Meals
Nutrition Services
The Food and Nutrition department at Northwest Hospital prepares great tasting, nourishing and well-balanced meals that are ordered by your physician. A clinical dietitian will assist the physician in making sure your diet is specific to your needs. All of our meals are fresh and made throughout the day. When we receive a diet order, a menu appropriate for your diet will be delivered to your room.
Family members can place orders from home by calling 410-601-5725. Your physician can order kosher meals upon request.
Guest Meals
Guest meals are available for $8.00 if your family or friends wish to dine with you at your bedside. Please check with your host or hostess to order guest meals. Guest meals will be charged via iPad credit card payment.
Nutrition Consultation
The clinical dietitians at Northwest Hospital are members of the health care team who care for your nutritional needs. The dietitians are available to answer questions, provide personalized diet consultations (24-hour notice required) and/or speak to you about outpatient nutrition services after discharge.
Telephone Services
Local telephone service for all patients is free of charge. Local calls can be made by dialing 9 followed by the phone number. If you would like to make a long-distance call, simply press “0” and you will be connected to one of our operators who will be happy to assist you. Long-distance calls may be billed to your home phone, a calling card or by calling collect.
To respect your privacy, your hospital room phone number will be kept private. Only you or your family members have the authority to release that phone number to people outside of the hospital. Because you need your rest, we ask that your friends and family call you only between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.
You may request a telephone for the hearing impaired or telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDDs). Amplified handsets, larynx enhancers and large button phones are available at no extra charge. All equipment is available 24 hours a day.
Television Services
Northwest Hospital is happy to provide all of our patients with free local channel programming and free educational videos. A premium channel subscription service offering an additional 58 premium channels is available.
You may order premium television service by contacting the TeleHealth Automated Service line anytime 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by calling extension 25988. If you experience any problems with television service between noon and 5:00 p.m., you or a staff member may contact the Telehealth attendant at extension 29145. During all other hours, call 2 HELP(24357) to report a problem.
With the introduction of the Northwest Patient Information Network, patients can now view health-related education videos from the comfort of their own room. Viewing a video is as simple as picking up the telephone and placing an order for the video prescribed by your doctor. Ask your nurse or case manager about medical videos that relate to your medical condition or treatment.
Tune to Channel 10-15 on your television for a listing of available videos.
Internet
Free wireless Internet access is available for Northwest Hospital's patients and visitors.
Use your personal laptop computer to access the Internet at Northwest Hospital by following these steps:
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Enable your wireless device and connect to the wireless network called “Northwest-Guest.”
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Open your Internet browser of choice.
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Review the rules of the CyberCafe.
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Log on as a guest.
Once access is granted, you can check e-mail, surf the Web or work on projects.
**Northwest Hospital does not provide technical support for those with computer problems. Northwest Hospital does not assume responsibility for loss or damage to your personal computer that you bring with you while a patient or visitor at Northwest Hospital.
Medication Information
Medications are an important part of your treatment plan. You must tell your doctor or nurse about all the medications and doses you take. This includes prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, diet supplements, herbals and/or vitamins. This is very important because even the most common drugs can cause complications when taken with other medications or treatments.
For your safety, most medications you need while staying in the hospital will be provided by the inpatient pharmacy. On occasion, it may be appropriate for you to use medications from home; however, this is only when specific circumstances are met, including, but not limited to, approval of your physician. Please be sure to let your nurse know if you have medications from home in your possession.
It is also very important to inform your health care team about any allergies or adverse reactions you may have; these include such things as allergies to food, drinks and medications or sensitivity to latex and so forth.
When a member of your health care team enters your room to administer your medications, he or she will need to verify your identity by looking at your identification bracelet. He or she will ask you your name and date of birth.
Interpreter and Translation Services
Sign Language Interpreter Services
Northwest Hospital uses the agency We Interpret. Their interpreter referral services will locate a sign language interpreter for our patients when we call with specific information in regard to your appointment. Please let us know if you require this service at the time the appointment is made.
Foreign Language Translation Services
Northwest Hospital has special telephones to assist patients with the translation of any foreign language during their visit. Please let us know if you require this service at the time the appointment is made.
Both interpreter and foreign language translation services are provided at no cost.