Waiting Areas

When your loved one is undergoing a procedure, it can be a stressful time. At Rush, we offer multiple lounges designed for your comfort while you wait.

Rush University Medical Center

Smith Family Lounges

Our four Smith Family Lounges have a variety of amenities, including comfortable seating areas, televisions, reading materials and wireless internet access.

The guest relations associate at any information desk can direct you to the correct lounge after you check in. Our lounges are on the following floors of the Tower:

  • Tower fourth floor lounge: (312) 947-0439
  • Tower fifth floor lounge: (312) 947-5504
  • Tower seventh floor lounge: (312) 947-7701
  • Atrium fifth floor lounge: (312) 942-2065

The lounges are open Monday through Friday, from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. The fifth-floor lounge in the Tower is open from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Smith Family Lounge policies

  • Make sure the guest relations associates are aware if you need to leave the lounge while your loved one is having a procedure, and let them know when you’ve returned. This will help them make sure you receive the information you need about your loved one.
  • Limit your group to two visitors per patient in the Smith Family Lounge. If you need additional space or if your loved one is undergoing a lengthy procedure, speak to a guest relations associate in the lounge about available private family rooms or alternative locations.

Find out your loved one’s status

The Smith Family Lounges offer a number of ways for you to stay informed on how your loved ones are doing before, during and after their procedures.

  • Patient status boards: Computer monitors are set up in each lounge to help you monitor your loved one’s progress. To protect privacy, the boards use a randomly assigned number to identify each patient.
  • Cell phone or pager: When you check in, please give a guest relations associate your cell phone number. This allows a member of your loved one's surgical team to contact you, if needed. If you do not have a cell phone, a guest relations associate will give you a pager. (Please return your pager to the guest relations associate at the end of your stay in the lounge.)
  • Patient family liaison: Our patient family liaisons, who coordinate with your loved one's surgical team, will come to the family waiting rooms every two hours to update you on your loved one's status. If you need a status update before the liaison arrives, please ask the guest relations associate in the Smith Family Lounge to contact the patient family liaison.

The Joan and Paul Rubschlager Building

There are several waiting areas in the building, including:

  • First floor near the lab and radiation oncology
  • The south concourse on all floors
  • Clinics have seating areas for patients and support persons

Other waiting areas

  • Lobby area outside of Au Bon Pain, located on the fourth floor of the Atrium.
  • The Shirley and Richard Jaffee Family Garden, a public outdoor garden located on the fourth floor of the Tower.
  • Quiet area on the fourth floor of the Tower, located on the north side of the building by the Jaffe Garden.

These three areas do not have patient status boards, so be sure to check your loved one's status in one of the Smith Family Lounges.

Patient discharge lounge

Located on the fourth floor of the Tower across from the information desk, the patient discharge lounge is a comfortable space for patients who have been discharged from the hospital but need to wait for transportation or delivery of medications. The lounge has snacks, a television and other amenities.

A patient care technician is also available to assist you with coordinating next steps, such as scheduling follow-up appointments or making prescription arrangements.

The lounge is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m, Monday through Friday. For more information, call (312) 947-4429.

Rush Copley Medical Center

Rush Copley Medical Center offers visitors places to meet and gather in waiting areas located throughout the hospital.

Our waiting areas have a variety of amenities, including comfortable seating areas, televisions, reading materials and wireless internet access. Some areas also provide complimentary coffee and water, and snacks for purchase.

The waiting areas at Rush Copley are open every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. They include the following:

  • Surgery Family waiting area, near the main entrance of the hospital
  • Medical-Surgical waiting area, located outside of the Medical-Surgical Unit
  • Family Birth Center waiting area, near the Women’s Health entrance
  • First-floor waiting area, near Intensive Care and Intermediate Care areas
  • Solariums and large windows overlooking the campus, located in most patient care areas

If you need help finding any of these waiting areas, please ask a staff member at the front desk of the hospital for assistance.

Rush Oak Park Hospital

Rush Oak Park Hospital offers visitors places to meet and gather in waiting areas located throughout the hospital.

Our waiting areas have a variety of amenities, including comfortable seating areas, televisions, reading materials and wireless internet access. Some areas also provide complimentary coffee and water, and snacks for purchase.

The waiting areas at Rush Oak Park Hospitals are open every day from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. They include the following:

  • Intensive Care Unit (ICU) waiting area, located on the fifth floor of the hospital. If you are a patient's contact person, you can call the ICU for updates at (708) 660-5700.
  • Medical-surgical waiting area, located on the sixth floor of the hospital. If you are a patient's contact person, you can call the unit for updates at (708) 660-6700.
  • Orthopedic medical-surgical waiting area, located on the third floor of the hospital. If you are a patient's contact person, you can call the unit for updates at (708) 660-3570.
  • Same-day surgery waiting area, located on the first floor of the hospital just off the lobby area. If you are a patient's contact person, please visit the front desk of the unit for updates.
  • Skilled care waiting area, located on the fourth floor of the hospital. If you are a patient's contact person, you can call the unit for updates at (708) 660-4700.
  • Telemetry waiting area, located on the fifth floor of the hospital. If you are a patient's contact person, you can call the unit for updates at (708) 660-5720.

If you need help finding any of these waiting areas, please ask a staff member at the front desk of the hospital for assistance.