Hospital Visitation:

It is a privilege to express care to people who are part of the Century church family when they are hospitalized.

The church becomes aware of a person's hospitalization either: because the person has informed the church office, or the person has indicated in his or her pre-admission interview / documentation that Century Baptist is their preferred church affiliation. On rare occasions we may also receive a phone call from the nurses station at the patient's or patient family's request. When a person indicates to the hospital that he or she is part of Century, that hospital will include the patient's name on a list provided to Century Baptist through a specific, guarded protocol for the privacy of the patient.

At this time, all critical care-related hospital visitation in the name of Century is done by one of the Century ministry staff or Elders. In addition, the first hospital visit made to patients who have been admitted to a non-critical hospital care unit will be made by a ministry staff person or church Elder.

You may be reading this page as part of orientation into a handful of non-staff/non-Elder congregational volunteers who make follow-up visits to non-critical patients who are hospitalized for more than a day or two. And for your willingness in this ministry we thank you! As you make visits in the name of the church you will perhaps cross paths with church folk from the patient's small group, who have not quite received the tips we are posting here. That is okay, for we aspire for each Century small group to develop beyond Bible study, prayer, and socializing together, into additional expressions of care and mission. More on that in a different web page. But you as a volunteer are equally important, and as far as the hospitals see it, you are trained representatives of the church, not only friends of the patient.

Let's consider, then several instructions about making hospital visits:

ETIQUETTE IN THE PATIENT'S ROOM: