My review is a combination of my being a visitor and my dear friend being a patient. She is still…read moreat the hospital and is not on Yelp.
She texted me a few days ago to say that she was in hospital. Doctors were trying to diagnose her pain. When they finally had her undergo a ton of tests, they got a proper diagnosis and operated on her on Thursday. She let me know on Friday that she was recovering.
I had asked her to keep me posted. I also said that I'd come visit her when the time was right on her end. Sure enough, she said that she'd like visitors. On Saturday, I made drive over to Peterborough Regional Health Centre, which is the city's lone hospital. I hoped that a familiar face would make her day.
I found the first visitor's parking lot, pulled in, got a ticket from the machine, and proceeded to park. I had my window down and a woman commented on how pretty my blue car was. I thanked her. I like friendly folks.
I entered the south entrance of the hospital. I should have driven a bit further to the main entrance. However, it was good to walk around and figure out where things were. The south entrance is where the mental health centre is. There were signs that directed me to the visitor set of elevators.
It's good that I started on the first floor. There is a courtyard with lots of pretty plants and flowers, and tables with small pumpkins on top. It was a calming place for patients and visitors to take a breather.
I took the elevator up to the fourth floor. It's where the information desk is. It's an odd setup, but it does work.
I spoke to a man about finding where my friend was. I spelled my friend's last name and provided her first name. He asked whether I had been to this hospital. I suppose that I wasn't sporting a confused look on my face. I did indeed need help figuring out how to get to her. She was on the fifth floor and he gave helpful turn-by-turn details. He also wrote down the wing and room number for me on a small piece of paper. I thanked him.
The fourth floor has a cafeteria. It looked spacious. I saw information about a beyond burger. There is also a gift shop if you need to grab something before heading to see a loved one. If you know me fairly well, I am a planner. I was armed with a get-well card that contained a gift card. I didn't want to get anything heavy for my friend or her partner to carry back home.
I found her. She had a private room. I spent 1.5 hours with her. I didn't want to take up a ton of time, as she needed to recover. It was great seeing her and chatting.
I met two of her nurses, who were both nice and knowledgeable. My friend agreed. She advised that she only had one nurse in the ICU who had an attitude problem when her pain was at its worst. There is sadly a bad apple in any crop.
She likes her surgeon and got to meet him. She is recovering nicely, which is such a relief. She was in good spirits and was understandably tired.
Some doors through the hospital require hitting a button before entering. Someone helped me with that while finding my friend. I looked like a tourist with this little piece of paper that had my friend's room number.
For some reason, folks seem to think that I know what I am doing, no matter when I am. One older woman, who was waiting by the elevators with me, asked me where emergency was. I didn't have a clue. I was focused on going up to the fifth floor where my friend was. I need to bring back my puzzled look on my face again.
Visitor parking is reasonable. I paid $10 at a machine using my credit card. I had hit the maximum daily amount. The machine accepts tap, which worked fine. You have fifteen minutes to exit the parking lot after you have paid. If you are coming and going, it's best to get a pass.
There are no visiting hour restrictions. Staff can set restrictions, if required. Flexibility is nice, provided that visitors aren't being rude holding a rave at 2 am.
After I exited the parking lot, I drove over to see the main entrance. I hope that there isn't a next time, but I now know that it may be best to park over there instead for convenience.
I had a good experience as a visitor. My friend got and is getting decent care at this hospital. She is in good hands, which makes me feel at ease.
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