THE FAMILY HOSPITAL TOOLKIT

For Your Loved One:

• Insurance card and photo ID
• List of all current medications with dosages
• List of known allergies (medications and food)
• Advance directive or living will (if they have one)
• Healthcare proxy / power of attorney documents
• Comfort items, familiar blanket, photographs, music device with headphones
• Non-slip socks or slippers
• Phone charger
• Personal hygiene items (hospitals provide basics but familiar items help)
• A notepad and pen for the bedside

For You as the Family Advocate:

• This toolkit, printed or on your phone
• A small notebook to record every conversation with medical staff
• Snacks and water, you cannot advocate well on empty
• A list of family members to update and their phone numbers
• Your own medications if you will be staying overnight
• Comfortable shoes, hospital floors are hard and days are long

Write everything down. Memory fails under stress, and having a written record protects your loved one and helps you communicate with rotating medical staff.

At Admission:

• What is the current diagnosis or suspected condition?
• Who is the attending physician and what are their rounding hours?
• Who is the case manager or social worker assigned to us?
• What tests or procedures are planned?
• What medications are being given and why?

At Discharge:

• Is my loved one safe to go home today?
• What medications need to continue at home?
• What symptoms should bring us back to the ER?
• Are follow-up appointments scheduled?
• Do we need any equipment or home modifications?

• Right to informed consent for all procedures
• Right to refuse treatment, including discharge
• Right to a second opinion
• Right to access your own medical records
• Right to have a patient advocate present
• Right to interpreter services
• Right to file a grievance without retaliation