Admission
MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital will not deny admission to any patient due to race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, financial class, marital status, disability, veteran status, age, or national origin.
Patients shall be admitted upon referral and placed under the care of a physician who shall be a member of the medical staff or who has temporary privileges according to the medical staff bylaws. Patients admitted to the hospital will go through the admission process coordinated by Clinical Resource Management.
The Patient Access Services (PAS) department is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Admission takes place in the general Patient Access Services area, the outpatient area, the Emergency Department or at the patient's bedside.
To share concerns or compliments, please contact any staff member or contact the Patient Experience team at 509-469-5411 or by email at patientrelations@yvmh.org.
At MultiCare Yakima Memorial, we are committed to providing you with the very best in healthcare, as well as making your visit as comfortable as possible.
Outpatient or observation stay
If you have been placed into an outpatient status for observation, you are still considered an "outpatient" even though you will be in a bed on a nursing unit. Nurses and your physician will be evaluating your symptoms. Within 24 hours, your physician should make a decision to either admit you for inpatient treatment or discharge you for continued outpatient follow-up care.
Care Coordination staff will keep in close contact with your physician regarding changes in your outpatient status. Your outpatient observation stay DOES NOT count toward the three-day inpatient stay requirement for admission to a skilled care facility under Medicare. It is important for you to understand that as an outpatient, you may be responsible for any out-of-pocket expenses, such as co-payment, deductibles and certain medications, in accordance with your specific insurance plan. If you have questions about your insurance coverage, please contact your insurance carrier directly.
During your outpatient observation stay, Medicare will not pay for medications that Medicare determines you are able to take by yourself without nursing assistance. These are called self-administered medications*. You will be charged separately for these medications. If you have questions regarding which medications Medicare will NOT pay for during your outpatient observation stay, please contact Medicare at 800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227).
*Self-administered medication is any medication that a person takes on a daily, weekly or monthly basis at home regardless of the method used to take the medication. Some EXAMPLES include insulin, cholesterol, high blood pressure and ulcer medications.
Patient policies
- Advance Directive Packet
- Advance Directives
- Patient Nondiscrimination.
- Physician order for life-sustaining treatment (POLST).
- Death With Dignity.
- Reproductive Health Care.
- Termination of Pregnancy-Genetic Terminations and Therapeutic Abortions.
- Medically Non-Beneficial Treatment (MNBT)
- Informed Consent.
Patient relations
MultiCare Yakima Memorial is committed to making each patient and family encounter a positive experience. Bilingual patient experience specialists are available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to assist patients with any concerns or questions regarding their stay.
Complaints and grievances are responded to promptly. MultiCare Yakima Memorial is committed to resolving patient and/or family concerns in a timely and mutually satisfying manner.
The Patient Relations department also receives compliments that patients or family would like to pass along to their physician or other care providers.
Patient Relations staff can be reached at 509-469-5411 (Spanish and English lines are available) or by emailing patientrelationsyakima@yvmh.org.
If you would like to speak with a patient experience specialist during your stay, please feel free to call us directly or ask your nurse to contact us. MultiCare Yakima Memorial does not tolerate retaliation against patients or their families who raise concerns regarding care and service.
In Case Of Emergency
In keeping with our philosophy of patient-and family-centered care, MultiCare Yakima Memorial has designed a system for patients, patient surrogates and family members to call for emergent SOS assistance** whenever the patient's condition is perceived to be declining or is worrisome.
The SOS response team is a made up of specially trained clinical staff. These individuals respond to the patient's bedside immediately to evaluate the patient's condition and take any necessary actions to keep the patient safe and help prevent a respiratory or cardiac arrest.
Reasons to call the SOS Team
- Increasing or sudden difficulty breathing
- Unexplained sudden onset confusion
- Unexplained sleepiness or inability to awaken patient
- Uncontrolled pain
- A "gut feeling" that something is not right, or the patient's condition is worsening
**Always contact the nurse first.
How to call the SOS Team
- Using the hospital bedside telephone, Dial "0"
- Tell the operator: "I need an SOS Team to my room"
- The operator is able to tell which room you are calling from