Visitor Information for NorthCare Hospice House

Pets as visitors are welcome and should be on a leash and accompanied at all times. Pets who visit NorthCare Hospice House should be quiet, well-controlled and comfortable with people—including children—and other animals. View Pet Guidelines.

Visitors may keep small amounts of personal food in a common refrigerator. There are several options for visitors who wish to eat with their loved one or to have meals while visiting. Please see Food and Meals for more details.

If visitors wish to stay overnight, NorthCare Hospice House provides a sleeper chair and a recliner in each patient room to accommodate two guests. Please ask for linens if a guest plans to sleep in the fold out sleeper chair or would like a pillow and/or blanket for the recliner.

North Kansas City Hospital has Guest Quarters rooms that may be available for a reasonable fee and there are many motels and hotels in the area. Please see Lodging for more details.

There are opportunities for patients and families to enjoy the outdoors. NorthCare Hospice House wraps around the interior Gift of Life of Garden which is a project of the Donate Life Committee. The interior garden door locks at 9 p.m. and may be locked at other times due to weather conditions. A paved walkway with plantings and pergolas are on the east side of the Hospice House.

The North Kansas City Hospital campus is smoke-free inside and outside.

There is a Gift Shop located in the Hospital. Exit the Hospice House through the inside entrance to the Hospital corridor, turn right and the shop is a short distance. The Gift Shop carries a wide variety of gifts and necessary items to meet your needs.

Gift Shop hours vary. They are generally open:

• Monday-Friday from 9:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
• Saturday from 10:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
• Sunday from 2:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

Flowers for patients are available in the cooler across from the Gift Shop on the 2nd Floor just down the hall from the Hospice House. Payment for flowers can be made at the Information Center Desk next door to the Gift Shop. Information Center Hours are 7:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8:30 a.m-8:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Flowers may also be ordered online at www.nkch.org

There are Bank of America and Community America Credit Union ATM machines in the corridor of the Hospital just down the hall from the Gift Shop. There is also a Community America Credit Union office in the Hospital which is open from 7 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Take the Pavilion elevator to the 4th Floor and follow the signs.

There is a small shopping district close to the Hospital in North Kansas City which includes a 24 hour CVS store. Staff can help direct visitors as needed.

Tack boards are provided in each patient room. Tacks will be available to secure cards, photos and other items to the tack board. Please help us keep our rooms looking their best by not using tape or nails on the walls.

We recommend that you leave valuable personal items at home and that visitors not leave items unattended. Hospice House is not responsible for any loss or damage to any personal items brought in, and is not liable for any injuries associated with these items.

Upon discharge, if belongings are found in the patient room, staff will notify the family or caregiver. If the family or caregiver does not pick up the items after the notification, they will be boxed, labeled, and stored for 30 days. At that time, they will be donated to a charity or discarded.

To access an outside line, dial 9. Only local calls can be made unless you have a calling card. Calling cards are available at the Gift Shop. For collect or credit card calls phone the Hospital operator at 816.691.2000 and they will place the call. Phone calls to extensions within the Hospice House or the Hospital can be accessed directly by dialing the last four digits of the phone number. For example to call 691-2000, dial 2000.

Housekeeping is provided by Environmental Services staff. The patient restrooms are cleaned and trash is emptied daily. Dirty towels and washcloths are exchanged for clean ones. Bed linens are changed by nursing staff. Extra linens are available upon request.

We understand that families may spend a great deal of time at NorthCare Hospice House. A laundry room is provided within the Hospice House for family and patient personal laundry. Families are asked to make sure that they do not leave any of their belongings. Laundry soap and dryer sheets will be available. Bed linens, towels, washcloths, blankets, and bedspreads are not to be laundered in the family laundry room.

Family members staying with their loved ones who wish to shower may use the patient shower rooms in the corridors, or if the patient room has a shower, may use that shower. Shower rooms can be used as available. Shower rooms can be locked from the inside. Please request linens and soap from a staff member.

Please use the soap inside the room to wash your hands when you enter the patient room. Some disease processes require special precautions before entering a patient room. A stop sign will be placed outside the door to the room to indicate that a nurse needs to advise you if items such as a mask and gown are needed to protect either the patient or you.

Several comfortable sitting areas are arranged throughout the Hospice House. One sitting area contains a play area for visiting children. Children younger than 10 should not be left unattended in the play area. Sitting areas have sofas and love seats in them. We ask that visitors do not sleep on furniture in the common sitting areas. Families are up and about in the sitting areas and kitchen throughout the night and are not able to use these areas if visitors are sleeping in them. If you wish to sleep and do not choose to sleep in your loved one’s room or the guest quarters, please check with the nurse or secretary. We may be able to find some empty space in the Hospice House. We will try to accommodate everyone as much possible.

The Spiritual Center is open 24 hours a day to patients, families and other visitors.

The library area contains a computer for the convenience of visitors. We ask that visitors limit time on the computer if there are other visitors waiting to use it. We ask that computer use be limited to adults and children age 15 and older.

There is Wi-Fi access throughout Hospice House and the Hospital.

There is a conference room with a DVD player that can be reserved by families for events and meetings, based on availability.