Visitor information

Frequently asked questions

What are the visiting hours and guidelines?
Visits from family and friends are welcome. However, to ensure that you receive proper rest, visitors are limited to two per patient. For a visitation request of three or more visitors per patient, the reception desk will contact the patient care unit. Visiting children under age 14 must be accompanied by an adult and must be supervised at all times. General visiting hours are from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. with the following exceptions:

Hours of visitation

Smoking policy—Good Samaritan Hospital maintains a smoke-free environment. In keeping with our mission to promote health and wellness, smoking is not allowed anywhere within the buildings on the campus. This policy pertains to patients and visitors as well as physicians, employees and volunteers.

Cell phones may be used in family waiting areas of the hospital.

What are the amenities and conveniences such as an ATM, cafeteria, gift shop and overnight stay?
Pan Geos Café
Visitors are invited to visit Pan Geos in the main lobby for coffee and pastries, snacks or a full meal. Pan Geos features deli salads and sandwiches, soup, pizza and our famous baked goods. Visitors can dine in, carry out or place an order to go by calling extension 1588. Pan Geos is open Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Cafeteria
For the convenience of your visitors, the hospital cafeteria is located on the first floor of the hospital’s Physician Office Center and serves a variety of hot and cold foods and beverages. The cafeteria is open seven days a week during the following hours:

Cafe closes at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday

Vending machines
Beverage, coffee and snack vending machines are located in the emergency department waiting area and on the ground floor near the north elevator. They are available 24 hours a day.

Coffeehouse
Our unique Espress Yourself coffee café, located on the ground floor of the hospital’s Physician Office Center, offers freshly ground, flavored and gourmet coffees, cappuccino and espresso as well as fresh bagels and pastries. The coffee café is open from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Free delivery is available with a $5 minimum purchase. Deliveries begin at 9:00 a.m. Call extension 6650.

Visitor pagers
Good Samaritan Hospital provides care pagers for family members who are waiting for a patient in surgery and Dial-a-Dad pagers for fathers-to-be. These pagers allow carriers to leave waiting areas while still remaining in contact. Call the hospital operator by dialing “0” from any house phone to obtain a pager or pick up one in the surgery family waiting area.

Cash station
A cash station is located in the Physician Office Center and in the main entrance of the hospital.

Overnight accommodations
If your family members or visitors need overnight accommodations, the volunteer services department can supply you with a list of area hotels and motels. Call extension 1181 for the list, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You also may check with the volunteers at the first floor information.

Gift shop
The Daisy Basket Gift Shop, operated by the Auxiliary of Good Samaritan Hospital, is located in the lobby. It offers everything from flowers and cards to stuffed animals and clothing items. The gift shop is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. If you are unable to visit the gift shop but would like to purchase an item, call extension 1118.

Online Flower Shop
Advocate Online Flower Shop can create and deliver unique, fresh or artificial, floral arrangements, as well as blooming and green plants to hospital patients and Advocate associates. Orders may be placed online 7 days a week, 24 hours a day but are reviewed and processed only during the retail shop's normal business hours. The retail shop, located at Lutheran General Hospital, is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Our shop is closed on Sundays and major holidays. If you have any questions regarding hours, holidays observed, delivery times or any other information, please call (847) 723-8727 or e-mail AHC-FlowerShop@advocatehealth.com.

Resale shop
The Gingham Tree, also operated by the Auxiliary of Good Samaritan Hospital, is located in a separate building on the southeast corner of the campus. The shop is open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. The Auxiliary donates its proceeds to Good Samaritan Hospital.

Newspapers
A volunteer will bring around a newspaper cart each morning. You may purchase the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times or USA Today.

Notary public
A notary public is available Monday through Friday 24 hours a day. To reach a notary public, dial “0” and ask for assistance.

Pharmacy
For your convenience, a pharmacy is available on the ground floor of the Physician Office Center. The pharmacy is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Wednesday and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The pharmacy accepts cash, check or credit cards. For more information, call extension 1285.

Where do I park?
Visitors may park in any of the three lots designated lots or the in South Deck next to the emergency department. Handicapped parking is located in every designated visitor parking area.

Should you need emergency vehicle assistance, we will be happy to provide you with a list of area service stations. Please call the hospital operator by dialing “0” on any house phone.

