Keeping up with your healthcare has never been easier. St. Nicholas Hospital’s new online resources provide access to information, experts and self-help tools. We want to give you the power to manage your personal healthcare choices online.

Care of Valuables
Community Care Application
Discharge
Ethics Committee
Flowers and Mail
Food Services
Guest Meals
Infection Control - Protecting Your Health
Organ and Tissue Donation
Pain Relief
Parking
Patient Care
Telephones
Television

Care of Valuables
The Hospital is not responsible for loss of or damage to valuables, clothing, or other personal items kept in your room. We recommend you leave your valuables at home or that you send them home with your relatives or friends. If this is not possible, Patient Registration personnel can place your valuables in a safe (at no charge) and give you a receipt. To help ensure personal items are not lost, do not wrap dentures, hearing aids, wristwatches, or eyeglasses in a handkerchief or tissue; also, do not place them on your food tray.

Community Care Application
St. Nicholas Hospital offers financial assistance to those patients in need. Please fill out the application form below.
Community Care Application (pdf)

Discharge
In most cases, patients are discharged from the Hospital by 11:00 a.m.

Ethics Committee
The St. Nicholas Hospital Ethics Committee can provide guidance in the complex nature of medical decision-making and ethical concerns that arise in healthcare. If you or a family member need guidance in this area, ask your nurse about contacting a member of this committee.

Flowers and Mail
Volunteers deliver flowers and mail to your room. In the event a delivery arrives after your discharge, the florist will deliver it to your home.

Food Services
Your diet is an important part of your treatment at St. Nicholas Hospital. One of our main objectives is to serve you the best quality meals possible. Your physician prescribes your diet as well as your medications and treatments. You can ask your nurse for additional snacks, coffee, tea, or soft drinks. A registered dietitian on the Hospital staff is available for consultation.

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Guest Meals
You may ask your nurse to arrange guest meals, delivered to your room. Your guest will receive a requisition to take to the Hospital's Cashier Office where they can pay for the meal; on weekends and holidays, the Patient Registration Desk accepts payment for guest meals.

Infection Control - Protecting Your Health
The Hospital continually takes measures to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Hand washing, gloves, protective apparel, disinfection, and sterilization of equipment are some of the techniques used to assure a safe patient environment. We call these techniques “standard precautions” and practice them throughout the Hospital.

You can help, too. Sneezes and coughs cause many diseases. When you sneeze or cough, the germs can travel 3 feet or more. Controlling a cough when you are sick can help prevent the spread of infection to others.

Use a tissue. Keep tissues handy at home, at work, and in your pocket. Be sure to throw away used tissues and then clean your hands. If you do not have a tissue, cover your mouth and nose with the crook of your elbow or hands. If you use your hands, wash them right away.

Healthcare providers will wear a mask within 3 feet of a patient with possible influenza or other infectious disease.

We ask patients with infectious conditions to wear a mask when leaving the room.

We encourage you to talk with us about any concerns you may have about infection control.

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Organ and Tissue Donation
Donating an organ is one of the most generous and natural things one person can do for another, but it cannot happen without your permission.

To become an organ or tissue donor, simply fill out and sign a Uniform Donor Card on the back of your driver's license (you can sign over the plastic laminate). You may also indicate your preference on an Advance Directive. This decision is a bold one, but it is the best way to pass the priceless gift of life along to someone in need. Many families find comfort in knowing their loved one contributed so significantly to another person's life. It truly is the “gift of a lifetime.”

Make sure your family is aware of your decision to become an organ donor; family members must consent to the donation procedure. Because donation only occurs after death, a team of medical specialists will evaluate suitability for organ and tissue donations at that time.

If you have questions about donation, discuss them with your physician, staff nurse, or Care Management Nurse.

Pain Relief
At St. Nicholas Hospital, we believe that effective pain management is an important part of your treatment. It is essential for you to communicate with our staff about unrelieved pain; our staff will make every effort to keep you comfortable. A total absence of pain may not be a realistic goal; however, with treatment, most pain is manageable.

Parking
Parking lots for patients and visitors are at the Superior Avenue entrance to the Hospital. Reserved parking spaces are available in these lots for our special needs patients and visitors. Please honor the parking restrictions posted.

Patient Care
A team of professionals plan and provide your care according to your physician's directions. There are daily meetings at which we discuss your plan of care. A Nurse Director/Coordinator is in charge of each unit; feel free to ask for him/her if you have concerns about the team or plan of care.

St. Nicholas Hospital provides training for students in various healthcare occupations. We believe the presence of these students adds to the quality of your care. If students are present, you should receive an explanation of their involvement in your treatment.

We may ask if you object to students being present during your treatment. If you are undecided, ask what they will be doing; for example, observing the care provided, taking notes, or examining you. You can specify if you have a preference, male or female, of the student. If you are not comfortable about students being present, you can say “no.” It will not affect the quality of the care you receive.

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Telephones
Your family and friends can call you directly without going through the Hospital operator by dialing 451-7--- (your room number). A nationwide toll-free number is also available, 1-800-472-6710. To call outside the Hospital from your bedside telephone, press “9”, wait for a dial tone, and then dial the number. To place long-distance calls you must use a telephone credit card, dial collect, or bill to a third party. Calls cannot be billed to your Hospital room.

You may use your personal cell phone in most areas of the Hospital except ICU, Surgery, Recovery, and the Emergency Department, where some cell phones can interfere with patient care equipment.

Rest is essential during a hospital stay; therefore, we suggest you limit the timeframe of your phone calls between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Television
Every patient room has a television operated by a remote control. The nurse will instruct you on how to operate the television.

Channels 3 and 9 are radio stations, and Channel 7 is a St. Nicholas Hospital station where we air religious services. Worship services include a taped Trinity Lutheran Church service at 2:00 p.m. and a Catholic mass at 3:30 p.m. We deliver scripture prayer cards to your room the day we televise the services with the times of the services noted.

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Patients > Pre-Registration > Scheduling > Billing > Billing Practices
Community Care > Medical Records > Advance Directives
Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) > Rights & Responsibilities
Freedom of Choice (Providers) > Notice of Privacy Practices