Fast Facts About Your Stay

Bedside Shift Report

We want you to feel comfortable and cared for throughout your stay, so at each nursing shift change—around 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.—your nurse will introduce your new nurse to you. The team will talk about your progress, medicine and tests scheduled for the day, and you can ask questions as well.

Cafeteria

The cafeterias at NMC, NMC Houghton and OVH are located just past the main lobby. Northwest Women's Center also has a cafeteria near the admitting kiosks. Hours at each location vary and are posted near each cafe's entrance. Northwest Medical Center Sahuarita does not have a cafeteria for the public or visitors. All locations serve three patient meals a day.

Calling Your Nurse

Your room is connected to the nursing station via an intercom system. To call for your nurse, press the NURSE call button located on the bed rail or remote. If you have any questions on how to use the call button, ask a staff member to show you.

Coffee Bar

NMC, NMC Houghton and OVH all have coffee bars in the main lobby, serving assorted pastries and a variety of espresso drinks. Hours vary.

Electrical Appliances

Only battery-operated devices are allowed in patient rooms. Do not use electric hair dryers, curling irons, razors, heating pads, portable heaters, computers or other electric devices.

Fire Safety

We conduct fire drills from time to time. If you hear an alarm, stay where you are. In an actual emergency, hospital staff will tell you what to do.

Flowers

Flowers are delivered to patient rooms by individual florists. Please note that flowers are not allowed in Intensive Care Units.

Gift Shop

NMC, OVH and Northwest Women's Center all have gift shops in the main lobby. NMC Houghton’s gift shop will open at a future date. Items for purchase include small gifts, seasonal items, cards and convenience items like cell phone chargers. Hours vary by location.

Hearing Impaired

Our hospitals offer TTY (text telephones) as well as laptop devices for sign language interpretation. An in-person ASL interpreter may also be provided in certain circumstances. Please contact your nurse for these services.

Housekeeping Services

We are committed to keeping our hospitals and your room as clean as possible. If your room needs housekeeping attention, please call ext. 1010 at NMC, ext. 6170 at NMC Houghton and ext. 3596 at OVH. At Sahuarita, please ask your nurse or nurse tech.

Interpreters

Telephone interpretation by certified language interpreters is available at any time, in any language. Please ask your nurse to connect you with an interpreter.

Lost and Found

The hospital’s lost and found is located in the Security Department. Please dial 0 from a hospital phone and ask for security.

Mail

Mail and packages will be delivered to your room. Mail received after you leave the hospital will be forwarded to your home. Patients who have elected to be listed as confidential in the hospital directory will not receive mail or flowers.

Medicines

Please do not bring any medications (prescription, over-the-counter, supplements or illegal substances) from home. All medications you take while in the hospital must be prescribed, filled and given to you by hospital staff. Tell your doctor about any medicines you regularly take.

Parking

Parking at NMC Houghton, OVH and Sahuarita is plentiful. At NMC, valet parking may be available at the Emergency Room entrance. There is also a free parking garage across from the ER.

Personal Belongings  and Valuables

Personal care items such as contact lenses, eyeglasses, hearing aids and dentures can be stored in your bedside stand when not in use. Please do not put them on your bed or food tray to help avoid them being lost or damaged. Leave valuables like jewelry or cash at home, or give them to a trusted relative or friend to watch over. Northwest Healthcare cannot be responsible for replacing personal belongings.

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.

Smoking

For our patients, visitors and staff, we are a smoke-free hospital. This includes all electronic smoking devices such as E-cigarettes and vaporizers. You can request a nicotine replacement alternative from your physician.

Telephone

All patient rooms have phones. To place a local call, dial 9 and then the local number. There is no charge for local calls. To place a long distance call, dial 0 to reach the operator. Long-distance calls must be charged to your home phone or calling card, or placed direct.

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

Vending machines are available at all four hospitals. Please ask a staff member to direct you to the nearest location.

Visitation Policy

Northwest Healthcare understands that having loved ones by your side can help with your healing and care. You have the right to choose and prioritize visitors from among family, friends, partners, personal care aides or other individuals (regardless of the person’s gender or your relationship to the person). You also can choose a support person to be present throughout your stay, unless that person’s presence affects your health or the rights or safety of other patients. If you have any questions about your visitation rights, contact the nursing supervisor.

Visiting Hours

Our hospitals do not have established visiting hours. Visitation may occur at any time with the approval of the patient. Some units, including our ICUs, NICU, Behavioral Health and other areas have specific visitation guidelines. Visitation hours and policies may change depending on patient needs or conditions in the community, including flu, COVID-19 or other contagious diseases. For updated visitation guidelines, visit www.healthiertucson.com/patients-visitors.

Visitor Guidelines

We encourage well-wishers for emotional support and recovery. To provide a restful and safe environment, we ask that visitors follow these guidelines:

• Do not visit if you have a cold, sore throat, fever or other illness.
• Avoid noisy, disruptive behavior to help respect the healing of all patients.
• Ask before bringing foods, drinks, or other items like balloons, flowers or perfume that might trigger allergies into patient rooms.
• Wash your hands before entering a patient’s room.
• Make sure all children have a supervising adult with them at all times.

Wi-Fi

Free guest Wi-Fi access is available from nearly anywhere in our hospitals. Select "Hospital Guest Wireless" from your Wi-Fi settings and open your internet browser. A screen will open asking you to agree to the terms of use. Click on "Accept" and submit.