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I am accompanying someone to a major medical center for their heart surgery (at this point minimally invasive repair of life threatening damage related to their military service). It is about 500 miles from where I currently live. We will travel there and back about 500 miles likely by bus and train since it will be risky for them to fly.

We will spend at least 2 weeks in an hotel at the hospital. Any tips that would be good to know? One friend suggested bringing a heating blanket. That was a great idea. Any other tips?
What might they want to wear in the hospital and otherwise, eat after surgery, etc. ?

I recommend bringing a few of simple plug-in nightlights to the hotel.

I accompanied my husband to a medical center outside our region for his hip surgery. We stayed in a hotel for a few days. The surgery itself was at a surgical center. The center arranged for the hotel suite because their nurse and surgeon made visits to the room. The day of the surgery was nerve-wracking. We were there at least 8 or 9 hours in all and didn't get settled into the hotel until about 9:00 pm. Lots of family and friends were calling to get updates even though my husband was in no condition to talk, and I was a bit worried about whether I would be able to adequately handle the care if something happened.

In the end, it was nice to stay in a hotel apartment suite instead of a hospital room. There was a separate living room/kitchen, bedroom with a door, and a bathroom off the bedroom. The only thing we struggled with was having a low light source in the bathroom and/or other rooms to make getting up at night safe and easy.

In terms of clothes, there were a few things. I finally convinced my husband to wear the men's lounge pants I bought him years earlier for Christmas. They more or less were like a cross between men's pajamas and loose sweat pants. He wears them all the time now. I imagine with a chest surgery you'll want button or zip tops. i also bought some slip-on shoes from Olukai. They look like leather loafers, and the back near the heel flips down so you can slide them on like mules. He had slippers, but I wanted something with more traction and stability.

At home we had to move a few things around, mostly put his favorite leather recliner where he could watch tv and look out the back windows at the bird feeders and woods.

Real tennis shoes. Some that lace and cab be loosened as frequently after surgery there is fluid retention. And they make you walk walk walk.
Also pants that are easy on and off.
Reusable water container for self.
Toothbrush. The ones the hospitals have to use are gross and useless.

That's a good point about the shoes! For hip surgery, walking is limited to getting functional in the house for a while, you're limited in your range of motion in putting on shoes, and no one said anything about water retention. When walking started, he did wear solid tennis shoes. He also felt more confident on the treadmill at the gym instead of around the neighborhood after the crutches stage.