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Hospital Room TV Service

JeeperOne

JeeperOne

Banned
I've learned that Hospital Room TV service can be as adventurous as that in Hotel Rooms. Why don't we start a thread on that. I'll start.....

Here in Denver, I've been a patient in 4 different hospitals in the last several years (One being a Rehab Hospital). While their limitations are the same as hotels & motels, their carriers are not. For instance, back in 2005, I was in one hospital that used DirecTV yet in 2008 I was at another hospital IN THE SAME HEALTH CARE NETWORK & they were on DISH Network (You could tell this because the hospital networks never bumped carrier ads for their own stuff. In other words, ads produced by DISH Network were seen on hospital TV room channels that used DISH Network just like the ads produced by DirecTV were seen on hospital TV room channels that used DirecTV. There was no difference.

Uptime though is somewhat spotty with some hospitals. An example of this is the rehab hospital I was in back in 2005. Sometimes it was up & sometimes it was down. In fact, towards the end of my stay there, I was issued a whole new lineup card. This is because they had switched to a new carrier. Didn't do me much good though as I checked out soon afterward.

Just recently, I was in the hospital yet again. Though this time I only spent the night & only watched the local ABC affiliate (And that was for the news & Nightline afterwards).

Unfortunately though, I never did take the time to list what was on each channel (Not even the last time when I had my laptop with me as I had access to the free WiFi system) as I was too busy dealing with the pains of getting well if you know what I mean ;)

But this much I can say.....

The programming fare was similar to what you'd find in a hotel or motel. All the English locals (INCLUDING MyNetwork, CW & Fox). All the Latin locals (Except maybe Telefutura & Azteca America) & a few old skool basic cable channels (CNN/HLN, USA, ESPN/ESPN 2, TNT etc).

Perhaps someone out there HAS taken the time to compile a list? If so, POST.....POST.....POST. Let's have fun with this. (Don't forget to mention the city & hospital you were at in your post ;) )

Cheers :D
 
Some 20 years ago, Baltimore, overnight stay for post surgery observation.

All I remember was the nurse asking what I was reading while watching Bugs Bunny. He found it delightful and refreshing that Leo Tolstoy fit so well in the scheme of things. So much so that he gave me a pair of his scrubs when I asked for some, because they looked comfortable.
 
I just took another look at that list above and realized it might be a little bit out of date. For instance.. it lists "COURT TV" (now TruTV) and "FSNY" (now MSG+). Also, neither YES nor SNY are anywhere to be found on this channel lineup!
 
SNY is probably on Channel 72 where FSNY is since FSN left the state & farmed out its programming but otherwise you're right - No YES. Weird.....

Cheers :D
 
Last time I was in the hospital (2000 for an appendectomy), they had the equivalent of basic cable - about 40-50 channels, all locals plus the major cable channels.
 
Mrs. F. spent too much of the last year or so at Rochester's Strong Memorial Hospital undergoing (and recovering from) surgery, so I've had a chance to become familiar with the lineup there, as provided by "Telerent" for 7 bucks a day.

(She's doing much better now, by the way...)

Here's how it looks:

3 - TVGuide
4 - WHEC (10/NBC)
5 - WROC (8/CBS)
6 - WHAM (13/ABC)
7 - WXXI (21/PBS)
9 - A&E
11 - BET
12 - WUHF (31/Fox)
14 - HLN
15 - ESPN
16 - TNT
17 - DSC
18 - TBS
20 - USA
21 - Disney
22 - CNN
23 - CNBC
24 - TLC
25 - FNC
26 - AMC
27 - HIST
28 - MSNBC
29 - UNI
30 - TOON
31 - ABCFAM
32 - Animal Planet
33 - NICK
34 - HGTV
35 - Food
36 - EWTN
37 - TBN
38 - Lifetime
58 and 59 are radio stations with a clock, and there are some hospital channels in the 60s, IIRC.
 
Seltzer said:
Does O'Bama care address this?
Click to expand...

IIRC, yes. Systems with up to 35 channels are covered under ObamaCare. Systems with more channels are allowed, but they will carry an additional tax as "Cadillac Television Systems".
 
