Patient Handbook
 FLEMING COUNTY HOSPITAL
"We treat you like family"
Welcome
Welcome to Fleming County Hospital. We are pleased that you and your physician have selected us to provide your medical care.
At Fleming County Hospital, providing quality healthcare in a friendly and compassionate environment is our number one priority. You will be more to us than just a name on a chart. We are dedicated to providing you, our patient, with excellent care. As our guest, we feel responsible for your care and comfort during your stay. We are here for you.
We know that being in the hospital can be a stressful experience, which is why our team of professionals will do its best to make you feel as comfortable as possible.
General Information
Mission Statement
To improve the health and well-being of the communities we serve.
Vision Statement
To be the provider of choice to the communities we serve.
Values
Value the people we serve.
Accountable for the healthcare we provide.
Loyalty to our patients, employees and physicians.
United in teamwork.
Excellence in quality of care.
Service to the communities.
Fleming County Hospital
Nestled in the center of Northern Kentucky, Fleming County Hospital was established in 1962. We are a not-for-profit hospital serving residents of several rural counties. Fleming County Hospital is managed by Quorum Health Resources, LLC and governed by a 10-member Board of Directors.
Over the years, Fleming County Hospital has grown by leaps and bounds, and is one of Fleming County's largest employers with nearly 200 employees on staff. You'll find that Fleming County Hospital caregivers are people you know and trust: your friends, neighbors, and family members.
Hometown Community Spirit/Hometown Community Pride
Fleming County Hospital provides care and services that go beyond the walls of the hospital. As a community partner, we feel it important to give back to
our patients and our community. Several of our community outreach efforts include:
Hosting annual community Health Fair
Offering exercise and smoking cessation classes to the community
Sponsoring Healthy Hearts Support Group
Providing free health screenings at various community events
Conducting free community education seminars and giving individuals the opportunity to speak with experts about various diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Arthritis
The hospital's philosophy of giving back to the community is echoed through the efforts of our staff. As your family, friends, and neighbors, our staff has worked tirelessly on a number of community projects including:
American Cancer Society's Relay for Life
Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk
Great Strides: A Walk to Cure Cystic Fibrosis
Web Site
The Fleming County Hospital website, www.flemingcountyhospital.org, provides information about the facility and inpatient/outpatient services available. The website also lists all local primary care physicians along with their contact information. And, if you need to see one of the many specialty clinicians who visit the hospital, a monthly calendar is posted on the website. In addition, the website offers healthy living tips and recipes, along with links to many other organizations.
Accreditation
Fleming County Hospital personnel and physicians have met strict standards of excellence. Fleming County Hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and is licensed by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health Services. The hospital laboratory is accredited by the College of American Pathologists and CLIA. The American College of Radiology certifies our mammography services. Fleming County Hospital holds membership in the American Hospital Association and the Kentucky Hospital Association.
Admissions
Open Admission Policy
It is the policy of Fleming County Hospital to admit and treat all persons without regard to race, color, sex, handicap, national origin, or religious creed. Admission requirements and assignments of hospital facilities are the same for all persons.
Your Admission
Whether you are having an outpatient test, procedure, or surgery, or if you are being admitted to the hospital, you need to register at the patient registration area located next to the Emergency Room. At the time of admission, patients or their immediate family members will be asked a series of questions by the hospital admitting personnel. State and federal laws require us to ask patients if they have any health care directives each time they come to our facility. This also may be called an advance directive or living will. You are not required to have an advance directive to receive care at Fleming County Hospital or any other health care facility. Your health care will not be hampered or affected if you decide against having an advance directive.
Information on advance directives may also be obtained from the following sources:
A private attorney, or any member of the Fleming County Bar Association
Family physicians
Division of Aging Services, Commonwealth of Kentucky (502) 564-6930
Senior Citizens (606) 849-9651
Northeast Legal Services Corporation (606) 784-8921
State Legislators or Legislative Research Commission (800) 372-7181
Kentucky Bar Association (502) 564-3795
Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (800) 525-3456
If you have a Living Will, a Durable Medical Power of Attorney, or a CPR Directive, please tell your doctor or your nurse. We must have a copy of the document(s) for your hospital chart in order to assure that your wishes are honored.
What is an advance directive?
