Important documents to bring with you when you register for care at Seton Medical Center:

• Insurance card(s)
• Photo ID
• Advance Health Care Directives

Advance Health Care Directives are the legally recognized format for making your wishes known, including the types of special treatment you want or don’t want at the end of life as well as your desire for surgical intervention, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and organ donation. An advance directive also allows you to designate someone who will have legal authority to make health care decisions for you.

There are three key steps involved in making your wishes known:

• Discuss your end-of-life decisions with loves ones. Talk about the specific medical treatments you want or don’t want, where you want to spend the time before you die (at home, in a hospital, or in a nursing home), and options for palliative care and pain management.
• Complete an Advance Care Directive Form. You have a legal right to express your health care wishes and have them considered in situations when you are unable to make these decisions yourself. The free form – in English and in Spanish – is posted on the Seton website at www.setonmedicalcenter.org.

Advance Health Care Directive for the State of California (English & Spanish)

Conflicts that may arise concerning decision-making about health care and treatment may be referred to the Ethics Committee. Anyone (staff members, physicians, family and patients) may access the Seton Medical Center Ethics Committee. The Ethics Committee provides a forum for consultation and advice to hospital staff and/or patients and their families to assist in decision-making. Call (650) 991-6421 during the day or (650) 992-4000 during the evening to contact the Ethics Committee.

Seton Medical Center is making every effort to support organ and tissue donation. The hospital has a relationship with the California Transplant Donor Network. The Network serves as a link between doctors and those awaiting organ and tissue transplantation. For more information, please call (800) 553-6667.

You may also download a copy of A Catholic Guide to Critical End of Life Decisions: Advance Directives by Fr. Gerald Coleman, SS, Vice President, Corporate Ethics, Daughters of Charity Health System.

Available in: English/Spanish | Tagalog | Korean

For more information about Advance Health Care Directives go to www.nhdd.org.

This information is not legal advice; it is intended for informational purposes only. If you are unsure of your options, you should consult with your physician, lawyer or other trusted advisor.

Most hospitalized patients at Seton Medical Center are cared for by hospitalists – physicians specializing in coordinating the care of hospitalized patients. Based at the hospital and available around-the-clock, hospitalists are focused on efficiently and safely improving the patient care process – from admission to discharge. Throughout the hospital stay, hospitalists communicate closely and frequently with the patient’s primary care doctor.

Occupational Health Services provides an individualized approach to reducing workers compensation expenses by encouraging health, safety and wellness and by designing a comprehensive plan that meets the specific needs of each employer.

Hospital chaplains of multiple faith traditions serve patients in accordance with their own personal religious preferences, values and cultural beliefs. Chaplains are available to provide compassionate support to patients and their loved ones as they cope with the crisis, illness or loss related to the hospitalization. Chaplains are also available to explore ethical questions or concerns that may arise during hospitalization, and chaplains can assist with completion of an Advance Health Care Directives.

The 44-bed MediCal-certified and Joint Commission-accredited Subacute Unit at Seton Medical Center offers long-term care to medically stable residents 18 years and older in a warm, caring and spiritually fulfilling environment. Our dedicated interdisciplinary health care team provides comprehensive, compassionate care that considers the whole person: mind, body, and spirit.

Subacute care is primarily defined by a patient’s medical condition and when the patient no longer requires acute care yet necessitates the use of a tracheotomy, gastrostomy (feeding) tube, and in some cases a ventilator. In these cases, patients require a higher level of care than a skilled nursing facility provides.

Members of the interdisciplinary care team on the Subacute Unit include physician, nurses, nursing assistants, social workers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, activity coordinators, pharmacists, dieticians, dentists, podiatrists, and

For admission, patients must require at least three of the following:

• Tracheotomy care on room air mist or oxygen as needed (and at least one of the six listed treatments/procedures)
• Total parental nutrition (TPN)
• Physical, occupational and/or speech therapy at a minimum of 2 hours/day, 5 days/week
• Nasogastric or gastrostomy (GT/PEG) tube feedings
• Respiratory therapy treatments a minimum of 4 times/every 24 hours
• Continuous IV therapy involving administration of medications or IV therapy necessary for hydration, or IV medication administration via a central or peripheral line or intermittently via saline lock
• Debridement, packing, and medicated irrigation with or without whirlpool treatment

Any stable patient may be referred for consideration for admission. Our admissions coordinator, social worker, and medical director will evaluate every patient. For more information regarding admissions to the Subacute Unit, call (650) 991-6581.

For information about employment opportunities on the unit, call (650) 991-6625.