Patient Identification

For your safety, staff will frequently ask you to identify yourself by your name and date of birth. This is to assure that you are receiving the proper medication or treatment. Other procedures, such as the marking of arms, legs, etc. prior to surgery are being done to keep you safe and to actively involve you in your care. Thank you for your patience and cooperation with these safety activities.

Fall Prevention

  • We encourage you to take all of the necessary precautions to avoid injuries caused by falls. We offer the following safety suggestions to help patients avoid falls:
  • Please always ask for help by using your call light when you would like to get out of bed for any reason. It is no trouble, we are here for you to ensure your safety.
  • Staff will stay outside of the door or on the other side of the curtain when you are using the restroom to ensure safety and be able to help quickly if needed.
  • Notify the nursing staff if a spill occurs.
  • If you drop something or are unable to reach an item, please call us, we are here to assist you.
  • Your hospital bed is probably higher and narrower than your bed at home. When needed, call for help in getting into or out of bed. If the side rails are up, don’t try to climb over or between them. Use your call light for help.
  • Don’t try to use the furniture for support.
  • Leave the bathroom light on at night so you can see if you must get up.
  • Don’t wait until the last minute to go to the bathroom. Get up slowly and ask for help if needed. Staff may stay outside the door or the other side of the curtain to be available if you would need assistance quickly.
  • The nursing staff will provide yellow, non-skid slippers for walking and preventing unexpected falls.
  • Just ask! The mechanical lifting equipment is here to help move our patients as safely as possible.
  • If you or a loved one would like to get up, please let us assist you.

Medication Safety

Taking your medication correctly during your hospital stay is an important part of your treatment. Sometimes, taking different medications at the same time can cause problems. Your doctor and the hospital’s pharmacists will carefully monitor your medicine use to avoid these problems. It is very important that you take only those medicines provided or verified by the hospital’s pharmacy and administered by your nurse. Look at the medicine before you take it. If it does not look like what you usually take, then ask why. It is possible the medication looks different because it is a different brand or dosage. The nurse should explain the reason. Always ask.

Bring a list of all your medications, including non-prescription, herbals, over-the-counter medications and vitamins that you take. Also include the name and phone number of your pharmacy. If you bring your medications from home for any reason, always give your medication to the nurse so they can be properly identified by the pharmacist.

Avoid Skin Breakdown

When you are very sick or you have experienced a recent weight loss, you are prone to have skin breakdown wherever the weight of your body presses into the bed. You are at the greatest risk if you move very little in bed or a chair for a very long time, and have also been losing weight. To protect yourself from skin breakdown:

  • Change positions at least every two hours. • Use pillows to protect common pressure points where skin breaks down easily, including the heels and elbows, the back of the head, the buttocks and between the knees. Pressure redistribution surfaces are available as needed.
  • Ensure that you are eating a balanced diet. Good nutrition promotes skin health. Nutritional consultation is available as needed.
  • Keep all areas of skin clean and dry. Moisture from weepy skin, perspiration, urine or bowel movements hastens skin breakdown.
  • If you or your family notice any areas of reddened or broken skin, notify your doctor or nurse immediately.

Deep Vein Thrombosis

Awareness What Is It?

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) refers to the formation of a thrombus (blood clot) within a deep vein, commonly in the thigh or calf. This can have two serious consequences:

  1. blood through the vein, blood begins to pool and build up below the site. Chronic swelling and pain may develop. A person’s ability to live a full, active life may be impaired.
  2. If the blood clot breaks free and travels through the veins, it can reach the lungs, where it is called a pulmonary embolism (PE). A pulmonary embolism is a potentially fatal condition that can kill within hours.
  3. PAS/AVI Pumps: PAS on your calves or AVI on your feet squeeze your calves or feet to assist in keeping the blood in your legs circulating to prevent blood clotting. Please make sure our PAS or AVI resources are in place and turned on while in bed or a chair. Ankle pumps are another great way to keep blood flowing in addition to PAS/AVI methods.

Both DVT and PE may be present but difficult to detect. Thus, physicians and nurses at Western Reserve Hospital focus on preventing development by using mechanical or drug therapies. Even with these preventative therapies, DVT and subsequent PE remain a common cause for emergency readmission and death.

Dear patient and family members, Just ask!

  • If you have any questions
  • If you need help with anything during your stay
  • If you need help standing and/or using the restroom

     

Who Is At Risk For DVT?

A DVT may develop with any of the following:

  • Surgery
  • Injury to a limb
  • Long periods of bed rest or very little physical activity
  • Pregnancy
  • Obesity
  • Past history of blood clots
  • Family history of DVT’s
  • Changes in the blood caused by some diseases such as cancer
  • Females taking oral contraceptives

Prevention

Prevention is the best way to approach the risk for DVT. Usually, several prevention strategies are used in combination. For example, a patient may be fitted with special stockings, compression devices that squeeze your calves or feet, participate in exercise activities and/or receive medication that is an anticoagulant (blood thinner) that may begin upon admission to the hospital and continue after the patient is discharged. Please make sure that you have your sequential compression devices turned on at all times while in the bed and in the chair. These are to help prevent blood clots.

Electrical Appliances

Since they may not meet the hospital’s electrical safety standards, electrical appliances that are brought from home, such as hair dryers and/or shavers, are not permitted unless they are battery operated.

Fire Drills & Emergencies

Tests and drills are held periodically within the hospital and without advance notice. Please follow the instructions given by hospital personnel.

Concealed Weapons

To protect the safety of our patients, visitors and employees, Western Reserve Hospital has exercised its right under Ohio law, as an owner of private property, to prohibit employees, patients and visitors from carrying concealed weapons into any owned or operated facility. Western Reserve Hospital’s Protective Services Department requires carriers of concealed weapons to store weapons in their vehicles or deposit them in the facility’s lockbox, if available.