An advance directive is a document that enables you to make choices for future health care. Making such a health care decision is an option. It can give instruction or name someone to make health care decisions for you when you cannot make them yourself. By making such decisions, you can let your doctor and family know what kind of medical treatment you do or do not want to receive. It can also let them know what kind of treatment you want stopped. A medical directive can only be put into action if the conditions you list are met by your medical condition. Having the forms does not mean you will stop receiving care or medical treatment. If you have one of these documents, you will be asked to provide a copy for your medical record. It is our policy to honor your healthcare decision as long as it is legal and reasonable.
Relatives, physicians, and employees of the hospital in which you are a patient may not witness your signature on any healthcare decision documents (e.g.advance directives).
Kentucky statue does authorize an advance directive that would allow the withholding of food, water, or medicine to alleviate pain from a terminally ill patient; this would not apply to a pregnant woman unless two doctors certify that the woman's condition was terminal before the "advance directive" would become effective. It does not guarantee that you will escape being kept in a vegetative state.
If you have questions, would like more information, or want to make changes in your medical directive(s), contact your nurse or call Fleming County Hospital's Case Management Team. Why would you want or need a medical directive (advance directive, living will)?
Why would you want or need a medical directive (advance directive, living will)?
Medical technology has become so advanced that an individual can be kept "alive" on a machine almost indefinitely. If one chose not to be placed on these machines, a medical directive is one way to assure your wishes will be honored.
Three Examples of Medical Directive Forms:
Durable Medical Power of Attorney for Health Care
In this kind of document, you can state what types of medical treatment you want to have or don't want to have. For example, do you want surgery, blood transfusions, or cancer treatment? You can also name someone to make healthcare decisions for you when you are no longer able to make them for yourself.
Please note: A Durable Power of Attorney is not a Power of Attorney for business or personal financial matters.
Living Will
You can let your healthcare provider know in advance how long you want life support treatment to be provided for you if you ever have to be put on life support machines. This is often called a "living will." It tells your doctor and family how long you want treatment to be provided and when you want it stopped.
Please note: A Living Will is not the same as a "Last Will and Testament." It has nothing to do with the disposition of your personal property or your estate after death.
CPR Directive (also known as a NO CODE or DO NOT RESUSCITATE)
A CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) directive tells your doctor and family what to do if your heart stops beating or you stop breathing. If you do not want CPR, a physician's order must be written in your chart each time you are admitted. If you do want CPR, it will be automatically given to you, if necessary, while you are a patient in our facility.
Organ Donation
Upon admission, you will be asked about organ donation. Every patient, or if applicable, a family, has the option to either donate organs and/or tissues, or to decline to donate. Should you wish further information, please discuss this with your nurse or physician.
Admission Forms Patients Will Be Asked to Review and Sign
Consent forms for treatment and admission to the hospital must be signed by each patient or next of kin. Permits for minors must be signed by parents or guardians.
Release of Information
When you are admitted to Fleming County Hospital, you will be asked to choose whether or not the hospital can release information about your presence and your general condition to visitors and callers (including the media). If you wish that information not be released, our staff will respect your decision and will not give information to any caller or visitor, including your close family and friends.
Insurance and Billing/Payment Policies
It is necessary to make satisfactory arrangements for payment of your hospital bill at the time of your admission. To do this, you should bring the following list of important papers with you for admission purposes:
Medical insurance cards and claim forms
Social Security card
Name and address of employer
Name, address, and telephone number of closest family member
As a service to you, Fleming County Hospital will bill your insurance company. Many insurance plans – including Medicare and Medicaid – limit coverage through restrictions, deductibles, or co-payments. You are responsible for any charges not covered by your insurance. Such amounts are payable in full at the time of your discharge unless other arrangements have been made. After your discharge, you will be sent a complete statement of your hospital account.
While you are hospitalized, you may require the services of specialists (such as a radiologist, pathologist, or consulting physician) in your treatment. These services, along with those of your attending physician, will not be included in your hospital bill; these physicians will bill you separately.
As always, our trained, professional staff will make every effort to assist you with questions and concerns about your billing and insurance information. If you have concerns about your ability to pay your portion of your hospital bill, please ask to see a patient financial counselor.
Identification Band
Once you have completed the admissions process, you will be given a wrist identification band. This band is a safeguard for your protection and should
not be removed.
Patient Safety
While in the care of Fleming County Hospital, your safety is of the utmost importance to us. The following is a list of safety measures you, as a patient,
may want to consider:
Take part in every decision about your healthcare.
Make sure that your doctor and nurse know about every medication you are taking. This includes over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbs.
Make sure your caregivers know about your allergies to medicine, foods, or environmental irritants.
Ask healthcare workers who have direct contact with you if they have washed their hands.
