created.

Penn tore down the multistory hotel across the street for a new tower --been building the 4 years taking my DH to docs there (get last appointment to avoid construction gridlock).

"The Pavilion will house 500 private patient rooms and 47 operating rooms in a 1.5 million square foot, 17-story facility across from the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania and adjacent to the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine."

They sped up construction some floors ready due to COVID ; have 120 rooms available if needed (PENN had 300 COVID patients/day in 4 hospitals in the beginning epidemic --turned patients away, down now to 30/day). Outside hospital my husband was in August 2019, tried unsuccessfully to transfer him x 4 days to HUP- no ICU/telemetry beds available. They hope to be fully open in 2021.

The Pavilion: Distinguishing Features

Meanwhile, the 100 year old Mercy Philadelphia Hospital licensed for 157 beds 20 blocks away, originally announced closure earlier this year due to primarily Medicare and Medicaid patient population making business unsustainable; ED averaged 45,000+ visits/yr --which fed inpatient units.

I started my nursing career there in 1977, spent 15 great years learning Respiratory/Telemetry nursing, later moving to their home care. Was devastated that this safety-net hospital closing as city already lost 500 bed Hahnemann in June 2019. Fortunately, community non-profits stepped in to buy facility with PENN to run ED and 40 to 60 inpatient beds

Mercy Philadelphia Hospital has new lease on life through Penn Medicine and other nonprofits

The University of Pennsylvania has a $14.6 billion endowment. Do they really need taxpayer money? They are snobs that disparage smaller hospitals. They hire their grads, first. They are so rich no one wants to sue them.

gonzo1, ASN, RN · Oct 8, 2020

Thanks, but I'll just stay in the homeless patients wing.

OUxPhys, BSN, RN · Oct 10, 2020

For my old employer you usually had a full assignment but since it was smaller than other floors id say it was anywhere from 3-4 pts. When I floated up there there were certain pt's I couldn't take simply because they were high up on the VIP list. Whatever. Im glad I didn't because you were basically a servant. A lot of the time the VIP wasn't filled with VIPs so it would be used as overflow. For people donating a kidney they got to stay up there as a thank you and at no extra cost.

My old employer did offer private duty nursing and I think it paid $75/hr.

MarkMyWords · Oct 12, 2020

I wondered what famous people do when they need medical work done. I thought they paid the doctor for a house visit. So most hospitals have VIP suites? Is this where Mick Jagger would go? LOL

Do they receive visitors, too, when everyone else cannot these days?

Leader25, ASN, BSN, RN · Oct 12, 2020

On 10/4/2020 at 6:14 PM, amoLucia said:

I think it's obscene, and to be honest, it has lowered my opinion of the facility's reputation.

I don't feel it is obscene,and Uof P is not the only one to cater to the rich,or high ranking public offices,they are a necessary part of life in any country,look at Juan Peron,Castro,Pinochet,.Many a night in our non vip institution we had the Police Com,TV soap opera relatives, and the supervisor made sure the VIP label was known.

amoLucia · Oct 12, 2020

Big whoopee-do! They all still put on their pants one leg at a time!!

And prob have holes in their underwear too!

Swellz · Oct 12, 2020

An old coworker of mine had to have emergency surgery when the hospital was full, so she was placed in one of our VIP suites! The pictures looked similar to the Penn suites - multiple rooms, balcony, kitchen, etc. The balcony with the call bell button stood out to me for some reason LOL. Our ortho guys were the go-to for the local professional sports teams, which is who typically stayed there.

But if you needed chemo, you didn't get the suite, because the nurses there weren't chemo trained. So, if you had cancer, you were still on the regular unit, and our manager would handpick nurses for VIPs, but you still had your full assignment. I personally cared for a very wealthy man who was VIP. His family was given a double room, and there was a line I could call 24/7 if they needed anything, and administrators checked on him constantly. Food was brought in from restaurants all over the city that the hospital paid for. The patient and family were totally out of touch with what was appropriate for staff to do; the wife wanted me to do a full massage, or get a physical therapist for a massage, in the middle of the night. I guess I should have called the special liaison and gotten them a masseuse, but I couldn't rationalize waking up another human being at 2am for that request. Maybe that's why I didn't take care of him after that shift LOL. Other VIPs (relative of a professional athlete, relative of a politician who had Secret Service protection) we had received special treatment, but not nearly as much as that guy. I never found out what made him so much more elite than the others, but I assume he gave the hospital a lot of money.

amoLucia · Oct 13, 2020

"Rank doth have its privileges".

HiddencatBSN, BSN · Oct 13, 2020

13 hours ago, Leader25 said:

I don't feel it is obscene,and Uof P is not the only one to cater to the rich,or high ranking public offices,they are a necessary part of life in any country,look at Juan Peron,Castro,Pinochet,.Many a night in our non vip institution we had the Police Com,TV soap opera relatives, and the supervisor made sure the VIP label was known.

Security, sure. Privacy restrictions, locked charts, pseudonyms on the bedboard are reasonable for high profile patients. (Although the other folks in the hospital with Pinochet needed protection FROM him more, this is the guy who had dissidents thrown out of helicopters after all.) But reinforcing the two tiered system where the haves get better care than the have nots is in direct contradiction of the values of equity and justice.