Being admitted to the hospital

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Hospitals provide extensive resources and expertise that enable doctors to rapidly diagnose and treat a wide range of diseases.
However, a hospital can be a frightening and confusing place. Often, care occurs quickly and without explanation. Knowing what to expect can help people cope and actively participate in their care during their stay. Understanding more about what hospitals do and why they do it can help people feel less intimidated by their hospital experience, more in control, and more confident about their health when they are discharged home.
People are admitted to a hospital when they have a serious or life-threatening problem (such as a heart attack). They also may be admitted for less serious disorders that cannot be adequately treated in another place (such as at home or in an outpatient surgery center). A doctor—the primary care doctor, a specialist, or an emergency department doctor—determines whether people have a medical problem serious enough to warrant admission to the hospital.
The main goal of hospitalization is

To restore or improve health so that people can return home

Thus, hospital stays are intended to be relatively short and to enable people to be safely discharged to home or to another health care setting where treatment can be completed.
For many people, hospital admission begins with a visit to the emergency department. Knowing when and how to go to an emergency department is important. When people do go to the emergency department, they should bring their medical information.
Children may require a parent or other caregiver to stay at the hospital most of the time.