When you are being discharged, ask your doctor to explain the treatment plan you will use at home.
If you are having surgery, make sure that you, your doctor, and your surgeon all agree and are clear on exactly what will be done.
Speak up if you have questions. Learn about your condition and treatments.
Checking In
What to Bring
The following personal checklist will help you prepare for admittance to Fleming County Hospital:
Night wear, robe, rubber-soled slippers (hospital gowns are available)
Personal toiletries (make-up, razor, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, dentures, etc.)
Reading materials and your address book
Small amount of money for newspaper, etc.
Medications
Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney
What Not to Bring
Please leave the following items at home:
Large amounts of money, jewelry, and other valuables
Electrical equipment that must be plugged into an outlet, such as heating pads, electrical blankets, hair dryers, curling irons, space heaters, etc.
Young Patients
Fleming County Hospital recognizes that younger patients have special physical and emotional needs. Therefore, an adult is encouraged to stay with his or her child. One guest tray will be provided at each meal for this person. For the safety of the patient, side rails on the beds may need to remain up even when there are visitors in the room.
Medications
All medications you take while in the hospital are prescribed by your doctor, prepared and dispensed by the Fleming County Hospital Pharmacy, and administered by a nurse. Patients are not permitted to administer their own drugs or keep personal medications at bedside. However, we do ask that patients bring their medications with them so that the hospital pharmacy may review for contraindactors or interactions. In the event that your personal medications are needed for your treatment, you will not be charged for their usage. Your medications will be returned to you as you are discharged. The home prescriptions your doctor may order while you are a patient at our facility will need to be taken to a pharmacy to be filled.
Your Team of Caregivers
During your stay, you will come in contact with a variety of hospital employees. Each employee is required to wear his or her name badge at all times. If you have any questions about someone in your room, please call your nurse.
Physicians
Your physician is responsible for directing your care while you are in the hospital. Your physician should be consulted if you have questions about your illness or treatments.
Nursing Staff
Twenty-four hour nursing care is provided by a team of professional Registered Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses that is committed to providing comprehensive care to patients. During your stay, you will be assigned a registered nurse that will coordinate a thorough nursing assessment, a plan of care, and continuous monitoring of your health status throughout your hospitalization. He or she will evaluate your condition regularly and plan your nursing care with you and other healthcare team members. Please feel free to contact your nurse or any member of our care team if you have questions or concerns.
Intensive Care Unit Nurses
Patients who are seriously ill or who need constant attention may stay in the intensive care unit (ICU). This area is staffed by specially trained personnel and provides 24-hour comprehensive nursing care. Visitor access to this area may be limited.
Surgical Services
A Registered Nurse or Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist will explain before your surgery what you should expect if you are anesthetized. Following
your surgery, you may be taken to a recovery room where you can be monitored continuously.
Case Managers/Discharge Planner
If you or your family need assistance with the follow-up treatment your physician has recommended, ask to speak with a Case Manager. He or she will work closely with your physician to assist you and your family in dealing with problems brought on by illness and hospitalization. A member of the case management team can assist with post-hospital care referrals and coordinate services such as rehabilitation, home health care, Hospice, nursing home placement, and procurement of medical equipment. Case Managers can also help with any questions you have regarding finances such as insurance coverage, Medicaid application, Social Security/disability information, or Medicare. If you feel that you may need the assistance of a Case Manager, please ask your nurse to contact one for you.
Laboratory Technicians
During your stay, samples of your blood, urine, and other body fluids may be tested to aid in the diagnosis of your illness and monitor your recovery. Such tests will be performed by the laboratory staff under the direction of a Pathologist.
Blood Banks
Blood used in blood transfusions is obtained from the Blood Bank of Central Kentucky Blood Center. There is a charge for the blood and equipment used to ensure the blood you receive is safe and compatible to your type. Because of these procedures, you can rest assured that any blood product used at Fleming County Hospital in the course of your visit has been tested to make it as safe as possible.
Imaging Services
Radiology Technologists perform X-rays and scans at the request of your doctor to help diagnose your condition. Once the X-ray has been performed, it will be interpreted by a Radiologist, a physician who specializes in X-rays, and the findings will be reported directly to your physician.
Other imaging services, such as MRIs and mammograms, may be conducted on an outpatient basis.
Pharmacists
The hospital pharmacy is available to fill your pharmacy needs while you are in the hospital. The hospital pharmacy is operated under the direction of a licensed Pharmacist trained in dispensing medication ordered by your physician and provides the most cost-effective medication for your recovery.
