Patient Rights & Responsibilities

Patient Rights
Greenwich Hospital must and does respect, protect and promote your rights as a patient, recognizing that each patient is an individual with unique health care needs. Because of the importance of respecting each patient's personal dignity, the hospital strives to provide considerate, respectful care focused upon each patient's individual needs.

As a patient at Greenwich Hospital, you have options for your care and treatment. Your doctors and other health care professionals will offer information and advice concerning appropriate, comprehensive medical care. At the same time, we realize that any stresses of worry, concern and discomfort may make understanding information and coming to decisions more difficult. As your caregivers, we will do our best to ensure a process that will enable you to make the decisions best for you, including the decision to discontinue treatment, to the extent permitted by law.

It is Greenwich Hospital's obligation and privilege to inform you of and explain (in a language you can understand), your rights and responsibilities as a patient, and assist you in exercising these rights.

Among the hospital's resources for assurance of considerate, respectful care is the Greenwich Hospital Ethics Committee, comprised of representatives from many professions and the community. The Ethics Committee aims to be a source of education, policy review and consultation for the hospital, physicians, patients and community on issues of medical ethics and dilemmas. You can contact the committee by speaking to your doctor or nurse, or the following departments:

Patient and Guest Relations	Extension 4746, e-mail: Christine.Beechner@greenwichhospital.org
Pastoral Care	Extension 3146, e-mail: Nancy.King@greenwichhospital.org
Social Services	Extension 3200, e-mail: Kristen.Browne@greenwichhospital.org
Privacy/Corporate Compliance	Extension 3783, e-mail: Timothy.Cleary@greenwichhospital.org

Your rights as a patient