[Emimily]

tracee's right - there has to be a release on file that's signed by your brother okaying it for the hospital (or staff, etc.) to talk to you and your family. i work at a mental health hospital, and i can't tell you how many times a day family members call to see if a relative is here and i have to say "we can neither confirm or deny whether a patient is being treated here, it's a national privacy regulation called a hipaa law, but what i can do is take your name and number, call down to the adult units and let them know you're looking for this person." at our facility, patients are responsible for calling their friends and family and letting them know their patient i.d. number. but, that's just us.

good luck, i hope everything works out.