Identification
Proper patient identification is a very important part of your safety. We will ask many times for your full name and date of birth. This is not because we forget, but because we want to make sure we are providing the right treatment and care plan for the right patient. Please speak up if you think you are receiving medication or undergoing a treatment not intended for you.
You were given a wrist band with your name, date of birth and medical record number when you were admitted to the hospital. This wrist band will be used during your stay here at UAMS to make sure we are providing the care plan created for your specific needs. Please do not remove this wrist band until you are discharged and leave the hospital. Your health care team will check your ID band and ask for your name and date of birth each time they care for you.
For your safety, all UAMS staff are required to wear ID badges with their photo. Please check the badge on everyone who comes to provide care for you. Do not accept care from anyone not wearing a picture ID badge, and let us know if you see anyone not wearing the appropriate ID badge.
Nursing Care
UAMS provides routine general duty nursing care appropriate for each patient’s need and as prescribed by the patient’s physician. If you require attention, a nurse may be called to the patient’s bedside using the nurse call button in the patient room or the emergency call button in the bathroom. If the patient or family would like to have continuous patient supervision or a sitter, you may ask your nurse for a list of outside agencies serving UAMS. The patient or the patient’s family will be responsible for making arrangements and paying for this service.
Alarms
You will most likely have equipment in your room that has an alarm. These are built in to make sure you are safe and to alert our medical staff that you may need attention. If your alarm sounds and doesn’t stop quickly, please use your call button to ask for help. Do not try to turn your alarm off yourself.
Isolation
Some illnesses may require that patients be in special isolation rooms, either because they have an infection that could be harmful to others or because they have a weakened immune system and are more likely to get sick from exposure to germs.
UAMS has specially equipped isolation rooms on each floor, or we may place a sign outside your room asking that staff and visitors take extra precautions before entering your room. These procedures are designed to protect you against possible infection.
Your nurse will explain necessary procedures to you and your family if you require isolation.
Rapid Response Team
If you have an urgent medical need while at the hospital, you can call 686-7000 and ask for the Rapid Response Team. You will be asked to provide your room number or location.
A team of specially trained nurses and respiratory therapists makes up the Rapid Response Team. They respond very quickly and try to reach patients and provide care to prevent a medical emergency.
A Rapid Response Team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Safety Hotline
If you have any concerns about your safety while at UAMS, talk with your doctor or nurse. You may also call the Patient Safety Hotline at 1-888-511-3969 to ask for help in addressing your concerns.
Release of Patient Information
We take the confidentiality of your health information very seriously. One way UAMS protects your privacy is to offer you the opportunity to be excluded from our Patient Directory. The Directory is used to provide patient room numbers and general information about your condition such as good, fair and critical. We also use this information to help visitors find your room and for deliveries. If you choose not to be listed in the directory, our staff will not confirm that you are a patient at UAMS.
If you would like a specific family member or close friend to be able to call and get more detailed information about your condition, you can give us permission to do so and select a password for this person to use. This person can call for information about your health and then pass this along to other family members and friends.
Surgery
If you are having surgery, make sure you and your surgeon agree and are clear on just what will be done. Make sure your surgeon marks the surgical site and that you discuss and agree on the procedure and possible outcomes.
If you are scheduled for an outpatient surgical procedure, you must have someone available to take you home after your surgery, or your surgery may be canceled. For more information about your surgery or procedure, please talk with your nurse or patient educator.
Observation
Observation is an outpatient status which gives your doctor time to evaluate and treat your condition before deciding whether to admit you to the hospital or let you go home if your condition improves. Observation is also used for patients who need extended monitoring after a standard recovery period following a procedure or surgery. Patients are placed under observation status only by physician order and usually for less than 24 hours.