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

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

Located on the first floor.

Hours:

Monday - Friday

Breakfast - 7:00 am - 9:00 am

Lunch - 11:00 am - 1:30 pm

Dinner - 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Saturday & Sunday

Open for Lunch only from 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm.

All visitors are welcome to dine in the cafeteria.

Calling Your Nurse

Your room is connected to the nursing station via an intercom system. To call for your nurse, press the call button located at your bedside. 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 Ottumwa Regional Health Center, 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

#	Channel	#	Channel	#	Channel
8-1	KCCI HD	52-17	CNBC	66-14	MARQUEE
8-2	KCCI SD	52-19	APL	66-15	CSN
11-1	KDID HD	52-21	USA	66-17	TWC
11-2	KDID D2	52-23	TRAV	67-1	NGC
11-3	KDID D3	53-1	CNN	67-3	LIFE
11-4	KDID D4	53-3	HLN	67-11	NBC SPORTS
13-1	WHO HD	53-5	TOON	68-2
15-1	KTOU DT	53-7	TBS	68-8	BIG NETWORK
15-2	NBC	53-9	TNT	68-10
15-3	CIRCLE	53-11	SPIKE	79-4	ION
15-4	CW	53-13	TVLAND	79-6	KCCI
15-5	GRIT	53-15	CMT	79-8	KDSM
15-6	T CRIME	53-17	MTV	79-12	KDIN
51-9	OXYGEN	53-19	NICK	79-14	KTVOABC
52-1	FX	53-21	MSNBC	80-4	WHO
52-5	ETV	53-23	TRUTV	80-6	KTOVCBS
52-9	FSI	66-2	BNT	80-10	BYU
52-11	UNIV	66-5	ESPN SD	80-25	MCC
52-13	BET	66-5	RF66-5	84-1	KTOVABC
52-15	BRAVO	66-13	ESPN2 S	84-5	KTOVCBS
84-9	COMET	85-21	CSPAN2
85-1	Q	85-23	HSN
85-3	CSPAN	86-22	MSG
85-5	TBN	97-2	OTTUMWA
85-11	TBN
85-13	CSPAN3
85-15	INSP
85-17	EWTN
85-19	3ABN

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 Iowa Department of Public Health
321 E 12th St 6th floor
Des Moines, IA 50319
http://idph.iowa.gov
Email: plpublic@idph.iowa.gov

Office of Quality and Patient Safety
The Joint Commission
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.

Electrical Appliances

For your safety, we reserve the right to inspect any electrical appliances brought into the hospital.

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 are delivered to patient rooms by individual florists. Please note that flowers are not allowed in Intensive Care Units.

Gift Shop

Location - 1st floor near the circle drive entrance.

Hours of Operation:

Mon. to Fri.: 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Hours may vary based on volunteer availability.

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

You are strongly encouraged to leave valuables at home during your stay. A hospital safe is available for valuables on a case by case basis. Please ask a member of your care staff for more information.

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

A member of our environmental services team will visit your room to clean and remove trash once a day. Should you need additional cleaning or trash removal between those visits, ask a member of your care staff or call 641.455.8783 to arrange an additional cleaning.

Interpreters and Translation Services

Interpreter services are available for patients. Please contact your nurse for assistance.

Lost and Found

Lost items are often kept on the unit where they were lost. Please ask a member of the unit staff for more information on lost & found. Additional lost and found items may be located in the volunteer area on the first floor.

Mail

Mail and email sent to our website are delivered to patients Monday through Friday by hospital volunteers. Flowers may be delivered by individual florists, staff or volunteers. Fresh flowers are not allowed in critical care areas.

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

Please do not bring any prescription or over-the-counter medicines to the hospital. All medicines you take in the hospital need to be prescribed, filled and given to you by hospital staff. Tell your doctor about any medicines you regularly take. If you still need them, hospital staff will give them to you.

Parking

Ottumwa Regional Health Center is pleased to offer free parking to patients and visitors. Please park in the patient and visitor parking areas.

Pastoral Care

If you would like a visit from the chaplain for spiritual care and comfort, please ask your nurse to contact the chaplain on call.

Ottumwa Regional Health Center's chapel is located on the main floor (visitor's entrance floor) and is always open for prayer and meditation.

Patient Meals

Patients may order room service style meals by calling extension 4252 between the hours of 6:00 am and 6:00 pm.

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. Ottumwa Regional Health Center 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

You can call a critical-care response team to respond if your condition worsens and you do not get the immediate care you need. Dial 4444 to request this special service. Ask a staff member to learn more.

Smoking

Given the serious health hazards of tobacco use, we have chosen to become a 100 percent tobacco-free campus. No smoking or tobacco products will be used while on ORHC property, parking lots, associated buildings and vehicles. Patients and visitors are asked not to smoke during their hospital visit.

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

All patient rooms have phones.

Your friends and family can call the main hospital number (641) 684-2400 and ask to be transferred to your room (please provide them with your room number). If you need to make a phone call, dial 9 + area code + the phone number you want to call. To reach your nurse, use your call button.

Calling from INSIDE the hospital? Dial the last four digits only

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.

Vending Machines

Vending Machines are located in the following areas:

1st floor near the Cafeteria
2nd floor near admissions offices and emergency department
4th floor near wound care unit

Snacks and sodas are also available for purchase in our gift shop located near the first floor entrance.

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: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Note: Patients have the right to choose to receive visitors from among family, friends or other individuals at any time during their stay.

The front entrance is open from 7:00am to 7:00pm - Visitors outside these hours must enter through the ER/Admitting entrance.

Click here for additional visiting hours detail by unit.

Wifi

The Ottumwa Regional Health Center guest wi-fi network is made available to patients and visitors. The free service can be used by selecting ORHCGuest on your wireless device.