Respiratory Care Team
The professional staff that serves on the Respiratory Care team helps patients who have respiratory or breathing problems. In addition, they perform stress tests for cardio-pulmonary capacity. The department also administers Holter monitors and trans-telephonics, a method of 24-hour heart monitoring for outpatients.
Rehabilitation Team
The Fleming County Hospital Rehabilitative Services team includes physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. The rehabilitation team members are registered therapists who may deliver your therapy on an inpatient or outpatient basis. Services provided may address your neurological, orthopedic, wound care, pediatric, cardiac rehabilitation, and pulmonary rehabilitation needs.
Health Information Management
Health Information Management is responsible for the maintenance of all medical records. Patient confidentiality is a conscious effort by every health care worker to keep private all personal information revealed by the patient while receiving healthcare in our facility. To protect confidentiality, medical information is accessible only to those who have a "need to know" in order to deliver effective care.
Dietician
The Dietary Department's chief objective is to serve you tasty, nourishing meals within the diet prescribed by your physician and dietitian team. The qualified dietary staff is happy to assist you with food preferences within your dietary restrictions. Upon admission to the hospital, a nutritional screen and/or assessment is performed to help assist in your recovery. (A Registered Dietician is available upon request by a physician.)
Plant Operations
The hospital Environmental Services Department keeps the hospital's equipment and physical plant in good repair. If you have any problems with the environment in your room or any equipment, please notify a caregiver.
Housekeepers
Our friendly housekeeping staff is responsible for the general cleanliness and order of patient rooms on a daily basis. The housekeeping staff is a part of the patient care team and is there to assist patients in making their stay more comfortable.
Chaplains
Volunteer members of the pastoral care staff are available, upon request to you and your family for spiritual guidance and comfort. In addition, your priest, minister, or rabbi is always welcome to visit you while you are staying with us. A hospital chapel is located at the end of the hall on the East Wing and is available for visitors of all faiths, at all times, for prayer and meditation.
Additional Care Partners
Your physician may deem additional services necessary. In this case, your physician will refer you to a specialist.
The Arthur D. & Kathryn G. Gorman Medical Arts Building, located on the campus of Fleming County Hospital, provides space to many rotating specialists. This provides patients with easy access to clinicians without the problems associated with travel.
Patient Services for Your Comfort and Convenience
Your Room
Your room assignment at Fleming County Hospital is based upon your admitting diagnosis and the bed availability on the day of your admission. A limited number of private rooms are offered on the basis of availability and your condition in relation to other patients. A private room can be requested at the time of admission or any time during your stay by contacting your nurse. If you are assigned a private room, you will be responsible for the difference in cost from a semi-private room.
Your Hospital Bed
Hospital beds can be adjusted using the controls. The beds are equipped with side rails that may be raised while you are asleep or sedated. Should you need assistance, please notify the nursing staff.
Calling Your Nurse
For your safety and quality of care, a bedside control system is located at the side of your bed. This system provides you with direct access to nursing services and to the television. An additional emergency call button is located in the bathroom.
Television
A color television is located in each patient room and free viewing is provided as a courtesy to you during your hospital stay. For your convenience, remote controls are located at bedside.
Phones and Phone Calls
For your convenience, there is a telephone located in each hospital room for your use.
To obtain an outside line for local calls, dial "9."
To make long distance calls, dial "0" to reach a hospital operator, who will transfer you to a long distance operator. Long distance calls must be charged to your telephone calling card or home phone number.
Callers may reach you by dialing (606) 849-5000 and asking for you by name or room number, or by dialing your room directly at (606) 849-5, then the room number.
Public pay phones are located throughout the hospital for the use of visitors and family.
Patient Meals
The diet plan ordered by your physician is an important part of your treatment. Please do not eat or drink anything brought to you by a visitor without permission of your nurse. We ask that food not be stored in patient rooms unless the patient is in the Hospice Care Center.
Wholesome, nourishing, and well-balanced meals are an important part of your treatment and recovery. An attractive meal is provided for you as directed by your doctor. Patients are served breakfast between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., lunch between Noon and 1:00 p.m., and dinner between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Occasionally, your meal may be delayed when you are scheduled for a special test or treatment. In this case, you will be served after your examination or test.
If a family member or friend wants to eat in your room with you, the person may go the cafeteria, purchase a meal there, and take it back to your room.
