Support Services for Patients

The Continuity of Care Department at Lowell General Hospital includes nurse case managers and social workers who assist patients and their families in designing a discharge plan that meets their needs as well as providing support during hospitalization. The department provides:

• Support and help with communication between patients, their families and members of the healthcare team
• Guidance before, during and after hospitalization
• Resource and referral information for patients about their medical condition, family issues, finances or insurance coverage, transportation issues and transitional assistance programs as well as assistance with welfare programs and community health and benefits programs

Each patient admitted to the hospital has an assigned nurse case manager to coordinate the services you may require after discharge from the hospital. The case manager will work with you and your family as well as your physician and other members of the healthcare team to develop a discharge plan that meets your needs and ensures a smooth transition from the hospital to home or another appropriate setting. If indicated, the case manager can assist you by setting up services such as visiting nurses, home medical equipment or transfer to a rehabilitation facility. The case manager will also work closely with your insurance company regarding the coverage of your stay and medically necessary follow-up services.

If you or your family has any questions, please contact the Continuity of Care Department at our Lowell General main campus at 978.937.6308 between 7:00 am to 5:00 pm. You may also contact the Case Management Department at the Lowell General Saints campus at 978.458.1411, ext. 64078 between 7:00 am to 5:00 pm to request a case manager or social worker to meet with you.

The Ethics Committee at Lowell General Hospital acts in a position of guidance, consultation, education and support to the hospital community in areas relating to the sensitive ethical, legal and clinical decisions that often must be made in caring for seriously ill patients. If you would like to speak to a member of the Ethics Committee, ask your nurse to notify a representative.

Massachusetts 9-1-1 now gives the option for individuals with disabilities to register their cell phone number on the MA 911 Disability Indicator Form (previously only landlines could be registered). If someone who completes this form calls 9-1-1 from any location in Massachusetts, the disability code they select appears on the dispatcher’s screen and will alert first responders that someone may require additional assistance.

 After completing the form, drop it off at your local Police station for processing.

Medical orders for life-sustaining treatment (MOLST) is a health decision-making process for seriously ill patients that stipulates wishes for life-sustaining treatment based on the patient’s current condition. MOLST ensures that persons with advanced illness will have their decisions regarding life-sustaining treatments known, communicated and honored across all healthcare settings.

For more information and resources about MOLST, please visit the MOLST website at www.MOLST-ma.org.

Lowell General Hospital is committed to your care, safety and patient rights. You may have questions or concerns about the care you or your loved one is receiving. We encourage you to share these concerns with your physician, nurse, or the manager/director of the hospital unit so they can work to quickly resolve the issue. If these concerns cannot be addressed to your satisfaction, our Patient Relations Department can help facilitate a resolution.

A Patient Relations representative is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm at the Lowell General main campus or the Lowell General Saints campus at 978.937.6458. Administrative Nurse Supervisors are available to address your concerns Monday through Friday from 4:30 pm to 8:00 am and on weekends by dialing “0” and asking for a Nurse Administrator.

If you have a serious concern about patient safety, quality of care or the violation of patient rights that is not resolved to your satisfaction through our Patient Relations Department, you are invited to contact the following organizations. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.

Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Division of Healthcare Quality
99 Chauncy Street, 2nd Floor
Boston, MA 02111
617.753.8150

Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Board of Registration in Medicine
200 Harvard Mill Square. Suite 330
Wakefield, MA 01880
781.876.8200
www.mass.gov/massmedboard

The Joint Commission
Office of Quality Monitoring
1 Renaissance Boulevard
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
800.994.6610

Discussion about your discharge begins when you are admitted. When it is time for you to leave the hospital, your physician will write a discharge order. Upon discharge from the hospital, you will receive your follow-up instructions and prescriptions from your nurse.

Upon discharge, you will receive a packet and instruction sheet. The sheet includes a medication schedule, activity limitations, special diet orders and the date of a follow-up appointment with your physician. This instruction sheet will be reviewed with you and your family. During this time, please be sure to ask any questions and tell us any concerns you may have about your discharge. You will also receive a survey at your home address with specific questions about your admission and the courtesy of our admitting staff. You will also be asked to rate the services you received at Lowell General Hospital.

Before leaving, check your room for personal belongings and request any medication that was brought from home and held for you in our pharmacy, as well as any belongings that you might have placed in the hospital vault for safekeeping. Your friends or relatives may park their cars briefly in front of the main entrance to pick you up. A bus stops at the main entrance of the hospital at regular intervals. You can request information from the Concierge Desk or call the Bus Information Line at the Lowell Regional Transit Authority at 978.452.6161. If you prefer, you may call a cab from the hospital.

If you should require a visiting nurse service or a transfer to a rehabilitation facility, you and/or your family will meet with a case manager who will identify and arrange appropriate services with your consent. Your case manager can also help you obtain necessary medical equipment such as walkers, wheelchairs, hospital beds and oxygen if necessary and if ordered by your attending physician.

At Lowell General Hospital, Spiritual Care is an integral part of Complete connected care. We believe that your spiritual health is as important as your physical, mental and emotional health, and indeed, good spiritual health supports physical healing. Spirituality encompasses your values, principles, beliefs (religious and otherwise), sense of purpose and meaning, your sense of place and connectedness to the world, and your emotional and relational resources, especially as they come into play when faced with significant changes or decisions in your life. Chaplains provide compassionate support to people of all religious traditions and those with non-religious belief systems. We attend to not only the spiritual, emotional, and religious needs of our patients, but also to the needs of their families, visitors, as well as our staff members.

How to Contact Us

Chaplains are available at the Main Campus and Saints Campus Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. You can request a visit by speaking to your nurse or other healthcare provider, by calling the operator or by calling the Spiritual Care Department:.
• Main Campus: 978.788.7763
• Saints Campus: 978.458.1411, ext. 64719

Members of the clergy may visit patients at any hour. Patients who would like a visit from their own clergy should contact the parish directly. The sacrament of communion is distributed daily to Catholic patients who would like to receive it and the sacrament of the anointing of the sick is available in emergency situations.

The Lowell General Hospital Main Campus Chapel and Meditation Room is located on the first floor in the Hanchett Building. The Lowell General Hospital Saints Campus Chapel is located on the second floor in the Reilly Building. The chapel is open 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. to patients and visitors for quiet meditation and prayer. Mass is offered at the Lowell General Hospital Saints Campus Monday through Friday at noon, and is also televised in all patient rooms on closed circuit television on Channel 15.

The medical interpreters at Lowell General Hospital are nationally trained and certified, ready to assist patients and families who are non-English, limited-English proficient, or deaf and hard of hearing. Our goal is to support our patients with culturally competent care and help facilitate access to hospital programs and services.

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