About your stay at White Plains Hospital
New patient rooms
White Plains Hospital has completed construction on 24 brand-new, fully private patient rooms on floors four and five of the Hospital’s new six-story addition, part of the Hospital's campuswide transformation.
The rooms have been designed to maximize patient comfort, speed up recovery, enhance safety, and encourage privacy and sleep. In addition, patients' visitors will find themselves in a supportive, welcoming environment while visiting their loved ones in the Hospital.
Here are some of the features that increase comfort and safety for our patients and their visitors.
Increased privacy, added comfort and improved communications with medical staff are some of the benefits of private rooms.
The rooms have brand-new, comfortable furniture; large glass windows that let in natural light; soothing artwork; spacious interiors; flat-screen televisions; WiFi access; and private bathrooms.
Each floor has a pantry with refrigerators; water and coffee/tea stations; and a visitors’ lounge area with comfortable seats, a television and telephones.
Every room has built-in computers for clinical staff, enhancing patient safety through use of electronic medical records and enabling the care team to provide up-to-date, accurate information to patients.
Nurses' stations with brand-new computers and upgraded phone systems enhance communication among the members of each patient’s healthcare team. Sound-dampening tiles and carpeting in the nurses' stations reduce noise.
Risk of infection is minimized through features such as seamless floors and hands-free handwashing sinks to ensure patient safety and infection control.
A dedicated information board in each patient’s room helps keep the patient educated about his or her condition and treatment and fosters communication between the patient, his or her loved ones, and the care team.
Each room is equipped with a private bathroom, including a shower stall. All bathrooms feature handrails and are located near the beds to help prevent slips and falls.
Infection control
Infection control measures are important for everyone to follow—including patients, visitors and hospital staff—in order to prevent the spread of germs and disease, including serious infections that can occur in hospitals.
Your health and safety is our top priority. Consistent hand hygiene is the single most powerful method to prevent transmission of infections.
You may see staff on this unit wearing Biovigil badges. These display colors just like a traffic light.
- Green means "clean"
- Yellow means "reminder to clean"
- Red means "time to clean"
All Hospital staff are required to "wash in, wash out" with hand sanitizer or soap and water upon entering AND exiting patient rooms, so if you see a staff member with a yellow or red badge, don't be afraid to ask your healthcare team member if their hands are clean.
Visitors should also clean their hands upon entering and exiting a patient's room.
Book cart
Books and magazines are available on loan through the patient library, located on 5C. A library cart visits patient floors regularly or you may request reading material by calling 914.681.1225.
Caring Canines dog therapy
Trained dogs provide visits to your room to help lift your spirits. Call 914.681.1225 if you would like a furry friend to stop by.
Going home
When you are discharged
Your physician will determine when you are medically ready to be discharged from the hospital. This doesn't necessarily mean that you are completely well—it only means that you no longer need hospital services. We ask your cooperation in making transportation arrangements for no later than 11 a.m. on the day of discharge. This allows us to move seriously ill patients from our emergency department to a patient room to facilitate their care. If you need assistance with transportation, we will make arrangements on your behalf with a local taxi service or ambulette service. Please be aware insurance does not cover taxi or ambulette service fees. If you think you are being asked to leave the hospital too soon, please refer to the booklet "Your Rights as a Hospital Patient in New York State," or speak with your nurse or care management team.
If you disagree, you or a relative can appeal your doctor's discharge decision. If you are a Medicare patient, be sure you refer to "An Important Message from Medicare" notice given at both admission and when you receive your discharge notice. This details your rights to remain in the Hospital for care and to appeal the Hospital's decision to discharge, if you are a Medicare patient. Be sure to meet with the Hospital's Care Management team early in your stay to ensure a smooth discharge process later on.
When you get home
Soon after you are discharged, most patients will receive a call from our WPH Cares team to discuss follow-up appointments, ask about medications and answer any questions about your discharge instructions.
The caller ID that will appear when we call is "WPH Cares." On a mobile phone, this will appear as 914.849.2273 or as "WPH Cares" if you added it to your mobile phone contacts during your hospital stay. You may also call this number with any questions or concerns about your follow-up care.
You can access your medical information on the Montefiore MyChart Patient Portal. Visit mychart.montefiore.org to sign up.
Sharps program
For your safety and the safety of others, if you need to use medical supplies after your discharge, the Hospital collects used hypodermic needles (sharps) for safe disposal. Used sharps may be brought to the Security Office, located in the Emergency Room waiting area, daily between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.