Patient and Visitor Parking Changes
Due to the recent groundbreaking of a state-of-the-art, 44-bed Intensive Care and Surgical Heart facility on Good Samaritan Hospital's campus, the patient and visitor parking areas and traffic flow has been changed to accommodate our expansion. Leadership at the hospital has worked diligently to ensure the disruption to our patients and visitors is minimal. These changes have been detailed below.

• Patient parking lots directly in front of the North Pavilion will be closed during the first phases of the construction and access to the North Pavilion will only be available via the entrance located on the south side of the building
• Valet parking will be available during our busiest hours to accommodate patient parking overflow. Patients will be able to access valet parking next to the Cancer Care Center, at the main entrance to the hospital and at the Physician Center. Signage will direct patients to this area
• Patients may choose to park their vehicles themselves and will have reserved spaces on the first floor of the East Parking Garage. Click here to view a map of patient and visitor parking areas.
• Many of the main hospital campus drives in front will be closed during construction; therefore, patients will access the North Pavilion most easily by using the back entrance from 39th street
• Patients accessing the south end of campus, Emergency and Towers 1 and 2 will most easily be able to find parking in the South Lot.
• Main Entrance patient drop-off will be moved from the first floor Atrium to the lower level Atrium

The staff at Good Samaritan Hospital apologizes for any future inconvenience.

What services are available for people with special needs?
Interpreter services are available at no charge to patients who do not speak or read English. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing or who have speech impairments, sign language interpreters, TTYs and other auxiliary aids and services are available free of charge. For assistance, please check with your nurse.

What type of spiritual care services are available?
Chaplains are available to provide spiritual/pastoral care for patients, families and friends, especially during times of crisis, grief or loss. The chaplains are professionally trained and are a vital part of wholistic care.

Mission and spiritual care chaplains also can contact your own clergy, congregation, synagogue, mosque or faith community, and make arrangements for religious/spiritual needs (scriptures, communion, anointing or sacrament of the sick, prayer rugs, Sabbath candles). Holy Communion is available to Catholic patients daily. We also provide information about advance directives (living will and durable power of attorney for health care), and can discuss ethical decision making and health care issues.

Chaplains are available 24 hours, seven days a week. You may contact a chaplain by calling the mission and spiritual care office at extension 1185, by informing your nurse or by dialing “0” for the operator and requesting the chaplain on call.

Chapel—Our chapel is open for prayer and meditation to people of all faiths. The chapel may be used for occasions of worship and memorials. It is open 24 hours a day and located on the first floor main hallway.

Ethics consultation services—Health care decisions can be very complex in the context of our highly technical world. Sometimes decisions regarding treatment options are difficult to make. If you feel that your health care wishes are not understood or if there is disagreement about what decisions should be made about your care, you may want to ask for an ethics consultation. Any patient, patient representative, family member or member of the health care team may request a consultation from the ethics committee. The committee can offer education and consultation for decision makers. To contact the ethics committee, please ask your nurse or contact the hospital operator to page the on-call chaplain.

How can I recognize staff members?
If you would like to recognize an associate for outstanding service, nomination forms are available on the nursing units. Compassion, excellence, partnership, equality and stewardship are our values. Ask your nurse for a form. As you leave, ask any associate to send the completed form to human resources.

Who do I call with a complaint or concern?
We realize patients, their family members or visiting friends may experience problems or have concerns regarding their hospital stay. If, for some reason, any aspect of your stay or care have not met your expectations, ask for the manager of the unit or department caring for you. If he or she is unable to help you, please call a patient relations representative at extension 2273.

If I have questions or concerns about paying my hospital bill, what should I do?
If you would like to discuss your bill, you should call a hospital financial counselor at the phone number on your billing statement. The financial counselor will review payment options that may be available to you. Such options include, applying for Illinois Medicaid, KidCare or Family Care programs, Illinois Crime Victims Fund, interest-free extended payment plans and charity care consideration. To help make the process easier to understand, Advocate can provide you a financial counselor who speaks your language.

For more information, please review our brochure, "Understanding Hospital Bills and Health Insurance Claims." Para más información por favor lea nuestro folleto "Entienda las facturas del hospital y la manera de hacer reclamos a su seguro médico."