Patients & Visitors Guide
Patient Safety Initiatives
Medical Emergency Team (MET)
The MET program improves access, experience and outcomes for patients and families with potential or actual need of critical care. This team consists of experienced critical care responders who are available 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week.
The MET is activated at the request of the patient’s charge nurse. The patient’s attending physician is also notified. It is the goal of the MET to respond within 5 minutes of the call. The MET will assess the patient, provide emergency treatment according to special orders and re-evaluate the patient after the treatment.
Guidelines for when to call MET:
- MET staff is worried about the patient.
- Acute change in heart rate.
- Acute change in systolic blood pressure.
- Acute change in respiratory rate.
- Acute change in Oxygen saturation.
- Acute change in level of consciousness.
- Family is worried about the patient or the patient is worried about him or herself.
As a patient, you can activate a MET by calling 7666 from your hospital phone.
Condition "H"
While in the hospital, patients can call 7666 and place their call light on. It can be used in the same way a family would use 911 at home. It was created to address the needs of the patient during an emergency or if the patient or family does not feel their reported concern about a change in the patient’s condition is receiving adequate attention.
The operator will immediately activate a "Condition H" where a team of medical professionals is alerted and will arrive in the room to assess the situation. Additional clinical support will be called if needed.
HCMC believes in teamwork and requests that you be a part of our team when visiting your loved ones. We consider you a partner in your hospital care.
Partners in Your Care
"Partners in Your Care" encourages proper hand hygiene 100 percent of the time.
Patients and families are asked to be Partners in Your Care by asking all healthcare workers that have direct contact with the patient, "Did you wash your hands?" or "Did you sanitize your hands?".
We want to stress hand hygiene for both patients and their care givers for everyone’s good health.
Patient Identification and Time Out
Verifying the patient’s identification prior to providing any care, treatment or services is the policy of HCMC. In the hospital setting, every patient shall have a tamperproof, non-transferrable ID band applied securely to at least one extremity at all times. Before any procedure is carried out, the identification band shall be on the patient and will be checked for the following two identifiers to ensure that the correct patient is involved: the patient’s name and the patient’s date of birth.
Prior to the start of a procedure, "Time Out" is called during which time a verification is completed of the following:
- Correct patient identity.
- Correct procedure.
- Correct side and site.
- Correct patient position.
- Implant/devices are available (if
applicable).
This special "Time Out" is not limited to those procedures that are done in the Surgery department. It also includes any procedure meeting the criteria which could be done in other departments, for example, Radiology or CCU/ICU.