Welcome to South County Health (SCH). We are proud to provide a full range of medical services. At the center of our healthcare system is South County Hospital, a 100-private bed facility offering a breadth of healthcare services, programs, and technologies.
Here you’ll find helpful information you’ll need if you're staying overnight at South County Hospital. On behalf of all the employees of SCH, we want you to be informed participants in your health care and we encourage you and your family to ask questions as we strive to provide personalized, quality care.
If you'd like to submit feedback after your stay, please use our online form.
At South County Hospital you’ll find spacious, single-patient rooms, each furnished with a full bath and ample room for a loved one to spend the night. Each room is equipped with internet connections and access to electronic medical records for care providers.
If you are a maternity patient arriving to the Hospital, you will be admitted to a private birthing room, which features special light and equipment, including a birthing bed, rocking chair and television, allowing you to remain in this room for both labor and birth. Family-focused care for the postpartum stay provides maximum opportunities for first-time parents to learn new skills, and a review for parents who have already learned basic care and safety.
When you arrive, you’ll be met by a member of our Patient Access Team who will ask a host of questions and place a patient ID bracelet on your wrist. This bracelet contains important information for your safety. We require you to wear it until you leave the hospital.
Hospitalists are Board Certified physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants trained in internal medicine and/or family medicine who devote their practice to the care of hospitalized patients. In devoting their practice to the care of hospitalized patients, hospitalists concentrate on the unique aspects of hospitalized patients' needs, working with nurses and other caregivers as an integrated patient-care team. Our hospitalists team is dedicated to providing patients the highest quality medical care and attention during their hospital stay.
The Medical Director of Hospitalist Services is Robert C. Kornas, MD.
At South County Hospital, we are committed to delivering the highest quality, most compassionate care. We respect each patient's right to self-determination, comfort, self-expression and dignity. While at the hospital, our Patient Advocate is your resource should you have a concern about your care or that of a loved one. Contact our Patient Advocate, Nadine McCauley, at nmccauley@southcountyhealth.org or by call 401-788-1982.
The Patient Advocate should be contacted only if a patient is in the hospital. If you would like to submit a complaint or concern after a hospital visit, please call 401-788-1717 or submit feedback.
Patients are asked not to bring items of value to the Hospital. If you do, they should be locked in your patient room closet or in the Hospital’s safe. Ask your nurse for a programmable lock. The Hospital does not accept responsibility for items of value and does not reimburse for lost or missing items.
In your room you’ll find a dining services menu. Your Diet Tech will visit your room to take your order. If your doctor has prescribed a modified diet, some items on the menu may not be appropriate for you. Your Diet Tech will assist in making the appropriate selections. The service hours are:
Guests are welcome to dine in our cafeteria, located on the ground floor of the Sturges Wing.
Our Comfort Care Volunteers assist patients by providing
friendly companionship, reading to them, and offering
hospitality cart items, which include
Please feel free to call our Comfort Care Request Line
at 401-788-8756 to request items. Special requests are
welcome. We will do our best to accommodate them.
In order for non-English speaking patients to receive the best possible care, it is critical that they understand every aspect of the medical process. South County Health has the Stratus Video Interpretive IPAD that offers American Sign Language, as well as multiple languages. Stratus Video is a cloud-based video remote interpretation service that uses innovative technology to connect healthcare providers with licensed interpreters in over 175 spoken and signed languages in less than 30 seconds, on-demand.
We can also connect with a live interpreter, upon patient request, through the Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing of RI for those who are hearing impaired or deaf.
A bedside telephone is available to all patients except in the Intensive Care Unit. Family and friends can access your room via telephone by dialing the Hospital’s main number: 401 782-8000. To make a:
Cell phone use is not permitted because it may interfere with patient medical and life support equipment. For patient safety, we ask visitors to use cell phones in one of the family waiting areas or main lobby.
South County Hospital is pleased to offer patients complimentary television services in each room. A flat screen television displays a variety of channels, including MEDCALM, a music and relaxation channel.
We provide complimentary wireless internet access to our guests and visitors. Simply connect to the “Internet Access” network with your wireless device. For WiFi support please call our toll free WiFi support Help Desk at (800) 235-0757.
Mail and flowers are delivered daily to patient rooms. Family and friends should address your mail to:
If you don’t know a patient’s room number please call Patient Information at 401 788-1488.
All medications you take while in the Hospital are prescribed by your doctor, dispensed by the hospital pharmacy and administered by a nurse. Patients are not permitted to administer their own drugs or keep personal medications at their bedsides.
For health and safety reasons, South County Hospital is a smoke-free facility. Smoking is not permitted anywhere on the Hospital campus. If you are a smoker, this may be a difficult adjustment. Talk with your nurse or doctor about what you can do to ease the stress of not smoking. We have alternatives to curb your habit during your stay.
Animal-assisted therapy is a growing field used at South County Hospital to help patients recover from or better cope with health problems and to provide comfort and enjoyment. If you would like a visit with a therapy dog, please contact the Patient Information Desk at 401-788-1488 or dial ext. 1488 on your inpatient phone.
For many patients, spiritual concerns are a natural part of an injury or illness. At South County Health, we understand the thoughts and feelings that occur during such times and are ready to help patients and their loved ones navigate them. Our spiritual care team is a collaboration of trained health care chaplains, local clergy and faith communities, and care providers at all levels who are sensitive to the needs of the whole person. To contact our chaplain or local clergy, ask a staff member for assistance or call the main hospital phone number at 401-782-8000.
The DAISY Award is an international program that rewards and celebrates the extraordinary clinical skill and compassionate care given by nurses every day. South County Hospital is happy to be a DAISY Award Partner, recognizing one of our nurses each quarter with this special honor. You can nominate a nurse that made a difference in your care at South County Hospital by using our online form.
Each DAISY Award Honoree will be recognized at a public ceremony in her/his unit and will receive: a beautiful certificate, a DAISY Award pin, and a hand-carved stone sculpture entitled A Healer’s Touch.
When you are ready to leave the hospital, your case manager will meet with you and your family to ensure that you have all the information you will need once you leave the hospital. This information might include:
It is important that you understand your discharge instructions and how to follow them, so please ask questions if the instructions are not clear to you. For questions, call Case Management at 401 788-1460.
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