Staying alive is expensive.
August 13, 2013 1:12 PM   Subscribe

How do you save money on things like food during a long hospital stay? In San Francisco, hotel has no fridge or microwave.

My stepfather is ill and having potentially life-saving surgery in San Francisco later this week. While he is in the hospital, my mom is staying in a nearby hotel. They live far outside of the Bay Area, and driving back and forth from home is not an option.

His operation has already been postponed once, and how long this arrangement lasts depends on how he responds to the surgery. It could be another week or longer before he is well enough to be released.

I live about an hour away in the East Bay and have offered my mom a place to stay, but she understandably wants to stay close in case something goes wrong. They do have medical insurance, but this is still a financial hardship for them and there is no fridge or microwave in the hotel. Eating out every meal is prohibitively expensive, especially here.

So, my question is: What can I do to help her save money? The only thing I can think of is to bring a large cooler of groceries, like bread and cold cuts. Not sure what to pack besides that. I feel like I could be doing more; I have all the conveniences of home at my disposal, and I want to help her through what is already a very stressful time.

Or, do you have any general tips to avoid going completely broke/insane during an extended hospital stay/in San Francisco?

Thanks.
posted by perryfugue to Work & Money (19 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
There are hostels in SF, and most of them have fridges, kitchens, etc. I suggest you visit every three days or so and deliver groceries, because the hostels tend to not be close to affordable grocery options.
posted by infinitewindow at 1:17 PM on August 13, 2013


Contact the hospital's social worker(s), they will be able to direct your mom to local resources. For example, local hotels often have a special hospital rate. Have you investigated whether the insurance will cover some of the hotel stay or food expenses? If you're packing a cooler, yogurts, fruits, and shelf stable meals are the way to go.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 1:18 PM on August 13, 2013 [10 favorites]


Agreeing with PorcineWithMe that contacting the social work department is the way to go. They will have a list of places to stay nearby and may also be able to help with transportation and simlilar issues.
posted by goggie at 1:21 PM on August 13, 2013


Depending on your mom's comfort level, she can probably stay in your dad's hospital room. (Generally, there's a pull out couch of some sort.) There may be a family room in the hospital with microwave/refrigerator access. Can you visit ahead of time to scope out the situation?
posted by tinymegalo at 1:24 PM on August 13, 2013


See if there are any nearby AirBnBs?
posted by hapax_legomenon at 1:26 PM on August 13, 2013


Not sure how committed your mom is to that specific hotel, but you may be able to find a place nearby that does have a fridge and or microwave, and might have helpfully lower rates. Sometimes, by asking nurses, other patients, etc. you can find modest, older motels that rely on word-of-mouth rather than online presence or advertising and cater specifically to hospital visitors. My family has had luck with this trick before.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:27 PM on August 13, 2013


PorcineWithMe has it, if you can get it -- my mother is in a similar position and our hospital in Denver has guest houses with discounted rates, at about 1/2 to 2/3 the cost of a normal hotel room. The savings on a hotel room has been hundreds of dollars at this point.
posted by mochapickle at 1:27 PM on August 13, 2013 [1 favorite]


Many hospitals have housing located on site or close by for families to stay for longer term patients. Check to see if one exists at this hospital (or even another hospital nearby). Kind of like a Ronald McDonald House but for other patients. Their rates are cheaper or free and have access to full kitchens etc. Some even provide some meals.

If not hospitals also have rate agreements with local hotels so if she did not book it that way see if she can get the rate changed or move to a different hotel that does have such an agreement. They will often be accomodating with mini fridges etc.

If none of this works, small cooler filled with ice from the hotel daily with yogurts, lunch meat, cheeses, etc. Pick up frozen entrees on her way in and microwave in the cafeteria at the hospital (they have them for employees and visitors) as well as in some of the break rooms/family areas. During my daughter's recent hospital stay her room actually had its own mini fridge.
posted by maxg94 at 1:29 PM on August 13, 2013


For example, local hotels often have a special hospital rate.

We had to stay in a hotel when my wife had a medical emergency the day before we moved out of an apartment, and even the national chain we stayed in had a very decent medical emergency rate.
posted by Rock Steady at 1:31 PM on August 13, 2013


If the patient were a child I'd recommend the Ronald McDonald House, as this is exactly the sort of service that they provide. But there are other charities out there that provide housing for people staying away from home to be near a loved one in a hospital. Contact the hospital in question, ask for a social worker, and they'll put you in touch with the right people.

Also, look into extended-stay hotels. They're a far sight cheaper than regular hotels. One or two nights' fee at a regular hotel can get you a week at once of these places.
posted by valkyryn at 1:42 PM on August 13, 2013 [1 favorite]


An ice chest/cooler is very adequate as a fridge if the hotel has ice available. Use the type with a drain and set it on the bathroom counter such that it can drain into the sink.

