Patients and visitors guide

Hospitalization can be stressful for anyone. At Edward-Elmhurst Health, we want you and your loved ones to feel as comfortable as possible while you’re in our care. Whether you’re here for a few hours or a longer visit, our physicians, nurses and entire hospital staff will provide clinical excellence and personalized attention in a caring, healing environment.

Choose your hospital guide to learn more:

Transforming your experience

We’ve got a vision here — care that is safe, seamless, personal for every patient. We’re working hard to make this a reality through our Transformation PX™ initiative. Every one of our team members has received special training as we work to transform the healthcare experience.

• Safe: Despite serious and widespread efforts to improve the quality of healthcare, we know that patients in hospitals across the country still suffer preventable harm every day. Edward-Elmhurst Health has made a commitment to being a safe, highly reliable culture that results in zero events of harm. High-reliability science is the study of organizations in industries like commercial aviation and nuclear power that operate under hazardous conditions while maintaining safety levels that are far better than those of healthcare. Adopting and applying the lessons of this science to healthcare offers the promise of enabling hospitals to reach levels of quality and safety that are comparable to those of the best high-reliability organizations. Our commitment to high reliability puts safety at the forefront of all that we do.
• Seamless: We know that healthcare can be hard. And we firmly believe that it should be and can be easier. By looking at our care and processes through the eyes of our patients, we’re developing tools to make it easier, like online scheduling and our mobile app. Our cost estimator tool helps you estimate how much care will cost before you get a bill — saving you time and stress. Our new On My Way tool (on our app and website) lets us know you’re on your way to our walk-in care locations so that we can save your spot in line. We get it — life is hectic. We’ll never stop trying to find new ways to help you stay Healthy Driven.
• Personal: We take your healthcare personally. It’s what drives us. At Edward-Elmhurst Health, we believe patient care should be as state-of-the-art as our technology. Here, you’ll find individuals across our entire system for whom compassion is a calling, and healthcare is a 24/7 commitment. Just as each patient comes to us with a unique story to tell, each one of our doctors, nurses and staff members have personal stories and powerful motivations for becoming part of the Edward-Elmhurst Health family. Everywhere else, it’s healthcare, but here, it’s personal.

What you can expect

As an inpatient with us, you can expect:

• Clear information: You will receive a Patient Handbook with helpful information. Your nurses will also use the white board in your room to list the names of people caring for you, treatment times and other important information during your stay.
• Ensuring your privacy: When you arrive, we will ask you to identify a password. Your nurse and physician will only discuss your condition with a loved one who identifies your password.
• Responsiveness: There are many ways to ask for help during your stay. You can use your call light to reach your nurse or patient care technician. Many of our staff carry a mobile phone that you can call to reach them anywhere in the hospital. We also invite you to call a Patient Advocate with any compliments, complaints or concerns.

Getting ready to go home

We want you to recover as quickly as possible so you can return home. Your anticipated discharge plan will be determined when you arrive, based on your diagnosis, initial tests and current health status. Each day, your healthcare team will review your plan of care and needs for discharge. You will be discharged as soon as your physician considers it medically appropriate.

Before you go home, your nurse will talk to each of your physicians to be sure you have everything you need. Your nurse will provide you and your loved ones with instructions for returning home, such as how and when to take any medication. You’ll also receive our Discharge Planning Guide to help you transition from the hospital setting.

Transitional Care Clinic at Edward Hospital

The time after leaving the hospital can be stressful and overwhelming. Patients at Edward Hospital with complicated medical conditions and/or socio-economic barriers who could benefit from additional support after leaving the hospital may be recommended for the Transitional Care Clinic. The program serves as a bridge after leaving the hospital to support you in your recovery until you follow up with your primary care physician.

Learn more about the Transitional Care Clinic.

Home care services

Although you may not feel fully recovered when it is time to leave, it’s important to remember that staying in the hospital unnecessarily exposes you to certain risks. When acute hospital care is no longer needed, the rest of your recovery can take place at home with home care services, or sometimes at a skilled nursing facility. Our case managers and social workers will help you to determine what you need once you leave the hospital, and how to find those resources.