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Your Rights and Responsibilities

You may be a patient here, but you're an individual first. Accordingly, we make every effort to protect your needs and rights.

You Have the Right to Expect:

Information and answers to questions about pain and pain relief.
Assurance that staff cares about a patient's pain and pain relief.
A quick response from medical staff when pain is reported.
The best available pain relief treatments.
Accessibility to a pain consultation service if necessary.
A sense that complaints of pain are believed by one's doctor or nurse.

Nondiscrimination Statement

Lee Memorial Health System does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability or age in admission, treatment, or participation in its programs, services and activities, or in employment. For further information about this policy, contact Kristy Rigot, System Director, Human Resources, 239-772-6578, TDD 239-334-5989.

We believe that a partnership in patient care can make a difference. Please do not hesitate to ask a physician or nurse for information related to pain management. See also the following Summary of the Florida Patient's Bill of Rights and Responsibilities.

Your Responsibilities

A patient is responsible for providing to his or her health care provider, to the best of his or her knowledge, accurate and complete information about present complaints, past illnesses, hospitalizations, medications, and other matters relating to his or her health.
A patient is responsible for reporting unexpected changes in his or her condition to his or her health care provider.***
A patient is responsible for reporting to his or her health care provider whether he or she comprehends a contemplated course of action and what is expected of him or her.
A patient is responsible for following the treatment plan recommended by his or her health care provider.
A patient is responsible for keeping appointments and, when he or she is unable to do so for any reason, for notifying the health care provider or health care facility.
A patient is responsible for his or her actions if he or she refuses treatment or does not follow the health care provider's instructions.
A patient is responsible for assuring that the financial obligations of his or her health care are fulfilled as promptly as possible.
A patient is responsible for following health care facility rules and regulations affecting patient care and conduct.

* This includes a response to reports of pain.
** Lee Memorial Health System does not discriminate against a patient's right to impartial medical treatment or accommodations regardless of the type of disability.
*** This includes reporting perceived risks in his or her care.

We Care When It Hurts at Lee Memorial Health System:

We believe that pain control is an important part of patient care. We are committed to creating a partnership with each patient for effectively managing pain. All of our staff have been trained to assist in finding the most effective treatment possible for pain.

Filing Complaints

Lee Memorial Health System has a process for the prompt resolution of patient complaints. A "patient complaint" is a formal, written or verbal concern that is filed by a patient or on a patient's behalf, when a patient concern cannot be resolved immediately by staff present. Our goal is to address in a timely, fair and consistent manner our patients' reasonable expectations of care and service.

We encourage you to write or call the guest service coordinator at the hospital where you are or were a patient. Your coordinator is there to assist you.

Cape Coral Hospital
636 Del Prado Boulevard
Cape Coral, FL 33990
239-574-0393 • main number 239-574-2323

Gulf Coast Medical Center
13681 Doctors Way
Fort Myers, FL 33912
239-242-6278 • main number 239-343-1000

HealthPark Medical Center
9981 S. HealthPark Drive
Fort Myers, FL 33908
239-432-3210 • main number 239-433-7799

Lee Memorial Hospital
PO Box 2218
Fort Myers, FL 33901
239-334-5421 • main number 239-332-1111

You may register a complaint with the following state agency directly, regardless of whether you use our complaint process. If you have a complaint against a hospital or ambulatory surgical center, file it by phone. Call the Hospital and Outpatient Unit complaint hotline toll-free at 1-888-419-3456. You may also write to:

Agency For Health Care Administration
Hospital and Outpatient Unit
2727 Mahan Drive, Mailstop 31,
Tallahassee, FL 32308

If you have a complaint against a physician, call 1-888-419-3456 to request a practitioner complaint form. You also can download the form at www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/enforcement/enforce_howto.htm. Or, mail your request for the form to:

Florida Department of Health
Consumer Services Unit
4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin C-75,
Tallahassee, FL 32399-3275

If an individual has any concerns about patient care and safety that have not been resolved through the hospital's Complaint Resolution Process or Hospital Management the public may also contact the Joint Commission's office of Quality Monitoring by either calling 800-994-6610 or e-mailing complaint@jcaho.org. The public is encouraged to try to resolve their concerns through the hospital first.

Medicare/Medicaid patients with concerns about quality of care or premature discharge can contact:

FMQAI (Florida Medical Quality Assurance, Inc.)
5201 W. Kennedy Blvd. Suite 900
Tampa, FL 33609-1812
Ph. # 1-800-844-0795

For General Information About Your Hospital Stay

Should you need information about or have questions pertaining to your hospital stay, please call the hospital where you are or were a patient, at these numbers:

Cape Coral Hospital ................................ 239-574-2323
Gulf Coast Medical Center ....................... 239-768-5000
HealthPark Medical Center ...................... 239-433-7799
Lee Memorial Hospital ............................. 239-332-1111