Cafeteria
The cafeteria at the Fleming County Hospital is open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and dinner from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Vending Machines
For your convenience, vending machines are located next to the cafeteria and are available 24 hours a day.
Candy and snacks may be purchased from the hospital gift shop located in the main lobby.
Safety and Security
Valuables
Fleming County Hospital cannot assume responsibility for loss of, or damage to, valuables, clothing or other personal items. It is strongly urged that you leave valuables at home. If that is not possible, you should deposit such items in the hospital safe. The hospital cannot otherwise assume responsibility for loss of money and other valuables left in your room. When not in use, dentures and eyeglasses should be placed in protective containers.
Alarms and Drills
For your protection, the hospital conducts fire and disaster drills regularly. If a drill occurs while you are at the facility, please remain in your room and do not become alarmed. Our staff is trained in fire safety and emergency management.
Firearms
Firearms are not allowed in the hospital, unless a law enforcement officer is guarding a prisoner or performing other official duties.
Cellular Phones
In an effort to ensure the safety and well-being of all our patients, we ask that cellular telephones and radio transmitters not be used in the hospital. When turned to the "ON" position, the phone is in the standby mode, and can interfere with the operation of sensitive medical equipment, potentially jeopardizing the well-being of a patient.
Use of Tobacco, Alcohol, or Illegal Drugs
In the interest of the health and safety of all patients and staff at Fleming County Hospital, smoking is prohibited in the facility. This policy must be strictly adhered to because of the availability of oxygen therapy in patient rooms. Visitors may smoke in the gazebo areas located outside the hospital patient registration area and near the chapel area on the East Wing.
In addition, the use of alcohol or illegal drugs by patients, visitors, or employees is prohibited in every area of the hospital.
For Family and Friends
Visiting Hours
Fleming County Hospital recognizes the importance of support of family and friends when you are a patient in the hospital. However, visitor access may be limited in patient rooms at the discretion of the nurse. Patient care is our primary concern – we ask visitors to please leave by 9:00 p.m. so that the
patient may get his or her rest.
Intensive Care Unit Visiting Hours
Due to the nature of the care offered in the Intensive Care Unit, visiting is generally restricted to members of the immediate family. Visitation is allowed on the even hours between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Visitation will be at the discretion of the ICU nurse.
Waiting Areas
Special areas have been reserved for the comfort of visitors. The waiting room for ambulatory and outpatient service patients is located in the East Wing lobby. The inpatient waiting area is located in the West Wing. Persons accompanying emergency patients should wait in the North Wing lobby.
Gift Shop
The hospital gift shop is located in the front lobby and is operated by the Fleming County Hospital Auxiliary. The gift shop offers a variety of gifts and novelties. It is open from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, and from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Gifts for Patients
Visitors should check with the nurse before bringing gifts of food or drink to patients, as some patients are on restricted diets. In the Intensive Care Unit,
please check with the unit nurse regarding any gift (flowers/food) brought for patients.
Parking
Patients and visitors in medical and surgical wings should park in front of the hospital. Parking for the emergency room is located at the rear of the building. Parking for ambulatory, outpatient services, and clinic patients is located at the left side of the hospital as you face the front of the building, near the patient registration entrance. Please take note of reserved parking areas for medical staff and handicapped individuals.
Special Services
Fleming County Hospital wants your stay with us to be as pleasant and comfortable as possible. Therefore, we offer a variety of special services including the following:
Patient Education
Fleming County Hospital is committed to providing you with information about your illness or other topics, in order to help you achieve and maintain an optimal level of wellness. Information is available from your physician, nurse, or other health care providers. In addition, arrangements may be made for you to consult with a dietician.
Mail and Flowers
Mail and flowers are delivered daily to the nursing station. These will be brought to your room. Outgoing mail may be given to your nurse or left at the nursing station.
Social Services
Personal, family, or financial concerns can prevent you from achieving maximum physical recovery. Therefore, Fleming County Hospital's total patient care program includes the services of a Social Worker who can assist the patient with an easier transition once the patient is discharged from the hospital.
Ethics Committee
If you have ethical or moral issues regarding a patient, they should be addressed with your physician. However, should you feel that issues are still unresolved when there is confusion or conflict in regard to dealing with the patient's care, you may speak with the hospital advisory ethics committee, comprised of patient care advocates. There is no charge to the patient or to the patient's insurance for the involvement of the Ethics Committee.
Support Groups
Fleming County Hospital does offer specific support groups for patients and family members. In addition, the hospital Discharge Planner can assist the patient or family in finding a support group in the area that fits their individual needs. For more information about this service call 849-5159.
