Many times customers will order a gift basket to be delivered to a hospital.  Although we are happy to do it, we like to ensure that our customer is aware of the implications.  Things to think about are:

1)  When the patient leaves, they generally have quite a few things to bring home with them already.

2) What if they are discharged early and the basket doesn’t get delivered in time?
If the recipient is no longer there, there could be a substantial delay in re-directing the basket to another address, especially if they are hospitalized somewhere else than their hometown.

3) The mail room (where shipped gift baskets are generally delivered first) handle a large variety of packages and priority is not always given to gift baskets.
We do put a large note on each basket stating “GIFT-PLEASE DELIVER TO PATIENT IMMEDIATELY” But these requests are sometimes ignored.

4) Wouldn’t it be nice for the recipient to receive a gift at home, once they’re settled in, to know that they are still being thought of.
I speak from first hand experience on this one.  On a recent hospital stay, I was not able to receive gifts as I was in ICU, but when I returned home, my spirits were lifted each time a delivery was made to my door during my recooperation.

Sending a much appreciated get well gift is our way of letting someone special to us know that we are thinking of them.  The timing however, does not need to be immediate to have an impact.  Any time along the recovery process, a well thought out gift will be appreciated and enjoyed.