Have you ever been in a hospital/care facility when the roommate died?

If there’s warning that someone is going to die, they’re usually moved to a special room by themselves for palliative care. There’s usually clues that someone is going, such as Cheyne-Stokes breathing, which is how they know to contact friends and relatives who want to be there for the final moments. When someone dies in hospital, they have a set procedure they use. Usually what happens is a nurse will unobtrusively close everyone’s doors and clear the hallways before the body is brought out. In fact, sometimes they hide the body under a gurney so no one will see what’s going on if they happen to be walking down a hallway at the time.

It was the first time I was in the psych ward. I had a roommate that was so depressed she could not function. They called for dinner and I asked her if she wanted me to bring her some. She nodded and I left. A few minutes all hell broke loose in my room. My roommate tried to commit suicide.

When I was allowed back in the room there was charcoal all over the floor and syringes on her bed and night stand and other such things. I asked the nurse for a different room and they complied. I never found out if my roommate survived or not.

No, thank goodness, despite having a lot of stays I’ve never had a roommate die. Probably because most of my stays were as a pediatric patient and my roommates were young for the most part. I did have a very kind older roommate one time who at one point had a severe blood pressure spike and was in crisis, but luckily she didn’t die. I had another young roommate, teenager, who was under constant surveillance because she was in for a suicide attempt. She was very unpleasant, not that you can blame her. Other than that my roommates were mostly very young children (toddlers and infants), usually cancer patients. None of them seemed to be in severe crisis at any point while in the room with me.

No. I’ve never had a roommate and never will. I think hospitals that still have double-occupancy rooms are in the last century.

I think it would be absolutely horrible for what you say to happen. It should be impossible; that’s my point.

@MollyMcGuire Can I ask what part of the world you live in? My sister is in New York City and she was in a four person room when this happened. I wish it were not that way.

Eh. Hospitals only have so much space (especially in a place like NYC) and are just trying to treat as many people as they can. I’d rather get shoved in a room with someone else than get turned away when I need help. Biggest room I’ve been in was a triple. It does kind of suck though.

You’ll have private room only if you’re rich enough to afford that in many parts of the world. Otherwise you’ll have to share it with some strangers.

Once. I was around 5, maybe 6, years old at the time.

I was in surgical ward with a guy, that was a teenager but had diabetes; he loss one leg and part of a foot to complications of diabetes before his admission. I returned a short time later (a month or so) for and additional procedure and asked about him, they told me he went home but died from an infection.

I’m actually surprised there aren’t more answers here. It doesn’t have to have been you as the roommate. It could have been a loved one or a friend in the hospital. I am just interested in how hospitals and care facilities handle such things. Any hospital workers have any input for me?

@anniereborn Most of my hospital visits were in a Catholic hospital in the SE USA. They only have private rooms. Now I live in a small town in SW Florida. One of our hospitals has all private rooms on the orthopedic and one other floor but I forgot which. I was on the ortho floor when I had knee replaced. Another time I was passing out and was taken to another hospital ER. They said I need admission and I told them I had to have private room. They had no private rooms in that hospital. I had a fit and they called administrator who said no one would be put in room with me. That is what happened that time. I’m told both of those hospitals are planned for renovation and all rooms will be private. That is the only civilized way to treat people. There is no way I would be in a room with a stranger. Seriously. There is a third hospital here that still has some double rooms but they are eliminating them section by section. I’ve never been in there but had one-day surgery there and I wrote into the release that if admitted only private accommodations were to be utilized. This is very serious to me.

I wouldn’t allow it for a family member either.

@MollyMcGuire I completely understand your feelings. I just wish it could always work that way.
My sister lives in New York City and has Cancer. She had a terrible infection last weekend and all they had open was a four person room. She could hardly just be run around looking for another hospital. What else can one do if it’s just not available?

@anniereborn I can just say that I would try to find a hospital that I liked and try to end up there when hospitalization was necessary. The private room thing may not be important to everyone like it is to me. I am germ conscious and the thought of a stranger just being in a bed next to me is enough to put me over the edge.

When it comes to hospitalization, the facility and it’s staff are more important than your doctor. They are the ones who take care of you competently or not. I hope I never have to be hospitalized again. I hope the best for your sister. I have said a prayer for her and you, her sister. My one sister is my best friend.

@MollyMcGuire Thank you that is very sweet and kind of you.