What does your local hospital have in their EMS lounge?

Do your local hospitals serve snacks, full meals...drinks? Is the lounge in the ER or elsewhere in the hospital? We are looking for some ideas about what you like or wish was in your EMS lounge? We've already thrown out ideas like massage therapists, spa services etc.

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by dr-exmedic on July 16, 2012 at 12:29pm

The hospital where I work my part-time gig just had a brand new hospital from the competing health system open up less than a mile away. We've got sandwiches, chips, veggie cups, coffee, water & soft drinks, ice cream. We just added Mountain Dew because the competitor was offering it, we're adding Red Bull soon, and the EMS manager has been looking into getting a Slushie machine. Competition can create such wonders....

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Randy VanderHeiden on August 14, 2012 at 2:16pm

Hospitals need to be careful. Medicare has a tendency to call these "kickbacks".

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Dale Johnson on August 14, 2012 at 8:49pm

None of ours has a 'lounge' for EMS. However, three of the local EDs have drinks, and two of those have snacks. That's about it.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Geri Jacobson on August 15, 2012 at 8:20am

Randy VanderHeiden said:

Hospitals need to be careful. Medicare has a tendency to call these "kickbacks".

It is not just Medicare. There are many regulations concerning this. Considering the location of the person who posted the question, there has been much controversy for the hospitals in that area. Hospitals do need to be very careful. Depending on the makeup of a system and competition, what might be seen as an innocent snack might be seen with other intentions for referrals. Basing the service of a hospital only on what snacks they might offer has been issues in the past which was seen with the regulations imposed in the 1980s.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Justin P on January 28, 2013 at 11:41pm

Shit I need to go work there, best we can get here is off brand soda and nasty bologna and cheese on white bread that evaporates in your mouth; and old bananas and junk food.

Devin Nemec said:

I've got it nice here in Milwaukee. I'll make a list arranged by hospital. The bolded stuff is what I consider the best stuff. However, having AT LEAST a microwave and plastic-ware really helps when the EMS crews never go to their stations. Also, all the EMS room food is for EMS ONLY, not ER staff, not patients. They have their own stuff kept elsewhere. That rule is pretty universal to all the hospitals here.

Froedtert: Off-brand half-size soda, orange/apple juice, microwave, popsickles, used to have microwavable hamburgers and breakfast sandwiches

St Mary's: Ice Cream bars, Sandwiches, Name-Brand Soda, Milk, Fresh Fruit, Coffee, Water, microwave

Sinai: Sandwiches, Fruit, Name-brand half-size Soda, Water, Chips, juices

St Josephs: Sandwiches, Cookies, Name-Brand Soda

Heart Hospital: Cookies, Name brand soda, chips, microwave

Elmbrook: Cookies, off-brand soda, milk, EMS computer

Waukesha: Soda Dispenser, Popcorn, Milk, Ice cream cups, cookies

Community: Off-brand half sized soda, cookies

St Mary's Oz: Ben and Jerry's ice chest filled with frozen treats (pretty sure B&J's actually provides this), sandwiches, milk, soda, microwave

St Francis: Hot food from the cafeteria staff at meal times, sandwiches, cookies, soda, water, coffee, cookies, microwave

St Lukes: Ice Cream in the summer and Campbells Microwavable Soups in the winter, sandwiches, milk, soda, microwave, chips

West Allis: Sandwiches, Soda, Milk, Ice Cream bars

South Shore: Name brand soda, Sandwiches, Microwave, soups in winter, granola bars, waters, yogurt

Franklin: Pudding, Jello, off-brand soda, canned soup (no can opener or spoons)

Grafton: Sandwiches, Ice cream cups, soda, milk, microwave, EMS computer

Summit: same as Grafton

Occonomowoc: Soda, Ice cream cups, milk, microwave

Racine: Pudding, Sandwiches, PB&J supplies, microwave, soda, milk, jello

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jeremy Salow on February 1, 2013 at 1:40am

Our primary hospital has nothing in it, because there is no crew room to speak of. The most we get is a dirty room where they throw all our immobilization equipment when they remove the patient from them for us to pick up later.

One of our other hospitals, which is also the state burn unit, is much better. It has a small room with a bathroom, sink, linen machine, coffee, water, and snacks that are for some reason always peanut based so we are sure to kill our next allergic patient.

Now that I think of it one of our trauma centers has a slurpee machine. Great on a hot summer day.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Michael Nilsen on February 4, 2013 at 10:18pm

One of the hospitals I go to, SOCH in NJ just revamped there ER and added an EMS lounge....too bad its locked and they haven't given us a key or we might enjoy it.

But besides that soup in the winter is nice and COFFEE anytime.