Sending flowers to St. Mary's Medical Center

St. Mary's Medical Center is on 45th Street in West Palm Beach. Like Delray Medical Center, it is part of the Tenet-owned Palm Beach Health Network, and it runs a Level I trauma center. The campus also houses the Palm Beach Children's Hospital, so the person you want to cheer up could be an adult recovering from surgery or a child on a pediatric floor.

Here is the honest part: St. Mary's does not publish a flower rule on any page we were able to read. We have no confirmed list of units that take bouquets and none that refuse them.

What St. Mary's Medical Center allows

Because we found nothing in writing, we can't tell you that flowers are allowed, and we won't guess. Before you order, call the hospital at (561) 844-6300 and ask three things:

1. Does the unit my patient is on accept fresh flowers?
2. Are balloons or potted plants allowed there?
3. Where do florist deliveries go, and is there a cutoff time?

As a general rule in US hospitals, intensive care, newborn intensive care, cancer and transplant units are the most likely to say no to fresh flowers, because of infection risk to fragile patients. With a trauma center and a children's hospital on one campus, St. Mary's has more of those patients than a typical community hospital. That is general practice, not a rule St. Mary's has published, but it is a good reason to make the call.

Where the delivery goes

We do not have a confirmed delivery desk for St. Mary's, so let the phone call settle where the florist should go. Once you know the unit is fine with flowers, give the florist:

• the patient's full name exactly as registered (for a child, add a parent's name too),
• the room or unit, if the family shared it,
• the hospital's street address on 45th Street and the main number,
• your own phone number in case the patient has been discharged.

Short stays are common, so order early in the day. If you are unsure about timing, read our same-day delivery cutoffs.

If flowers aren't an option

If the answer on the phone is no, there are easy fallbacks. A card mailed or dropped off by a visitor is almost always welcome. The hospital's website has a page called Send a Cheer Card, which we could not open; ask about it when you call, since it may be the simplest way to get a message to the bedside. You can also have flowers delivered to the patient's home for when they get back.

What to send to a patient here

If flowers are cleared for an adult floor, a small, lightly scented arrangement is the safe bet. For a child at the Palm Beach Children's Hospital, a bright, playful bouquet or a stuffed animal often lands better than a formal arrangement, but check the pediatric unit's rules first. Our get-well flowers guide covers color and size, and our card-writing guide helps with the note. Nearby, Delray Medical Center does publish its rule if you want to compare.

Sending somewhere else in West Palm Beach? See flower delivery in West Palm Beach for cutoff times and other local hospitals.