Speare Memorial Hospital recognizes that each patient is an individual with unique health care needs and respects patient's rights, personal dignity, values, religious beliefs, and life philosophy. Each patient shall receive considerate, respectful care focused upon this individuality and shall have the right:

1. to be informed of patient's rights, rules and policies of the facility, and information regarding advance directives prior to or within 24 hours of admission;
2. to impartial access to treatment or accommodations, regardless of needs, that are available or medically indicated;
3. to respectful care at all times and under all circumstances with consideration of the psychosocial, spiritual, and cultural variables that influence the perception of illness;
4. to be fully informed, prior to or at the time of admission and during your stay, of charges not covered by Medicare or Medicaid and other information related to the patient's bill;
5. to be free from emotional, sexual, and physical abuse, exploitation, neglect, corporal punishment, and involuntary seclusion;
6. to be free from chemical and physical restraints except as authorized in writing by a physician for a specified and limited period of time, or when necessary to protect the patient from injury to himself/herself or to others;
7. to be fully informed of his/her medical condition and in collaboration with the attending physician, to actively participate in the decisions involving his/her health including the right to refuse treatment to the extent permitted by law and to be informed of the medical consequences of such refusal and to the information necessary to assist in those decisions;
8. to participation by the patient or his/her designated representative in the consideration of ethical issues that arise in the care of the patient;
9. to be informed of any human experimentation or other research/educational projects affecting his/her care or treatment and to be involved in experimental research only if consent is voluntary;
10. within the limits of law, to personal privacy and confidentiality of information;
11. to access by the patient and/or his/her legally designated representative to information contained in the patient's medical record;
12. to voice grievances and make suggestions for changes without fear of restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination, or retaliation;
13. to allow the patient's guardian, next of kin, or legally authorized responsible person (to the extent permitted by law), the patient's rights outlined here if the patient has been judged incompetent by law, or is found by his or her physician to be medically incapable of understanding the proposed treatment, or exhibits a communication barrier, or is a minor;
14. for the dying patient, optimization of comfort and dignity through prevention and/or treatment of secondary symptoms, management of pain and symptoms, appropriately and aggressively; and acknowledgement of psychosocial, emotional, and spiritual needs of the patient and family regarding dying and the expression of grief by the patient and family and to unrestricted visits from the family;
15. to receive visitors and private mail;
16. not to be transferred or discharged inappropriately. The patient will be transferred or discharged when medical condition warrants, at the patient's request, for the patient's own welfare and in cases where the patient or family refuses transfer to a skilled nursing facility or intermediate care facility;
17. to manage his/her own personal finances;
18. not to be required to perform services for the facility that are not included for therapeutic purposes in his/her plan of care;
19. to freely participate in any social, religious, or community activities if medically appropriate;
20. to retain and use personal clothing and possessions as space permits unless to do so would infringe upon rights of other patients and unless medically contraindicated;
21. if married, to be assured privacy for visits by his/her spouse, and if both are inpatients in the facility, to be permitted to share a room, unless medically contraindicated;
22. to receive notice before a change of room or roommate; and;
23. to formulate advance directives, living will, and durable power of attorney to the extent permitted by law. The hospital and physicians will provide all care desired by the patient or their legal representative whether or not an advance directive exists.

Patient's Responsibilities

Along with patient's rights, patients at Speare Memorial Hospital are asked to accept the following responsibilities:

1. to provide to the best of his/her knowledge, accurate and complete information about present medical complaints, past illnesses, hospitalizations; medications, and other pertinent facts about his/her health;
2. to report unexpected changes in his/her conditions to the responsible practitioner;
3. to make it known whether he/she clearly understands a course of treatment and what is expected of him/her;
4. to follow the treatment plan recommended by the physician primarily responsible for his/her care and the instructions of nurses and allied health personnel as they carry out the coordinated plan of care and implement physician's orders;
5. to keep appointments, and when unable to do so, notifying the responsible practitioner or hospital;
6. to be responsible for his/her actions if he/she refuses treatment or does not follow the practitioner's instructions;
7. to assure that the financial obligations of his/her health care are fulfilled as promptly as possible;
8. to follow the hospital's rules and regulations affecting patient care and conduct;
9. to be considerate of the rights of other patients and hospital personnel; and
10. to respect the property of other persons and the hospital.

Grievance Procedure

Speare Memorial Hospital will assist the patient in exercising his/her rights. If a patient, family, guardian, or significant other has a concern, he/she is encouraged to either:

1. describe the concern to the head nurse or department head who in turn will be responsible for the timely review of the concern, resolution of the matter when feasible, and a response to the patient or family as appropriate;
2. complete and forward a Patient Questionnaire describing the concern which will be reviewed by appropriate department heads and the Quality Assessment Committee who in turn will be responsible for the timely review, resolution of the concern when feasible and a response to the patient or family as appropriate;
3. bring the concern to the attention of hospital administration in writing. Under no circumstances will this process compromise a patient's treatment or care delivered, nor in the future compromise a patient's treatment or care delivered, nor in the future compromise access to care.

A Few Hospital Departments
As a patient at Speare Memorial Hospital, you may receive services from these departments ...

History of Speare Memorial Hospital
Speare Memorial Hospital had its beginnings in 1892. Click here to see historic photos and learn about our beginnings as a community hospital.