How do you get into nursing homes after hours?

abckidsmom

Dances with Patients
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The doors are locked, the receptionist has gone home...who opens the door? Do you have knox box keys? Punch code? A facility we go to just decided that we won't be able to enter from the doors by the nurses stations any more, we can only come in the front doors, which are far removed from where the staff is at night.

Just wondering what some other ways of getting it done are...
 

medicdan

Forum Deputy Chief
Premium Member
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Bang on the doors? Call the nurse's station from our cell? Walk around the building and knock on windows if need be? Use dispatch to call back the RP/RN?
 

exodus

Forum Deputy Chief
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When I worked in SD, there was a nursing home where we had to call them to come open the doors.. That seemed to be the best issue. We've also had the ER give them a call to let them know we were on our way so to unlock the doors for a bit.
 

ffemt8978

Forum Vice-Principal
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We had that problem at one nursing home, but we found the airhorn on the rig works quite well.
 

Tigger

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For a while I had a notepad that had all sorts of useful things on the back page, including nursing home and ER door codes. Then I left it in a truck and never saw it again.

If no one comes after some banging we'll just have dispatch call the facility or if it's really urgent Fire will come with the knoxbox keys.
 

Shishkabob

Forum Chief
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Most NHs around here have some variation of the same code (911#. 911*, *911, etc etc)

We try a bunch. If no good, we call dispatch to call the NH to let us in.




It really annoys the hell out of me. They called, they know we're coming, send someone to the door.
 
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The airhorn is your best friend!
 

Sandog

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The doors are locked, the receptionist has gone home...who opens the door? Do you have knox box keys? Punch code? A facility we go to just decided that we won't be able to enter from the doors by the nurses stations any more, we can only come in the front doors, which are far removed from where the staff is at night.

Just wondering what some other ways of getting it done are...

If they called you, would they not be expecting you?
 

adamjh3

Forum Culinary Powerhouse
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If they called you, would they not be expecting you?

Either they're running up to you before you've parked the rig or you have such a hard time finding anyone that you're wondering if you're at the right address. Usually the latter

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk
 

94H

Forum Lieutenant
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Code is usually Month:Year

Or

"Comm, can you give them a call to open the doors?"
 

Tigger

Dodges Pucks
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It's a rural area. Our response time for it going to be 2 minutes, 15 minutes or 30 minutes. They aren't going to stand there and wait.

Let's be real, even if it's two minutes most facilities are not going to send someone to wait. Two weeks ago I asked why they took so long to answer the door and the staffer said "the sirens sounded like they were a long way off so I figured I had time." :blink:
 

DesertMedic66

Forum Troll
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Try to open the doors, knock, try different codes, walk around to see if we can get in, have dispatch call the facility, honk the horn, if all fails take the patient back to the hospital. The hospital will contact the nursing home and words will be exchanged.

Normally at the nursing/SNFs they will have a sign that says something along the lines of "after hours please call 760-555-0123". They will normally give us the door code.
 

Epi-do

I see dead people
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I try not to get into them after hours, or at anytime, really. :p

Seriously, we don't have any we are the first due ambulance for in our area. We get to go to the trailer parks instead. I'm not sure who got the loosing end of that deal.

Anyway, when I worked private service, we did pretty much what everyone here has already mentioned. We had codes for the ones we went to all the time. The others, we either had to pound on doors or ask dispatch to call and tell someone to come let us in. We never had access to a knox box key.
 

Sandog

Forum Asst. Chief
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It's a rural area. Our response time for it going to be 2 minutes, 15 minutes or 30 minutes. They aren't going to stand there and wait.

Well, I certainly would not expect them to stand out front awaiting you, but I would expect someone to be in earshot of the main entrance to let you in.
 

DesertMedic66

Forum Troll
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It's a rural area. Our response time for it going to be 2 minutes, 15 minutes or 30 minutes. They aren't going to stand there and wait.

Our wait times can be +3 hours from the moment the hospital/SNF sets up the transport.
 

Bullets

Forum Knucklehead
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All our SNFs have keypads, original codes such as 911# or 911*, we have knox box keys for apartment complexes and condos

we also have a halligan bar
 

Handsome Robb

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I wouldn't be posting codes in the Internet...even if they are generic.

Just my 2 cents
 
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