Patients and Visitors

Whether you are coming in for a scheduled procedure, visiting family, or trying to sort out a bill, the practical answers are below.

Visiting hours

Ruraltown Health Center: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily for inpatients. If you are travelling a distance or a family member is seriously ill, call the nurses’ station and we will work around it. We are not going to turn away a son who drove five hours because he arrived at 8:30.

Ruraltown Long Term Care: open visiting, any hour. This is where our residents live.

Please do not visit if you have a fever, are vomiting, or have a new cough. Call instead. A respiratory virus moves through a long term care facility fast and does real harm.

What to bring

• Photo identification and your insurance card
• A current list of every medication, including over the counter and supplements, with doses
• Your pharmacy’s name and phone number
• Advance directive or living will, if you have one
• Contact details for whoever should be called and whoever can make decisions if you cannot

Leave valuables at home. For an overnight stay, bring a robe, non-slip slippers, and any glasses, hearing aids, or dentures you use.

Billing and financial assistance

You will usually receive separate bills from the hospital and from the physicians who treated you. That is normal and it is not a duplicate.

We offer interest free payment plans, and financial assistance based on household income for patients who qualify. There is no penalty for asking and it does not affect your care. Call our billing office and ask for the financial counselor before a bill goes unpaid rather than after.

You are entitled to a good faith estimate of costs before a scheduled service. Ask for one. We will give you a real number.

Insurance

We accept Medicare, Medicaid, and most commercial plans, including the major regional networks. Coverage varies by plan, so call the number on your card and confirm before a scheduled service. If we are out of network for you, tell us, and we will tell you what it will cost.

Medical records

You have a right to your records. Request them through the patient portal, or in person at the health center with photo identification. Requests are usually filled within five business days. Records sent directly to another provider for continuing care are free.

Interpretation and accessibility

Interpretation, including sign language, is provided at no cost. Tell any staff member, or call ahead so someone is ready when you arrive. All three facilities are wheelchair accessible and wheelchairs are available at each entrance.