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.
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
ATM
For your convenience, an ATM is located on the first floor between the gift shop and main lobby.
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
Location: First Floor
Hours:
Breakfast: 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
Lunch: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Weekends: Closed
All visitors are welcome to dine in the cafeteria. Paris Coffee Co. is located in the main lobby on the first floor.
Calling Your Nurse
Your room is connected to a centralized patient representative via an intercom system. To call for assistance, press the NURSE call button located on your hand-held remote. If you have any questions on how to use the call button, ask a staff member to show you.
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 Texas Department of State Health Services
1100 W. 48th St.
Austin, TX 78756
512.776.7111
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. For help, contact: Case Management at 903.737.1433.
Gift Shop
The Gift Shop is staffed by volunteers and is open Monday – Friday 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. The gift shop has unique gift items, jewelry, magazines, cards, candy, toiletries, flowers and plants. The shop is located just past the main lobby on the first floor before you get to the elevators. Snack items and drinks are also available for purchase.
Hearing Impaired
We offer video-interpreter services to aid hearing-impaired patients and patient caregivers.
Interpreters
In order to be sure we can always communicate effectively with our patients and patient caregivers, even when language barriers exist, we use a language service. Services are provided via telephone and video. For more information on these services, visit Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Services.
Telephone Interpreting
Use a cell phone on “speaker mode” or the dual-handset telephone from the House Supervisor. Dial 877.274.9745. Paris Regional Health's code is 1707172.
Remote Video Interpreting
On a webcam enabled WOW or other laptop, navigate to: interpretrac.lsaweb.com.
Username: prmc
password: prmc
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.
Pastoral Care
As a part of our commitment to meet the unique healthcare needs of our patients, chaplains are available to offer guidance and spiritual preferences.
To contact a chaplain, ask any staff member, or dial 0 and ask for the chaplain to be paged.
We also maintain a database of contact numbers for more than 300 churches of various denominations and their pastors here in Northeast Texas and Southeast Oklahoma. We can assist you in making those contacts.
Services offered through the Chaplain’s Office include:
- Prayer
- Exploration of issues and concerns
- Bereavement support: Second Thursday each month at 11 a.m. at the Prime Senior Service Center (1128 Clarksville St., Suite 300)
- Sunday church service: 3rd Floor Rehab Dining Room at 12:30 p.m.
- Spiritual counseling
Inspirational Literature:
Bibles are available in the Chapel on the 2nd Floor (by ICU Waiting Room).
Prayer Request:
Chaplains welcome the opportunity to pray with and for patients and family members. The Prayer Chapel is available on the 2nd floor by the ICU Waiting Room for patients, family members and hospital team members to participate in personal prayer and meditation.
In all situations, Chaplains are respectful of patient confidentiality and follow the guidelines of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regarding the privacy of patient information.
Personal Belongings
Please give valuables such as money, jewelry, or medicines to your family, or ask security to lock them up for you. If you have dentures, use a denture cup or ask staff for one. Don't place them on trays or wrap them in napkins. Be sure to use an eyeglasses case for your glasses. Before you leave, check the room carefully for personal items. Paris Regional Health is not responsible for lost or stollen items.
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.
Public Transportation
Paris offers two modes of public transportation – TRAX and Paris Metro.
Rapid Response
You can call a rapid response team to respond if your condition worsens and you do not get the immediate care you need. Dial 7777 to request this special service.
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 PRH 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.
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
Here you can find beverages and snacks 24 hours a day.
Locations:
- Back Entrance - first floor
- Women and Children's waiting room - second floor
- Emergency Department waiting room - second floor
- ICU waiting room - second floor
- Visitor lobby (waiting room) - fifth floor
Visiting Hours
Visitors can be good medicine for patients. Family and friends are welcomed to visit; however, patient care is our primary concern at Paris Regional, and in order to enhance the quality of care and the safety of those who are with us, specific visiting hours and regulations have been established. We ask that all visitors please follow these guidelines. Please check with the information desk in the main lobby or a nurse's station for a copy of the visitor policies.
General Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Note: Patients have the right to choose to receive visitors at any time during their stay.
- Patients in OB, ER, those who are here for outpatient procedures and those under the age of 16 will be allowed a visitor at all times.
- Visitors for high-risk, isolation, immunocompromised or patients who are under observation or test positive for COVID-19 may be restricted at the discretion of the attending physician.
- When visiting patients on isolation/droplet precautions, appropriate protective equipment must always be worn, and visits may be limited to 10-minutes per day.
- The Intensive Care Unit has further restricted visitor guidelines due to the acute nature of the unit. If you are visiting a patient in the ICU, please check with the unit for visitor details.
We ask that anyone showing any signs of illness please refrain from visiting our vulnerable patient population. Safety precautions such as self-screening for communicable illness such as COVID-19 and RSV, frequent handwashing and sanitizing, and masking in common areas will be required of all visitors. Social distancing will be enforced in waiting area with limited seating.
We will continue to closely monitor the evolving situation in our community and region and will revise policies and procedures as needed. Updated information can always be found here. We greatly appreciate your support and cooperation.
Women and Children’s Unit: 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. with restrictions from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. for quiet time. Visitors should stop at the Patient Response Center in the lobby of the unit (second floor) to get a visitor’s badge. Please use special caution and do not visit if you have recently been sick or currently have symptoms of illness.
- Visitation to Labor & Delivery will be limited to two support persons/visitors for the duration of the labor and delivery. No switching will be allowed. Visitors will receive a name badge to be worn while in Labor & Delivery.
- Postpartum patients can receive visitors as desired from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. with quiet hours observed from 2-4 p.m. Two visitors are allowed during quiet hours with no exchanges.
- Only one support person is permitted for overnight stays from 8:30 p.m. to 8 a.m.
- Siblings (under the age of 16) of the newborn or pediatric patient may visit for one hour per day. Children must be able to wear a mask in common areas and hallways.
Intensive Care Unit: Two visitors at a time will be allowed. Only one overnight visitor will be allowed per patient. Children under age 12 are not permitted in the ICU. Please use special caution and do not visit if you have recently been sick or currently have symptoms of illness.
Wi-Fi
Free wireless Internet access is available throughout Paris Regional Health via the wireless network called "PRMCGUEST". This is a non-secure computer network that is separate from the hospital's secure internal network.