To effectively welcome the media, Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital has established the following guidelines for arranging interviews, videotape sessions, or photo opportunities.
- Media must arrange all interviews and photo shoots with Grace Cottage staff or patients in advance through the Community Relations Department. When appropriate, we can provide additional or more appropriate sources for your story.
- Media access may be limited or denied to any area of Grace Cottage at the discretion of patients’ healthcare teams or individual physicians.
- All requests for interviews, information, photographs or video/film images involving patients, their families and or visitors to the hospital require advance consent and completion of a Media Release Form. Patient interviews may also be subject to the approval by the attending physician.
- To ensure confidentiality, privacy and security, someone from the Community Relations Department must accompany all reporters, film crews, and photographers on the Grace Cottage campus.
- To check on a patient condition, please call (802) 365-7357. Because of HIPAA regulations, you must ask about a patient by name; we cannot reveal any patient names. Grace Cottage may disclose a one-word description of patient condition as long as the patient has not requested that information be withheld. Below are the definitions of the four conditions approved by the American Hospital Association:
- Good. Vital signs are stable and within normal limits. Patient is conscious and comfortable; indicators are excellent.
- Fair. Vital signs are stable and within normal limits. Patient is conscious but may be uncomfortable; indicators are favorable.
- Serious. Vital signs may be unstable and not within normal limits. Patient is acutely ill; indicators are questionable.
- Critical. Vital signs are unstable and not within normal limits. Patient may not be conscious; indicators are unfavorable.
- For requests during non-business hours (overnights and weekends), media calls to the hospital (802-365-7357) will be referred to the Administrator on Call.
