Prepare for the Hospital – Plan Your Communication Strategy


Thank you MoAT  (the Missouri Assistive Technology program) for helping individuals with communication disabilities prepare for an unexpected hospitalization during the pandemic

Going to the hospital on any day can be stressful. Communicating in a fast-paced environment when we don’t feel well can be especially challenging. Take time now to consider what you will need to take with you if you go to the hospital and how you will communicate with doctors, nurses, and other health care staff. This guide is intended to help you get ready for a hospital visit during this pandemic, particularly if you or someone you care for is nonspeaking or has speech that is difficult to understand.
By law, hospitals must give services that help you understand what is being said and are supposed to ask you what services you need. The hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic may be very busy, however. Currently, many hospitals are seeing a large number of patients and often do not provide the same services you normally expect. Learn your rights as a person with complex communication needs .
Doctors and nurses in hospitals wear masks and gloves and may talk to you from behind a window or curtain. It may be harder for you to understand them. Many hospitals discourage in-person interpreters, family members, or visitors to come into the hospital. You may be alone for a long time when you are in the hospital.  Here are some ideas to help you prepare:
Put together an emergency bag with items you need to communicate
Label the bag and items with your name and be prepared to wear it on your person to keep it with you in the hospital. Leave space on the label to add your hospital room number.
The emergency bag might include:

Your emergency health information including health insurance cards, state ID, list of allergies, preferred treatment, medical providers, and medications.
Your primary communication device (e.g. speech generating device, tablet or smartphone with communication apps). Prepare relevant page sets on your device so you can communicate information about you, your needs, etc.
A back-up communication device (e.g. communication board, pen & paper, see below).
Plugs and chargers.
A cellular hotspot in case the hospital does not have WiFi or it is not working well.
An extension cord or power strip in case your bed is far from the outlet.
Extra batteries for your assistive devices.
A copy of your advance medical directive, if you have one. You can find more information and instructions to make an advance directive on AARP’s website

Emergency contact information for family members or friends.

Disinfect your devices and related items
There are valid infection control issues for why a hospital might not let you bring a device, tablet or cell phone into an ICU or other medical environment. Devices, however, can be...

Top