Tours

Introduction

Date of Last Review 5/19/08
SME: Director of Public Information & Education

The Public Information and Education (PIE) department provides tours and information to the general public without compromising the dignity and comfort of the patients.

Types of tours

This table lists several other types of tours:

Tour Provided for...	The PIE department makes these Special Provisions/Preparations
VIP Benefactor Someone working in a social service setting Someone working for a public agency Someone requesting special program information to a degree beyond the norm	Notifies the appropriate staff of the tour request by sending a copy of the request to that person Provides confidentiality form for signature by attendees
Service providers	Invites the appropriate department manager to handle the tour
Representatives from two or more departments	Makes efforts to coordinate staff participation, when appropriate
Families of patients or prospective patients	Asks the unit staff to speak with the family before taking the family onto the unit

Schedules

Contact the PIE department at 713-741-7878 to schedule a tour during normal working hours.

Note: All tours must occur during normal working hours.

Requests for tours

The PIE department handles all requests for tours of UTHCPC including requests:

For special tours

From public agencies such as:

Media

Police

Government

School officials

Benefactors

Restrictions

UTHCPC restricts tours as follows:

No groups larger than 15 people Exception: The Administrator must authorize groups larger than 15 people.

Adult guardians must accompany children under 16 or provide written permission.

Alternative presentations

The PIE department can arrange an alternative presentation for groups larger than 5 or individuals under 16 using either audio-visual materials or a speaker.

Visiting patient units

The PIE Director, Executive Director, and Administrator coordinate with the Head Nurses to ensure that tours do not disrupt unit activities.

Notification and consent

The PIE department notifies the following people and receives his/her consent prior to giving a tour of his/her unit:

Head nurse and/or attending physician notified of all tours

Administrator notified of VIP tours

Preparing the guests for the tour

This table describes the process of preparing the guests for the tour:

Stage	Description
1	The tour guide and guests meet in the UTHCPC lobby.
2	Each guest registers at the front desk and signs the confidentiality agreement log.
3	The tour guide gives each guest a visitor's pass to wear throughout the tour.
4	The tour guide describes the following to the guests to prepare them for their tour: UTHCPC's history The patients we serve Other pertinent information

Mailing list

The tour guide provides the PIE department with the names and addresses of all guests who wish to be on the UTHCPC mailing list.

Records

The PIE department maintains records of all tours.

Related standards

Related to regulatory standards

If you have questions regarding the content of this site please contact the Policy and Procedure Committee. If you experience any technical problems please contact the MIS Department.