How to Find the Safest Hospital For those of you who live in urban areas where there is more than one hospital to choose from, here is a list of what to look for when you engage in comparison "shopping." This is especially important if you move into a new area. You need to choose your hospital at least as carefully as you choose your schools and place of worship. They are not all the same. Acceptable Hospital Dangerous Hospital Balanced budget Cash-flow deficit Good labor relations Poor labor relations All corridors clear Equipment in corridors Free of foul odors Odor of human excrement coming from rooms Care plan conferences include patient or family Care plan conferences exclude patient or family Operating room staffed twenty-four hours/day Operating room closed at night with on-call staff Nursing recruitment and retention program No formal nursing recruitment and retention program Staffing prescheduled with adequate numbers Supervisors scramble desperately to find nurses Zero tolerance for patient trauma Some trauma seen as "unavoidable" Patient satisfaction survey forms provided No expression of interest in patient satisfaction For those of you who live in less populated areas where there is only one hospital within a reasonable distance, you should make your inquiry to know your hospital's shortcomings so you can protect yourself and your family. In the succeeding chapters, you will learn how to do just that.