University Medical Center Brackenridge Your Stay

Healthcare Team

During your stay at Seton Northwest Hospital, you will be cared for by a group of highly trained staff dedicated to managing your care. These caregivers may include the following professionals: physicians, registered nurses (RN), licensed practical nurses (LPN), clinical assistants (CA), clinical managers, patient representatives, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, social workers, case managers, diagnostic staff, pharmacists and dietitians.

Pain Management

At Seton Northwest Hospital, our doctors or nurses may ask you to rate your pain on a scale of 1 – 10, with 0 being no pain and 10 being the worst pain. Rating your pain on a scale helps nurses and doctors tell if your pain management is working or if changes are needed. An example of our pain scale is below.

      0         1          2          3          4          5          6          7          8          9          10

   No Pain                                       Tolerable        Moderate                                 Worst

 

Patient Meals

Patient meals are served according to each patient's medical plan assigned by your physician.  A Staff Member can help you with meal selection, if this is needed.

Free Wireless Internet Access

Patients and other guests can use their personal laptops, PDAs or other handheld devices to connect to the Seton Family Access network and easily navigate to their favorite Web sites or e-mail accounts.

Patients, friends and guests can connect to Seton Family Access by following these steps:

• Start your laptop, PDA or wireless device (equipped with a wireless network card) and verify that it is connected to the wireless network Seton Family Access.
• If necessary, create a wireless profile using the following settings:
• Network Name (SSID) – Seton Family Access
• Network Authentication – Open Date
• Encryption – Disabled
• Launch your Web browser. You will see a page listing the terms of service that you must accept before use.
• Once you’ve accepted the terms of service, you will see a welcome page featuring Seton news and information. From the welcome page, you can browse the Internet.

If you experience problems, check to see that your wireless network card is 802.11a/b/g compatible. If problems with connecting to the Internet persist, please contact your hardware/software vendor.

Mail

Volunteers, or Unit Clerks, distribute mail to patients. To receive mail, please tell family and friends to include patient name and room number.

Telephone

Telephones are available in all patient rooms. If you are hearing impaired, special telephone receivers and TDD (Telephone for the Totally Deaf) are available upon request.

Incoming and outgoing calls are available 24 hours a day.  To call another room at Seton Northwest from your own room, dial 46, then the room number.

You may place local calls by dialing “9” to get an outside line followed by the phone number.  Long distance calls must be charged on your telephone credit card or placed collect.

Valuables

It is best for patients to either not bring valuables to the hospital, or to send home any valuables with family members.  If this option is not available, patients should contact their nurse to arrange for storage of valuables.  Seton Northwest is not responsible for lost of stolen items.

Security

Before you leave, please check your room carefully to make sure you have all of your personal belongings. If you have lost anything, call lost and found in the Security office. The number is (512) 324-6295.

Rooms

All of our rooms, with the exception of the Intermediate Care Unit, are private rooms.  We hope this gives you some comfort during your stay.

Television

Each room in the hospital is equipped with a television set.  If your television is not operating correctly, please ask your nurse for assistance. 

Discharge

Your physician will notify you and the nursing staff when you are ready for discharge.  A case manager and your care team will work with you on discharge planning during your stay.  You will receive written discharge information regarding any special care instructions and names of physicians you may need to contact for any following up medical care.  Once you have been discharged, please be aware that the hospital needs time to prepare your room for the next patient.  A staff member will help prepare you for discharge and take you to the appropriate area for pick up.