Six Tips for Sending a Get Well Gift to a Hospital
You’ve heard that someone you care for is in the hospital. Your first thought is to send a gift or flowers to them while they are there. But that may not be the best response.
Here are six things that you need to know to make sure that your thought and gift will be well received.
It may be better to send it to their home.
Many times, the patient may be released sooner than you realize they will be and when the gift is delivered, they may already be at home. We do not ship to hospitals for this reason and will hand deliver a gift to Flagstaff Medical Center (our local hospital) only after calling to confirm that the patient is still there.
If you know the patient’s room number or department such as Intensive Care or Maternity Department, include it when ordering the gift. Many hospitals are spread out over a broad area and knowing the correct department or room number will make it easier to get it to them more quickly.
Make sure that you have the name that the patient will be registered under. Gypsy Jones is not the same as Juanita Marie Jones. One is a nickname and the other is the legal name. The hospital won’t recognize the name Gypsy Jones if they are registered under their legal name.
Delivery may take longer than you expect
If you are shipping a gift, UPS, USPS, and Fedex will only deliver to the mail room. Even when we deliver locally to our hospital, we do not take the gift to the patient’s room but check it in at the front reception desk where they have staff or a volunteer take it to the room. This can sometimes take several hours before it is actually delivered to the patient.
Be aware of any dietary restrictions
Special diets may be prescribed for patients depending on why they are in the hospital. That cheesecake or cookie bouquet may not be allowed if they are restricted to a liquid or other restricted diet.
If the family is spending much of the time at the hospital with the patient, they may love receiving a food gift basket addressed to “The Family of Patient John Jones.” Just make sure that the patient is not being discharged that day.
Hospitals have gift restrictions
Many hospitals will not allow flowers or plants to be delivered to ICU units nor balloons to pediatric units. Even stuffed animals and candles may not be allowed. So it is wise to check with the hospital prior to ordering your gift to make sure that it will be allowed to be delivered to the patient.
When I was in the hospital, a beautiful floral bouquet was delivered to me but the sweet scent from the lilies in the bouquet made me nauseous. I had to ask the nurse to remove it from my room. So when sending flowers, make sure that they are not ones with a strong scent.
Don’t send perishable gifts to a hospital.
Fruit baskets are usually okay if they are delivered and not shipped. But chocolates may melt in the hot UPS delivery truck. The same is true of cheesecakes or any other food products that require refrigeration.
Choose a gift that will put a smile on their face.
A gift that is a little different from the usual can help cheer up someone who is not well. Smiles are scarce but you can help put one on their face with one of cookie gifts. An example is this cookie gift which includes an 8″ teddy bear dressed in the outfit of your choice and cookies with inspirational messages.
I’ve visited friends in the hospital after I’ve sent them one of our bear hug gifts and they have the bear sitting on the table beside their bed.
Gift Companies are anxious to help
We want to make sure that any get well gifts that you order actually put a smile on their face and that both you and the recipient are not disappointed. We will deliver most gifts, that are allowed, to Flagstaff Medical Center (our local hospital) for you but there will be much less chance of a problem if you have it delivered after the patient is released and is back at home.