Admission & Accommodations
Upon your admission to St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center we will work to get you to your room and make you comfortable as quickly as possible. An identification bracelet with your name and medical record number will be placed on your wrist for the duration of your stay.
Accommodations
Patients are assigned to a room dependent upon available bed space and the reason for hospitalization. We will make every effort to address any personal preferences you may have during your admission. Your health care team will quickly orient you to your surroundings, teach you to use the call bell, explain hospital routines, and discuss your plan of care with you and/or a designated family member or representative.
Your Team
Your comfort, rights and concerns are of the utmost importance to us. To achieve our goal of personalized patient care, our physicians, nurses, and other health professionals work as a team so that you receive the finest medical care in a supportive and caring atmosphere. The medical center has an outstanding staff of more than 600 physicians, 150 medical residents, 750 nurses, and 2,100 employees and volunteers, all of whom contribute their expertise toward your care and comfort. Some you will meet directly while others are working diligently behind the scenes. Together, our team provides an integrated network of care, working toward your rapid recovery.
Hospitalists Staff
As a patient at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, you may be cared for by our team of hospitalists, which are physicians specially trained in the care of hospitalized patients. Working in collaboration with primary care doctors, hospitalists care for patients from the time they are admitted to the hospital until they are discharged. Hospitalists review care, prescribe medications, order tests and treatments, and coordinate follow-up care after discharge.
Meet our hospitalist team here.
Nursing
After admission to the medical center, patients are assigned to a registered nurse (RN). Your nurse will direct your care based on the care plan that your health care team has determined is right for you. Your nurse may be accompanied by nursing students in training. Please ask your nurse about any aspect of your care. See our ICU Staffing Reports.
ICU staffing report 2024
ICU staffing report 2023
ICU staffing report 2022
ICU staffing report 2021
Interpreter and Translation Services
For Limited English Proficiency (LEP) patients, we offer both in person medical interpreters and 24-hour telephonic interpretation in more than 204 spoken languages and dialects. For patients and/or visitors who are deaf or hard of hearing, a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) is available at the switchboard for patient or visitor use. Patients can make arrangements with their nurse to have TDD hooked up in their rooms. The TDD number is 617-789-2899. Video phones also are available by contacting Interpreter Services. For visually impaired/blind patients, we have large-print and Braille materials available. For more information, please contact Interpreter Services at 617-789-2899, or email us at sem.interpreter@steward. org.
Patient Advocate
If you have care-related questions or concerns, feel free to speak with any of your caregivers at any time. Or, if you prefer, our patient advocate is available to discuss any concerns you or your family may have about your individual care or other issues. Call 617-789-2040 to speak with the patient advocate.
Visitors
St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center encourages visitors for emotional support and recovery. Visitors may be limited or restricted only when visitation would interfere with your care or the care of other patients.
Smoke-Free Environment
Our hospital is a smoke-free campus. Smoking is not permitted anywhere on the premises.
Amenities
Meals
Whether you are on a regular or special diet, have cultural, ethnic or religious food preferences, or if you have specific food allergies or intolerances, we will accommodate your needs. Each morning of your hospital stay, you will have the opportunity to choose your meals from our varied menu with the help of a representative from the Department of Nutrition and Food Services. Additionally, a registered dietitian is available to answer any questions you may have. Our hot meal service operates during the following hours:
- Breakfast: 7 - 9:30 a.m.
- Lunch: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
- Dinner: 4 - 6:30 p.m.
In addition to your meals, juice, tea, coffee and an assortment of snacks are available in the nourishment kitchens located on each patient care unit. Additional snacks and nutritional supplements can be provided with your meal service to complete your nutritional care.
Telephone and Television
Televisions and telephones are available in all rooms at no cost to our patients. Telephone service includes calls throughout Massachusetts. Calls outside of Massachusetts are considered long distance and must be made collect or charged to your credit card. We offer more than 70 television stations. A full list is available in each patient room.
Cell Phones
Cell phone use is allowed in the hospital except where the phone might interfere with patient safety or in areas where sensitive equipment is used. If you do need to use your cell phone, please speak in a low voice to not disturb the comfort of others.
Mail, Flowers and Newspapers
Flowers and gifts are delivered to your beside as soon as they arrive. Mail is delivered to your room Monday through Friday. You may send stamped mail by giving it to your nurse or by leaving it with the unit secretary. Stamps are available for purchase in the Gift Shop. Newspapers can be purchased from the Gift Shop, from volunteers who visit patient rooms daily, or at the vending machines located to the right of the main lobby on Seton 4.
Wireless Computer Access
While visiting St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center you may use your personal laptop computer to access the web. When logging on, you must first accept an online service agreement. If you need assistance, a quick-reference guide to the Guest Internet Service can be obtained from the front desk in the lobby. The guide includes directions on accessing the information as well as frequently asked questions about access, procedures, bandwidth and security. Please note that our information services staff does not provide support services to users of the Guest Internet.
Spiritual Care Services
St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center is committed to providing for patients' medical and spiritual needs. Special spiritual care services that are available to all patients, visitors, and staff include:
- The Seton Chapel, located to the right of the main entrance of the medical center, is open 24 hours a day for prayer and meditation. Mass is celebrated daily: Monday through Friday at noon; Saturday at 4 p.m.; and Sunday at 8 a.m. Eucharistic ministers distribute Communion to patient rooms. Services are televised on St. Elizabeth’s closed-circuit television system, Channel 3.
- Hospital chaplains are here to accompany and support you during your hospitalization. Chaplains offer spiritual and emotional support centered in the beliefs and values of our patients and their families. Chaplains are also happy to contact clergy from your own spiritual tradition. Interfaith chaplains are available 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Catholic priests are available 24/7. To contact a chaplain, call 617-789-3045 or ask for a chaplain to be paged.
- Accommodations for Families of our Jewish Guests: St. Elizabeth’s offers all of our Jewish visitors and guests access to Boston’s first Bikur Cholim (visiting the sick) room. This room, a place to rest, pray and eat, is located on Seton 6E and includes a supply of kosher food, prayer books and other religious items, as well as comfortable furnishings and a kosher refrigerator and microwave. The room is stocked with kosher food and is furnished in partnership with ROFEH (Reaching Out, Furnishing Emergency Healthcare) and Wingate Health Care. Please check with your nurse if you need access to the room.
- There is an Interfaith Chapel on Seton 7E that is available 24/7 for quiet prayer and reflection. Please contact spiritual care at 617-789-3045 for more information.