What to Do at the Hospital While You Wait

Twelve Free Activities at Roswell Park

Whether you’re a patient or the friend or loved one of a patient, you may want something to do while you’re waiting around for test results, clinic appointments and procedures. Roswell Park offers several ways to help you pass the time in the waiting area — and they’re all free!

1. Borrow a WiFi-ready laptop at the Resource Center for Patients and Families on the first floor of the hospital (inside the Sunflower Café). Want to watch a movie? You can also borrow a DVD from the center’s collection or peruse the library of reading materials. Call 716-845-8659 for details.

2. Discover your inner Picasso! Our Creative Arts Team guide art activities in the Resource Center on a regular basis. For more info: 716-845-8659.

3. Get a massage. Free chair massages are offered in the Resource Center throughout the month.

4. Join a drum circle inside the Scott Bieler Clinical Sciences Center Lobby. Approximately 30 percussion instruments are available for use.

5. Browse free wigs, hats, or scarves at the Breast and GYN Resource Center.

6. If you’re at Roswell Park on a day when a therapy dog is working, call Volunteer Services at 716-845-3375 to ask if you can arrange a personal visit from one of our furry pals.

7. In the mood for a scavenger hunt? Next time you’re on our campus with some extra free time, see if you can solve the clues and find these objects around Roswell Park. 

8. Stop by Pastoral Care on the first floor of the hospital, just past the ATM machine. The nondenominational chapel is the setting for guided meditation as well as religious services for several faith traditions. Ask what’s on the calendar for the day.

9. Take a front-row seat in the hospital lobby for daily performances by musicians, singers, dancers, and other entertainers.

10. If you’re a visitor in good health, please consider donating life-saving blood products in our Donor Center. You may direct your donation to a specific patient or to any Roswell Park patient who needs blood products. Contact the Donor Center at 716-845-8275.

11. Make new friends in the Hospitality Room on the ground floor of the hospital, near Radiation Medicine. Browse the books and other reading materials, or have a cup of coffee and a snack.

12. Keep an eye out for the goodies on the craft cart when volunteers wheel it into clinics and reception areas throughout the day. Try a new craft or fire up your brain cells with a puzzle book.

If you have an idea for a different program or activity you’d like us to offer, the Office of the Patient/Family Experience wants to hear from you! Please fill out a comment card, located in the boxes near the elevators on every floor.