Patient Guide

We are committed to your care.

Our goal is to provide the best quality care. To do so, we ask for feedback from patients like you. You may be contacted by phone, email or text and asked to complete a confidential survey. Please take the time to complete the survey. Your feedback will help us know what we’re doing well and where we can improve.

Privacy Practices Patient Rights & Responsibilities Concerns About Your Care

Fast facts about your stay:

Support for Caregivers

We encourage patients to pick a key person to support them during their hospital stay. Whether you are that primary support person, or just one of many people caring for and supporting your loved one, you can play an important role in making sure your loved one gets the safest and best care both here and beyond the hospital.

Patient and Family Care
We participate in patient and family-centered care. We believe that family plays an important role in ensuring the health and well-being of patients of all ages. Our goal is to create partnerships among healthcare practitioners, patients and families that will lead to the best outcomes and enhance the delivery of safe, quality, efficient, effective and timely care.

What to Know Before You Leave
Caregivers can help ensure the best outcome for their loved one after a hospital stay by getting the answers to these three questions:

What is the next step for medical care (home or facility, follow-up with primary care physician or physical therapy, etc.)? Help your loved one arrange the details to make this happen—financial plan, transportation, scheduling, etc.
What new and former medicines does my loved one need to take? Help your loved one understand the details—timing, dosing instructions, side effects, prescription refills, etc.
What health warning signs do I need to watch for and what do I do if they happen? Help your loved one by writing these symptoms down as well as the name and contact number to call.

If you feel like you need a break or help, reach out to friends and family. And consult the resources listed here: National Alliance for Caregiving | Family Caregiver Alliance | Caregiver Action Network

Facts About Your Stay

ATM

For your convenience, an ATM is located on the first level of the hospital near the emergency entrance.

Bedside Shift Report

We want you to feel comfortable and cared for throughout your stay, so at each nursing shift change—about every 12 hours—your nurse will introduce your new nurse to you. The team will talk about your progress, medicine and tests scheduled for the day. Ask questions. The more you’re involved, the better and safer your care.

Bedside Technology

During your stay, you may see your doctors and nurses using computers or tablets. These tools help them care for you by providing around-the-clock monitoring, a variety of resources and quick communication with the rest of your healthcare team. If you have any questions, ask your doctor or nurse.

Cafeteria

All visitors are welcome to dine in our cafeteria, which is located on the first floor. Upon entering at the main entrance, turn right, walk past the hospitality desk and enter through the double doors. Breakfast and lunch are available seven days a week.

Hours:

Breakfast: 7 - 9:30 am
Lunch: 11 am - 1:30 pm

Also available in our cafeteria is energy teas from Fresh Start Nutrition. They are open Mon. - Fri. from 8 am - 3 pm.

Calling Your Nurse

Your room is connected to the nursing station via an intercom system. To call for your nurse, press the red NURSE call button on your pillow speaker. If you have any questions on how to use the call button, ask a staff member to show you.

Cellphones & Video

During your stay, you may see members of your care team using mobile phones. At Saint Mary's Regional, our staff are permitted to use phones for work-related activities, such as communicating with doctors or other care team members. Employees are not allowed to use phones for non-work-related activities. There are many work-related benefits of cellphones and other communication devices, including access to medical references, clinical tools and patient information.

Channel Listing for TV

View Channel Listing

Concerns About Your Care

Please speak with your nurse or nursing supervisor if you have any questions or concerns about your care. If your issue still is not resolved, then contact the hospital patient advocate. You also have the right to file your complaint with either:

The Arkansas Department of Public Health
5800 West 10th Street, Suite 400
Little Rock, AR 72204
Phone: 501.661.2201

The Joint Commission
Office of Quality and Patient Safety
One Renaissance Blvd.
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
Website: www.jointcommission.org, then click “Report patient safety event”

Sometimes a healthcare choice can involve an ethical concern—such as a wish to refuse life-saving treatment or a disagreement over advance directives. Our medical ethics committee can help you and those who are here to support you make difficult decisions. For help, ask to speak with your doctor, nurse or case manager.

