From Staff Reports
AMERICUS —
The Patient Channel is now available at Sumter Regional Hospital East. Patients can access this channel anywhere in the hospital by going to Channel 13.
This 24 hour patient education TV channel provides topical, network-quality programming delivered to hospital patient rooms and waiting rooms. The goal of the channel is to educate patients and their families to help increase their awareness of medical issues, encourage informed communication with Healthcare Providers, improve their ability to make informed decisions, and promote a sense of empowerment during the times when accurate information is most needed.
Programming on The Patient Channel covers a wide spectrum of topics, including the following: cancer, asthma, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, smoking cessation, parenting and other health/wellness issues. New programs are added throughout the year.
For patients, their relatives and friends, The Patient Channel integrates both seeing and hearing, which helps in the retention of information. The television medium is one that most people have in their home and with which they are comfortable. Furthermore, the channel standardizes and increases access to patient education content 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week. The outcome is that nursing staffs are able to recommend quality, up-to-date patient education programming for patients in their time of need. Additionally, the programming is available on The Patient Channel’s web site (www.thepatientchannel.com) for access preadmission and post discharge.
The educational content on The Patient Channel is controlled by independent advisory boards, consisting of experts in medicine, patient care, education and ethics, whose objective is to ensure the accuracy and appropriateness of programming. While the TV channel is distributed by GE Healthcare, the boards review all content prior to airing and identify new opportunities for topics that are contemporary and of high-interest to the general public.
“Programming on the channel empowers patients to take a more active role in their own care," said Dave Ross, manager of The Patient Channel for GE Healthcare. “Real patients and their doctors share their stories to help others understand not just the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of a medical condition, but also ‘how’ they can deal with it in a positive manner.”
For more information about the Patient Channel at Sumter Regional Hospital East, please contact Lila Sexton at (229) 924-6011.
About Sumter Regional Hospital Foundation and Sumter Regional Hospital :
Sumter Regional Hospital Foundation (SRHF) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization operated exclusively for medical, charitable, educational and scientific purposes on behalf of Sumter Regional Hospital (SRH). SRH, formerly a 143-bed acute care facility delivering emergent and medical care to a patient base throughout the 10-county Middle Flint Region of Georgia, was destroyed by an F-3 tornado on March 1, 2007. SRHF has solicited donations from organizations and individuals to help replace the damaged hospital and its imaging and diagnostic facility, HealthPlex at Sumter Regional, which was also destroyed by the storm. For more information about Sumter Regional Hospital and its Foundation, visit www.sumterregional.org.
