When you arrive, a member of our patient care team will show you where the nurse call button is and how to use it. When you need help, press this button, which sends an alert to the nursing station. Your nurse or another member of our patient care team will respond to your call as soon as possible.
The hospital’s Service Response Center operates 24/7, to respond to issues related to housekeeping, patient equipment, general maintenance, patient transport and more. If you have needs related to these areas, ask a staff member to call the Service Response Center for you. Patient rooms are cleaned once a day between 7:30 am - 4 pm. Bed linens are not routinely changed every day, so if you need fresh linens, ask a staff member to all the Service Response Center.
Free wireless Internet access is available on all patient units, in our cafeterias and the Atrium. You may bring your mobile device or laptop computer to the hospital. However, we remind all patients that Yale New Haven Hospital is not responsible for your personal belongings. Please keep electronic devices in a safe place while staying at or visiting the hospital. Ask a member of your patient care team about storing them in one of the safes available in many patient care units.
All patient rooms have a bathroom for patient use only. Your visitors should use one of the public restroom on your floor or another public area of the hospital. A member of your patient care team can direct visitors to the nearest public restroom.
You may use the telephone in your room or your own cell phone or mobile device to make and receive calls during your stay.
Telephones
- To dial a local number from within the hospital, dial 9, then the area code and the phone number.
- To dial a toll-free number, dial 9 + 1 + area code + phone number.To dial an internal YNHH phone number (688 or 200), dial all seven digits of the phone number. You do not need to dial 9 or the area code.
- To make a long-distance IN or OUT OF STATE call from a hospital phone, you must dial 123 + 0 + area code + phone number. You will be asked for billing information. All calls must be charged to a credit card, collect or billed to a third party.
- To make a long-distance OVERSEAS call from a hospital phone, you must dial 123 + 01 + country code + city code + phone number. You will be asked for billing information. All calls must be charged to a credit card, made collect or billed to a third party.
- To make an internal call within the hospital, just dial the seven digit number (no "9" or area code is needed).
NOTE: To help you and other patients sleep through the night, incoming calls to your room will not go through between the hours of 10 pm and 7 am. If someone needs to reach you during that time, have them call the main nurse's station number on your floor or unit. You can make outgoing calls at any time.
Cell phones: Cell phones may be used in many areas of the hospital, but please look for posted signs in areas where they are not allowed (they can interfere with medical equipment). To help maintain a quiet, healing environment, please keep all cell phones on quiet and vibrate.
Phone policy and courtesy: So that you can sleep through the night, incoming calls to your room will not go through between 9 pm - 7 am. If it is important that someone reach you between those hours, please have that person call the main number at the nurses’ station in your unit. You can make outgoing phone calls at any time. When using a phone, please help us keep the noise level under control by keeping your voice low and asking your visitors to do the same. If other patients, visitors or staff talk too loudly on the phone, speak to a staff person.
Other phones: There are numerous public phones around the hospital, as well as TTY/TTD phones for the hearing impaired or deaf. A member of your patient care team can direct you or your visitors to the nearest one.
Television and XM satellite radio service is available in each patient room and, on some floors, in the lounge area-free of charge. If you share a semi-private room, we kindly ask you to turn off your TV at 11 pm. Headsets are available; ask a nurse or member of your patient care team for assistance if you'd like one.
If you are having trouble with your TV, ask a staff member for help or call our Service Response Center directly at 203-688-9000.
Yale New Haven Hospital is not responsible for patients’ belongings. Please leave valuables at home and do not leave personal items unattended. Please bring only the items you will need during your stay and label them with your name. Please send jewelry, large amounts of cash, credit cards, radios, iPods, laptops and other valuables home with a family member or care partner.
The hospital uses bright pink bags, plastic containers and security tape to store and safeguard patient valuables such as clothing, glasses, dentures, hearing aids, medications and other personal items. A computer-generated patient label is attached to each container and a list of items is entered into our Epic computer system. Many inpatient units provide safes to secure valuables.
If any of your personal items are missing, please talk to a staff member immediately or contact Patient Relations at 203-688-3430.
Visitors are expected to comply with YNHH’s visitation policy. Passes are issued at hospital entrances to all visitors to inpatient units.
- General visiting hours: 10 am - 8 pm. However, visiting hours and policies vary from unit to unit. Please see our visiting hours page for complete details before your visit. Children are welcome to visit, but must remain with a non-patient, supervising adult.
- Specialty units (Labor and Birth, Maternity, Neonatal Intensive Care and Psychiatric) Visitors are welcome but guidelines may vary; please ask a staff member for details.
- Care partners: When you are admitted to the hospital, you may choose a Care Partner – often a family member or close friend – to provide physical or emotional support. Care partners can have extra visitation privileges, although staff might need to limit or restrict visitation on occasion if there is a medical or safety concern. Care Partners receive an identification (ID) badge to be worn at all times in the hospital. For more information, ask a staff member for the care partner brochure or contact Patient Relations at 203-688-3430.
- Please do not visit if you have any symptoms of an infection, such as a fever, rash, sneezing, sore throat, new or worsening cough, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. Any visitor exposed to chicken pox, tuberculosis, measles, mumps or any other infectious disease within the past three weeks should speak to the nurse before visiting.