Electronic Devices

Use of electronic devices such as cell phones, laptop computers, iPads, etc., is limited for you and your guests. When using these items, you must be at least 10 feet from medical equipment. This means that use of electronic devices is prohibited in patient rooms.

Fire Safety

We conduct fire drills from time to time. If you hear an alarm, stay where you are. In an actual emergency, hospital staff will tell you what to do.

Flowers

Flowers and other gifts from our gift shop can be delivered to patients by Saint Mary's volunteers. Some units, such as the MSICU, have restrictions on flowers and other items. Check with a unit nurse if you have questions.

Rose Drug Gift Shop

Location: Main floor, across from the elevators near the main entrance

Rose Drug Gifts at Saint Mary's has a wide range of gifts, candy, personal items and more. To place an order, call 479.964.5697 or ext. 2697 from a hospital phone.

Hours of Operation:

Mon. - Fri.: 10 am - 3 pm
Cash, check and credit cards accepted.

Hearing Impaired

We have services available for people who are deaf or hearing impaired. If you need these services, please contact your nurse.

Hospital Safe for Valuables

To ensure safety of your valuable during your stay, a hospital safe is available. Please contact your nurse if you would like to utilize this service.

Hourly Rounding

A nurse will visit you every hour during the day and every two hours at night to check on your comfort, help you change positions in bed, assist with trips to the bathroom, and make sure you can reach your phone, call light, and personal items easily.

Housekeeping Services

Saint Mary's has housekeepers on call 24/7. If your room needs additional service, please let your nurse know.

Interpreters and Translation Services

Patients have the right to accommodations that help them communicate with their care team. For those who are deaf, hard of hearing or have limited English proficiency, we offer appropriate access to interpreting services. Please indicate this need to your nurse.

Lost and Found

If you have lost an item in our hospital, please contact the director of the floor you were last on.

Mail

Mail and packages are delivered daily by volunteers. Mail received after discharge will be forwarded to the patient’s home. Outgoing mail may be taken to the nurses' station or given to your attending nurse. Postage stamps are available in the gift shop.

Medicines

In order for your care team to best assess your medications, bring all of your prescriptions, over-the-counter medicines and other supplements (preferably in the original containers) when you are admitted. Once the medicines are reviewed and returned, please send them home with your family.

Parking

Visitor parking is available in front of the hospital's main entrance and in a secondary parking area at the northwest corner of West C Street and North Seattle Avenue. Limited parking for Outpatient Services, Inpatient Admissions and the Emergency Department is available along C Street in front of those entrances.

Pastoral Care

If you would like a visit from the chaplain for spiritual care and comfort, please ask your nurse. Additionally, the chapel is always open for prayer and meditation for patients, guests and staff. Upon entering from the main entrance, turn left. The chapel is the first room on the right side of the hallway.

Patient Meals

Nourishing meals are an important part of your recovery. Your dietary needs will be evaluated, and your meals will be based on the plan of care your physician prescribes. You will be given appropriate options for each meal.

Personal Belongings and Valuables

Personal care items such as contact lenses, eyeglasses, hearing aids and dentures can be stored in your bedside stand when not in use. Please do not put them on your bed or food tray to help avoid them being lost or damaged. Leave valuables like jewelry or cash at home or give them to a trusted relative or friend to watch over. If this is not an option, valuables may be locked up by security at your request. Saint Mary's Regional Health System cannot be responsible for replacing personal belongings.

Public Restrooms

For everyone’s health and safety, we ask visitors not to use patient restrooms. Public restrooms are located throughout the hospital. Ask hospital staff to direct you to the nearest one.