Assisting with Communication Barriers
If it is recognized that a patient does not speak English, he or she may be assisted in vital communication through the use of picture cards, a translator, via the Language Line translator service, or by friends or family members who speak both languages.
If a patient has vision problems, a hospital staff member will assist him or her. Instructions or consent forms will be read to the patient and noted on the patient's records.
If a patient is hearing impaired, written messages will be used to facilitate communication when possible. When needed, family members will be asked to assist. A staff member or volunteer who signs is available to patients who understand sign language.
If a patient is unable to read or write, necessary documents, instruction, and consent forms will be read to him or her and noted in records. When it is necessary for the patient to sign a document, the information will be read to the patient and the patient will be guided to the proper space in which to make his or her mark. As with any consent, the mark will be witnessed.
Other Services
Sleep Lab
Patients checking in for a sleep study will be escorted to a sleep study room by a technician. Before the sleep study begins, the patient will have the opportunity to relax by watching TV or reading a book. Next, a Certified or Registered Respiratory Therapist who is trained in sleep studies will answer any questions the patient may have and later begin the study. Patients having a sleep study performed should bring their night clothes, and are encouraged to bring any personal belongings that may help them relax, such as a book or magazine.
Durable Medical Equipment
A resource list of medical equipment dealers can be provided to you if you need to arrange for the rental of a hospital bed, oxygen, a monitor, or other durable medical equipment.
Swing Bed Program
Fleming County Hospital has a swing bed program that is available for our patients in the event that they need continued skilled care prior to being discharged home or to another facility. This unit is staffed with Registered Nurses, Licensed Practitioner Nurses, and Certified Nursing Assistants.
Hospice of Hope Rooms
In conjunction with Hospice of Hope, Fleming County Hospital is home to a Hospice Care Center. The Hospice Care Center is designed for terminally ill patients who are currently in the hospital and are unable to be discharged, patients whose symptom management is uncontrollable at home, or patients who are nearing death and for whom care at home is not possible. The Hospice Care Center rooms (122, 124) are located in the East Wing of Fleming County Hospital and are decorated in a home-like setting. These rooms have amenities to accommodate family members who wish to remain with the patient, including sleeper sofa, refrigerator, microwave, TV, and VCR. Family members are encouraged to spend time with the patient, and therefore are not restricted to visiting hours.
Discharging
Patient Discharge Procedures
In preparation for discharge, the staff will work with you to prepare for your return home. You will receive instruction about follow-up care, such as diet, medication, level of activity, and follow-up appointments with your physician. The staff can also furnish you with a list of community resources that can provide you with contact information for community and state agencies. Please be sure to ask our staff about any concerns you may have.
On the day of your discharge, you should arrange for transportation home. For your safety, we ask that you please wait for a staff member to transport you by wheelchair to the exit.
Compliments, Concerns, or Complaints
At Fleming County Hospital, we are always striving to improve our level of care. That is why we consider your opinion to be our most important quality improvement tool.
If you have a compliment, concern, or complaint, please use our Confidential Care Line to contact the Chief Executive Officer directly. The Confidential Care Line can be accessed by dialing 5131 using a hospital phone, or by dialing (606) 849-5131 using an outside phone. If no one is available to take your call, an answering machine will take a message and your call will be returned promptly.
Please understand that your expression of concern or issues will not compromise care today or any time in the future.
Patient Satisfaction Survey
At Fleming County Hospital, we are interested in the quality of care that you or your family received while under our care. Periodically, we mail satisfaction surveys to obtain information from our patients that will help us to evaluate what we can improve. You may receive such a survey and/or a follow-up telephone call to inquire about your well-being and the care you were given while a patient at our facility. Your opinions are very important and valuable to us. Your response can be anonymous if you so desire. If you receive a survey, we encourage you to complete it and provide us with your honest opinion.
Your Rights and Responsibilities as a Patient
All patients are entitled to be treated in an ethical manner that ensures personal dignity, autonomy, and personal involvement in their care and treatment. Fleming County Hospital believes that understanding and safeguarding patient rights is an essential component of meeting patients' care needs and personal preferences. It is Fleming County Hospital's goal to provide excellent patient care regardless of age, race, color, or national origin. Additionally, all hospital services will be made accessible to people with disabilities. We consider you a partner in your hospital care.
While you are a patient in the hospital, you have the right to:
Have reasonable access to care and treatment.
