About Saint Francis

Media Relations

The Marketing Communications Department handles all media inquiries. We support the media's effort to provide news of interest to the community and we are pleased to help you in your efforts. Our first responsibility is for the health and welfare of our patients. We have both legal and ethical responsibilities to preserve patient confidentiality. To ensure that we meet these obligations, we have the following media policies. Media representatives should contact Marketing Communications to arrange interviews with our physicians, employees and patients. If you contact someone in another department, they will contact Marketing Communications before they will agree to be interviewed.

Marketing Communications: 308-398-5820, Mon-Fri, 8 am - 4:30 pm
After hours, contact the staff member on call at 308-390-9568.

A Marketing Communications staff member will meet you when you arrive and take you to the location of your interview and/or photo shoot. A Marketing Communications staff member will accompany photographers and videographers at all times.

For patient condition reports contact Marketing Communications during regular business hours at 308-398-5820 or 308-390-9568.

Evenings and weekends, call 308-384-4600 and ask for the nursing supervisor on duty.

Federal law (HIPAA) regulates the release of patient information to the media by hospitals and healthcare providers.

Patients have the option of not having information released at all, including confirmation of their presence in the hospital.
No information on a patient's condition may be released unless the first and last name of the patient is provided by the requestor. The hospital may not release the names of patients.
Under HIPAA, matters of public record (situations that are by law reportable to public authorities such as police, coroner, or public health officials) are now no different than other cases. Victims of accidents have the same privacy rights as all other patients.

Unless the patient has expressed otherwise and opted out of releasing any information, only the following one-word conditions will be released.

Under Evaluation: Patient undergoing assessment.
Good: Vital signs are stable and within normal limits. The patient is conscious and comfortable (indicators are excellent).
Fair: Vital signs are stable and within normal limits. The patient is conscious and comfortable (indicators are favorable).
Poor: Vital signs are unstable and not within normal limits. Patient is acutely ill. (Indicators are questionable)
Critical: Vital signs are unstable and not within normal limits. The patient may be unconscious (indicators are unfavorable).
Treated and Released: Received treatment but not admitted.
Treated and transferred: Received treatment. Transferred to a different facililty.