And electric kettle (instant soup/raman), hot plate (all sorts of things of course), toaster oven or microwave depending on what she likes are all pretty cheap. Plug it into the outlet in the bathroom if it is GFCI as these generally are dedicated 15A circuits and there is a fan to whisk away cooking smells.

However if 'twas me I'd buy a small 2 quart crock pot. Both breakfasty things like eggs and dinner/supper things can be cooked in it; two quarts is enough space for two meals (one for now and one for later) and they can be had new for ~$15.

For example I like this pizza, this steel cut oats (make it all the time), and this tortellini recipe but the sky is the limit; just about anything you might like can be made in a crock pot. The main advantage is most crock pot recipes are single pot and they usually don't require any kind of fancy prep. IE: instructions are usually of the "cut these ingredients up and toss them in the pot then set to cook on low for x hours. Store the excess in semi durable ziplock containers in your cooler.
posted by Mitheral at 1:58 PM on August 13, 2013 [2 favorites]


Whatever you do tell them to keep ALL their receipts with regards to this trip. A lot of the travel expenses can likely be deducted on their taxes. See IRS Publication 502 especially under "Trips" which does allow for expenses for the person travelling with the person who needs medical care. Not sure if your mom's hotel would qualify for that but a tax preparer or CPA should.
posted by magnetsphere at 2:08 PM on August 13, 2013 [2 favorites]


I would definitely see if the hotel has a spare microwave and/or fridge - if you explain the situation they might help you out. Do not just buy a microwave and plug it in, they suck up a lot of power and you need to be careful
posted by radioamy at 2:09 PM on August 13, 2013


Definitely look into extended-stay hotels. With hospital rates, we stayed at AmericInn in Ann Arbor that had a microwave, toaster, two-burner stove-top, sink, tiny dishwasher, and full-sized fridge for way less than a regular hotel would have been. And they still made breakfast every morning and changed out bedding/towels on request! We were there about a week, but they seemed content to let rooms by the night as well.
posted by teremala at 2:28 PM on August 13, 2013 [1 favorite]


A cooler is a great idea and a nice way to show support for your mom. I lived in SF for twelve years and though sit-down dining is expensive a lot of the independently owned corner stores have food that is home made, cheap and can be quite good. Exploring to see what you can find might be a nice distraction for you and your mom.

As far as minimizing the moment to moment stress I would recommend card games or board games or video games that require close attention. Learn a new game together.

Most of all take care of yourself. You have to be nice to yourself in order to be able to help your family.

Wishing you all well.
posted by vapidave at 2:38 PM on August 13, 2013


I live in the city and would be happy to deliver a couple of homemade meals to your mom if it would be helpful. Feel free to Memail me.

I hope everything goes ok with your dad. As others have said, take care of yourself first. Keep yourself strong to be there for everyone else.
posted by annekate at 4:13 PM on August 13, 2013 [6 favorites]


A supermarket with an extensive salad and deli bar is my go-to solution for relatively cheap eats while traveling. I don't know SF that well, but there are Whole Foods stores throughout the city, and I imagine that there are plenty of competing local options too.

Definitely ask about medical emergency rates. My mom spent nearly two months living in a hotel in Buffalo, NY, while my stepdad was in the ICU recovering from a serious accident, and she got a much better rate than usual.
posted by brianogilvie at 8:16 PM on August 13, 2013


Scope out the facilities in the hospital. Last place I visited, the patient's family would have been able to store a few things in the floor fridge. Microwave and tea kettle should also be available. Dishes are the hardest thing to come by, she would need her own set.
posted by crazycanuck at 9:40 PM on August 13, 2013


Response by poster: You guys, thank you so much for your answers. My stepfather's surgery yesterday was successful and he's in ICU recovery for the next few days. And my mom has agreed to come stay with me, probably starting this weekend, once he's more stable. So that's going to bring costs down a lot. The (so far) positive outcome of the surgery makes all of this seem quite a bit more manageable, although he still has several weeks of recovery ahead of him. Just the anticipation of surgery can be almost as bad as the operation itself...

I brought a deck of cards to make the hours in the waiting room go by faster. We also watched a lot of cute animal videos on Vine.

I ended up bringing her a cooler of chilled food and some shelf-stable stuff. She also ended up getting a much better patient rate from the hotel. As far as we could tell, this hospital doesn't keep a list of hostels (with like, kitchenettes) to direct patients to. But they do contract with a couple of local hotels for lower rates.

Thanks again.
posted by perryfugue at 1:35 PM on August 16, 2013 [2 favorites]


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