I had my appendix out 10 years ago at Maine Medical Center in Portland Maine but I couldn't remember the line-up so I put Portland's zip-code into tvguide.com and found Time Warner- Maine Medical.

Here's the line-up

5 Nick
6 WCSH (NBC)
7 ESPN
8 WMTW (ABC)
9 CNN
10 MPBN (Maine PBS)
11 Fox News
12 WPXT (CW)
13 WGME (CBS)
14 TV Guide
16 ABC Family
17 WPME (My TV)
18 TNT
20 Discovery
21 TLC
22 The Weather Channel
23 Cartoon Network
24 Turner Classic Movies
25 ABC Family
26 AMC
27 USA
28 ESPN 2
29 Headline News
30 NESN
31 Disney Channel
61 TV Land

The channels missing they should have are WPFO (FOX), TBS, Syfy, Spike and A&E. I just can't believe ABC Family is on twice 16 and 25.

I guess 26 channels is enough for when you're in the hospital.
 
And one would think a "blue state" such as Maine would carry MSNBC - yet they have the very red Fox News as well as the "purple" CNN...

Scott - Thanks for sharing the lineup. Very odd that BET is one of the first cable channels on the lineup, and on Channel 11. By the way, do you remember what radio stations were on Channels 58 and 59? I would imagine one of them would be the local news/talk station that carries Rush...
 
DToTheJ said:
Scott - Thanks for sharing the lineup. Very odd that BET is one of the first cable channels on the lineup, and on Channel 11. By the way, do you remember what radio stations were on Channels 58 and 59? I would imagine one of them would be the local news/talk station that carries Rush...
Click to expand...

That would be WHAM, and no, I don't believe it was on there. I'm pretty sure at least one of the "radio" channels was classical WXXI-FM 91.5, and the other one may well have been WXXI 1370 (NPR news-talk)...
 
Pat Cook said:
I've learned that Hospital Room TV service can be as adventurous as that in Hotel Rooms. Why don't we start a thread on that. I'll start.....
Click to expand...

Emory Eastside, Snellville GA, 2006 & 2007 : Channels were the local Comcast lineup for channel 2 to 78 with one in-house bulletin board channel. The distrbution system was bad. Channells above 65 were unwatchable above the 2nd floor. Of course my favorite channel, SciFi (at the time), was on 74.

Speaker for the TV sound was on the nurse-call wired remote. One button controlled on, channel up and off. No direct channel entry or going down a channel, you had to channel up to 78, then off, then on, then to the channel you wanted. Being hard of hearing, I needed CC, but leaving the TV off more than a few seconds reset the CC off. The TV was mounted so high that only tall nurses or men could reach the Menu button on the front of the TV to set it back on.

Bad memories.
 
You don't say... A remote control that did not have full functions - and on top of it, turned the television OFF after reaching the last channel? You ought to sue for electronic malpractice! :D Glad/hope you are doing well, though.
 
Presbyterian/St. Lukes Medical Center had the Sirius/XM Satellite Radio music channels for music back in 2008. Not sure about Rose Medical Center or Kindred Rehabilitation Center where I was in 2005 for several weeks.

Cheers :D
 
Waiting for outpatient surgery at LeConte Med Center in Sevierville TN I only had a half hour of TV and it seemed to only be Charter Extended Basic
 
When my daughter was at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton OH with my grandsons they had most cable channels and a bunch of hospital channels. I think they included a maternity, or at least a women's health channel. Also had most of the radio stations including news talkers WLW and WHIO. Back when my daughter was born in 1986 at Home Hospital in Lafayette, IN, they had a satellite feed of ABC so we could watch the Indianapolis 500 (which was blacked out). That year it ran 6 days late due to a week of rain.
 
I need to revive this thread!

Back in 2005, I went over to Yakima Regional Medical Center to check up on my grandfather [who was in the hospital at the time, he is now deceased]. The cable looked like Charter expanded basic cable to me. I remember getting WB 100+ on Ch. 31 [which the fantasy calls were KWYP, not related to the PBS station in WY that repeats KCWC] as well as a ton of cable networks, and the locals [KIMA, KNDO, KAPP, etc.]

-crainbebo
 
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