Rapid Response Team

Patient safety is our number one concern. No one knows your family member/friend like you do. If you feel that something is "just not right," or there is a medical emergency, call for the Rapid Response Team (RRT) and notify your nurse. To activate the Rapid Response Team, dial 0 from the hospital phone and ask the operator to page Rapid Response to the patient's room.

Smoking and Vaping

Given the serious health hazards of tobacco use, we have chosen to become a 100 percent tobacco-free campus. Visitors, employees, physicians and patients may not smoke or use any tobacco product or e-cigarettes at any time inside our hospital or other buildings or on Saint Mary's grounds. Saint Mary's grounds includes our parking lots and inside private vehicles parked on hospital property.

If you smoke or use tobacco while you are in the hospital, please do not suffer from nicotine withdrawal. You can receive nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) or other appropriate support during your hospital visit. Please ask your nurse for more information.

Telephone

For your convenience, your room is equipped with a telephone. Calls for you can be connected from our switchboard to your phone during regular hours (7 am to 9 pm). You may receive direct calls at any time.

To do this, provide family and friends with the direct phone number for your bedside phone. The number may be listed on the communication board in your room. If not, ask your nurse for your direct phone number, or call the switchboard operator between the hours of 7 am and 9 pm to ask for your number. Long-distance phone calls cannot be charged to your room phone.

To place a local call: DIAL 9 (wait for tone) then DIAL local number

To reach the switchboard operator: DIAL 0

To place a call within Saint Mary's: DIAL the extension number
(use the list of numbers below or dial the operator for connections)

Switchboard/General Information: 479.968.2841 (Dial 0 from a hospital phone)

Administration: 2101
Admitting: 5341
Billing/Business Office: 5341
Medical Records (HIM): 2108
Nursing Administration: 2141
Patient Financial Services: 3101
Gift Shop: 2697
House Supervisor: 5401
Nutritional Services: 2166
Environmental Services: 2165
Case Manager: 3194
Volunteer Hospitality Desk: 2154
Cancer Center: 2119
Emergency Department: 2198
Imaging Department: 2501
Outpatient Services: 2760
Outpatient Therapy Center: 3024
Physical Therapy: 2158
MSICU/4th Floor Waiting: 2451
Surgery Waiting: 2660
Outpatient Waiting: 2761
Labor & Delivery Waiting: 2627

TV

Each patient room has a television. Please be considerate of others by keeping the volume down and turning off your TV at bedtime. TVs are controlled by the bedside pillow speaker or side rail controls. Closed captioning is available for the hearing impaired. Ask a staff member if you have any questions on using your TV.

Your Room

Private and double-occupancy rooms are assigned depending on availability and your needs. If you would like a private room and one is not available, we will make every effort to provide you one as soon as possible.

Saint Mary's has invested in high-tech patient beds for the MSICU, Medical Telemetry and Rehabilitation units. These advanced beds provide greater safety measures for patients and staff.

Vending Machines

Vending machines are located near the main entrance, across from the hospitality desk and next to the cafeteria.

Visiting Hours

Visiting hours are subject to change. Please ask your nurse for official hours during your stay.

To promote healing and safety and limit infection, some units may limit the number of visitors you can receive at one time.

General Hours: 8 am to 8 pm Note: Patients have the right to choose to receive visitors from among family, friends or other individuals at any time during their stay.

Visiting Overnight
Overnight visitation with a patient must be coordinated with the charge nurse and/or nurse manager and is only permitted under certain circumstances. If overnight visitation has been approved, you will be given a visitor card by the nurse, who will provide you with instructions for obtaining a visitor pass from the security guard. Please wear this badge and remain in the waiting room or the patient’s room at all times during your overnight visit. We reserve the right to revoke overnight privileges.

Wifi

Patients and guests can enjoy free wireless network access (unsecured) while at the hospital. From the wireless settings on a mobile device or laptop, click Saint Mary's Guest network. Tap Proceed to the Website. From here, tap Accept Terms and Conditions. If needed, tap Done to complete.