Obtaining places based on proximity query against zip code - php

Question

I'm having difficulty figuring out how to accomplish a specific type of Google Places API request.
I have a zipcode and i want to find out if there are any hospitals within 20 miles of the zipcode
I found the following example maps code and changed the request to hospitals but that didnt perform what i wanted.
So, to summarize, i just want an api request i can convert to PHP that contains an array of available hospitals within 20 miles of a zip code else an empty array. I could also take as an output just a boolean of yes hospitals exist or false otherwise
var sydney = new google.maps.LatLng(-33.867, 151.195);
infowindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow();
map = new google.maps.Map(
document.getElementById('map'), {center: sydney, zoom: 15});
var request = {
query: 'hospitals',
fields: ['name', 'geometry'],
};
service = new google.maps.places.PlacesService(map);
service.findPlaceFromQuery(request, function(results, status) {
if (status === google.maps.places.PlacesServiceStatus.OK) {
for (var i = 0; i < results.length; i++) {
createMarker(results[i]);
}
map.setCenter(results[0].geometry.location);
}
});
}
function createMarker(place) {
var marker = new google.maps.Marker({
map: map,
position: place.geometry.location
});
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, 'click', function() {
infowindow.setContent(place.name);
infowindow.open(map, this);
});
}

Answer 1

The Nearby Search or Text Search services would be more appropriate for your use case, since you want to get multiple hospitals and not just one (Find Place returns a single place only).
Try the below code sample which displays hospitals within 20 miles of Pyrmont NSW 2009. Note that location must be a LatLng object, it can't be a zip code, but with Text Search you can add it to your query. Then set the type to hospital.
var map;
var service;
function initialize() {
var pyrmont = new google.maps.LatLng(-33.8665433,151.1956316);
map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById('map'), {
center: pyrmont,
zoom: 13
});
var request = {
location: pyrmont,
radius: '32186',
query: '2009',
type: 'hospital'
};
service = new google.maps.places.PlacesService(map);
service.textSearch(request, callback);
}
function callback(results, status) {
if (status == google.maps.places.PlacesServiceStatus.OK) {
for (var i = 0; i < results.length; i++) {
var place = results[i];
createMarker(results[i]);
}
}
}
function createMarker(place) {
var marker = new google.maps.Marker({
map: map,
position: place.geometry.location,
title: place.name
});
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, 'click', function() {
infowindow.setContent(place.name);
infowindow.open(map, this);
});
}
Hope this helps!