Have others respect your personal privacy.
Have your questions answered promptly regarding any aspect of your diagnosis and/or treatment.
Be treated in a considerate manner with respect for your personal values, beliefs, and philosophy.
Participate and/or have a family member participate in the development and implementation of your plan of care.
Make informed decisions regarding your care, and understand significant risks involved and any alternatives that are available.
Receive appropriate assessment and management of pain.
Be informed of your status and be involved in care planning and treatment.
Request or decline treatment and/or care after being informed of possible consequences of such a decision. Your decisions will be respected to the extent permissible by law.
Receive care in a safe and healthful environment.
Be free from abuse and harassment.
Be free from restraints and seclusion used as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience, or retaliation by staff.
Have a family member or designated representative and your physician notified of admission to the hospital.
Prepare an advance directive, a health care surrogate, or a durable power of attorney, which provide guidelines for treatment if you are no longer able to communicate, and to have hospital staff and practitioners comply with these directives according to regulations and law.
Participate in ethical decisions that arise in the course of your care, including accessing the ethics committee to help resolve concerns about difficult care decisions.
Know the names and roles of the people involved in your care.
Refuse examination or observation by any person not directly responsible for your care.
Participate or decline involvement in new technologies, clinical trials or research studies.
Have effective communication, including for those who have hearing and speech impairments.
Participate in pastoral care and spiritual services.
Have access to protective services.
Have the ability to access information contained in the clinical record within a reasonable time frame, unless restricted by law.
Expect confidentiality of your clinical records.
Receive instructions regarding your care after you leave the hospital.
Know if the hospital has relationships with outside parties (e.g. educational institutions, insurers, etc.) that may influence your treatment and care.
Receive an explanation of your hospital bill and payment methods.
Be informed of hospital rules and regulations that affect you and your family.
File a grievance with Administration.
Your health depends not just on hospital care, but, in long term, on the decisions you make in your daily life. You are responsible for recognizing the effect lifestyle has on your personal health.
Your responsibilities are to:
Ask questions when you do not understand what you have been told or what you are expected to do.
Provide accurate and complete information about present complaints, medical history, hospitalizations, medications, and other matters relating to
your health.
Report unexpected changes in your condition to the doctor and/or responsible care giver.
Follow the instructions and treatment plan recommended by your doctors and other health professionals working under your doctor's direction.
Accept the consequences of not following instructions or refusing treatment recommended by your doctor.
Follow hospital rules and regulations.
Act with consideration and respect towards other patients and hospital personnel.
Provide information about payment for services and work with the hospital to ensure financial obligations are met.
Provide a copy of any advance directive to the hospital for your medical record.
Fleming County Hospital promotes patient and family involvement in all aspects of your care. We anticipate you will be an active participant in your care during your hospital stay. In order to meet this goal, it is important that we communicate your rights and responsibilities during the admission process.
AIDS and You
The following information is required by law to be given to all Fleming County Hospital inpatients.
What does AIDS mean to you?
AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. It is a disease caused by a virus that can destroy the body's ability to fight other diseases that invade your body. These diseases can kill you.
There is presently no cure for AIDS.
Many people feel that only certain "high risk groups" are infected by the AIDS virus. This is untrue. Who you are has nothing to do with whether you are in danger of being infected with the AIDS virus. What matters is what you do.
Regardless of what you may have heard, the AIDS virus is easily avoided. You can't get it through casual contact in school, in the workplace, at parties, in residence facilities and resident camps, in childcare centers, in stores, or by going swimming in a pool where a person who has been infected by the AIDS virus has been swimming.
You also won't get it from the towels in a locker room, or the shower, or the whirlpool, or by using exercise equipment. It won't be passed through a drinking glass or eating utensils. Nor do you have to worry about shaking hands, hugging or being in a crowded elevator with a person who is infected with the virus.
No one has ever gotten the AIDS virus from a mosquito or any other insect bite, or from a toilet seat, urine, excrement, sweat, or saliva, or even from a kiss.
There are actually very few ways you can be infected by the AIDS virus. It is transmitted through semen, vaginal secretions, and blood. Therefore, you can become infected by having sex with an infected person, or by using drugs and sharing a needle and syringe with an infected person.
Babies of women who have been infected with the AIDS virus may be born with the infection because it can be transmitted from the mother's blood to the baby before or during birth.
People with hemophilia and others have been infected by receiving blood from an infected donor.
What about giving and receiving blood?
Giving blood. You are not now, nor have you ever been, in danger of getting AIDS from giving blood at a blood bank. The needles that are used for blood
donation are brand-new. Once they are used, they are destroyed. There is no way you can come into contact with the AIDS virus by donating blood.
Receiving blood. Some people were infected with the AIDS virus by receiving blood transfusions prior to 1985, before the virus was identified. Today, all
donated blood in the United States is tested to make it as safe as possible for those who need it. Call your local blood bank if you have any questions.
Can anyone be infected with the AIDS virus?
Yes. The homosexual population was the first group recognized to be affected by the disease in the United States. But no matter what you've heard or read, the number of heterosexual cases is growing. The people who have died of AIDS in this country have been male and female, rich and poor, white, black, Hispanic, Asian and American Indian.
How do you avoid AIDS?
Keeping yourself safe from AIDS is relatively easy. You have to avoid sex with anyone who is infected with the virus, and never share needles and syringes.
There is no way to tell if someone is infected with the virus without a blood test. If you have sex with someone infected with the virus, you are at risk of becoming infected.
Condoms with spermicide are the best means now available for preventing sexual transmission for those who do not practice abstinence and have not formed a mutually faithful, monogamous relationship with an uninfected partner.
If you are giving first aid to someone who is bleeding, you may want to wear rubber gloves, if they are available, to avoid direct contact with blood. If blood does get on your skin, simply wash it off with soap and water.
What if you think you might have the AIDS virus?
You have probably heard about the "AIDS Test." The test doesn't actually tell you if you have AIDS. It shows if you have been infected with the virus. The test looks for changes in the blood that occur after you have been infected with the virus.
The Public Health Service recommends that you should be counseled and tested if, since 1978: you have had any sexually transmitted disease or have shared needles for injecting drugs; you are a man who has had sex with another man; or you have had sex with a prostitute, male or female. You should also be tested if you have had sex with anyone who has done any of these things.
If you are a woman who has been engaging in behavior that would put you at risk for contracting the AIDS virus, and you plan to have a baby or are not using birth control, you should be tested. Your doctor may advise you to be tested if you received a blood transfusion between 1978 and 1985.
There have been many stories in the press about problems with the test. It is very reliable if it is performed by a good laboratory and the results are interpreted by a knowledgeable physician or counselor. The test can also be done confidentially.
If you have engaged in risky behavior, speak frankly to a doctor who understands the AIDS problem, or to an AIDS counselor.
Would you like more information?
If you'd like to know more about AIDS, talk to your doctor, local health department, or hospital. In addition, you can get helpful, confidential information from the National AIDS hotline, 1-800-342-AIDS. It's open 24 hours a day. The Spanish hotline is 1-800-344-SIDA (1-800-344-7432). The hotline number for the hearing impaired is 1-800-AIDS-TTY.
For Your Convenience
Important Phone Numbers
Fleming County Hospital
Business Office
Discharge Planner
Gift Shop
Operator | (606) 849-5000
5021 or 5024
5159
5008
0 |
Fax (606) 849-5005
Gift Opportunities
Fleming County Hospital remains committed to the mission on which it was founded: to give our patients high quality healthcare services in a warm, compassionate environment.
A gift to the Fleming County Hospital Foundation is a meaningful way for you to share in our mission, or perhaps say "thank you" for special care received.
Gifts of any amount may be made in honor or in memory of a friend or loved one. A gift made through a will or trust will also assist Fleming County Hospital in continuing its tradition of caring.
Gifts of $500 or more are permanently recognized on the Fleming County Hospital Foundation's Tree of Life in the main hallway of the Arthur D. and Kathryn G. Gorman Medical Arts Building. The following amounts would be recognized with an engraved leaf with the donor's name or the name of the
person being memorialized:
Bronze Leaf
Silver Leaf
Gold Leaf
Small Stone
Medium Stone
Large Stone | $500 to $999
$1,000 to $4,999
$5,000 to $9,999
$10,000 to $14,999
$15,000 to $19,999
$20,000 and up |
To make a gift or simply receive information, please contact:
Fleming County Hospital Foundation
P.O. Box 68
922 Elizaville Road
Flemingsburg, KY 41041
(606) 849-5180
(The Fleming County Hospital Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation of the state of Kentucky. All gifts are tax deductible to the extent permitted by the Internal Revenue Service.) Revised September 21, 2001
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Copyright 2001-2007, Fleming County Hospital
920 Elizaville Avenue
Flemingsburg, Kentucky 41041
Phone: 606-849-5000
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