• North Texas Community Hospital is licensed by the Texas Department of State Health Services
   
• Fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
   
• Emergency Department is directed by Wise County’s only Board Certified Emergency Medicine Physician
   
• Medicaid and Medicare Provider
   
• A member of the Texas Organization of Rural Community Hospitals (TORCH), a organization designed to be the voice, principal advocate, and leadership organization addressing the special needs, issues, and contributions of the state’s rural and community hospitals

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PATIENT PRIVACY

Understanding Your Medical Record

Each time you visit a hospital, doctor or other healthcare provider, a record of your visit is made. Usually this record includes the reasons you came for treatment, the physical exam, test results, what was found, the treatment and the plan for future care. This is called your Medical Record. Your Medical Record is used in many ways:

• It is the basis for planning your care and treatment
   
• It is a way for the health team, involved in your care, to communicate.
   
• It is a legal document that describes the care you recieved.
   
• It is a way for the health insurance payers to check to see that they are paying for the services you recieved.
   
• It is a tool used to educate health professionals.
   
• It is a source of facts for research.
   
• It is a source of health facts for public health officials.
   
• It is a source of data for planning and marketing.
   
• It is a way that we can check on our work and improve the care that we give.

Your Medical Record has personal health information. Both state and federal laws protect the privacy of this information. We hope that if you understand how this information is used and shared, it will help you to: 

• Make sure the information you give us is correct.
   
• Better understand who, what, when, where and why your healthcare providers and others may see your personal health information.
   
• Be able to make better decisions about who can use your personal health information.

 
Your Health Information Rights

Your Medical Record is the property of the healthcare center where you went for care. But the information in the Record belongs to you. Under the Federal Privacy Rules, 45 CFR Part 164, you have the right to:

• Get a paper copy of this notice. Or you could get an e-mail copy if you ask for it
   
• Ask to have the use of your Medical Record restricted in some way. We will consider your request. But we are not bound by law to do as you ask.
   
• Ask that we send confidential information to you at another address - or in another way. 
   
• Look at and get a copy of your Medical Record - unless you cannot by law. There may be a fee to get a copy of your Medical Record. 
   
• Ask that changes/amendments be added to your Medical Record. 
   
• Get a record of who saw your Medical Record after April 14, 2003 and how it was used. There may be a fee for this. 

Our Responsibilities

We are required by the Federal Privacy Rules to:

• Keep your health information private.
   
• Give you notice about how we will obey the privacy laws and keep your health information private.
   
• Promise to follow our responsibilities as described in the Notice. But we keep the right to:
   
  • Change the way we handle your health information and give a date by which these new changes will start. (These changes will affect all your health information, old and new.)
     
  • Change the terms of this Notice.

We will tell you if we change the way we handle your health information. In the meantime, we will use or share it only as stated in this Notice – unless you give us your permission to use it in other ways.

How Your Medical Record Will Be Used and Shared

We will use your health information for treatment.

For example: Information you give a nurse, doctor or other healthcare provider will be put in your Medical Record. It will be used to plan your treatment. Your healthcare team will keep a record of your care and treatment in this Record.

We may give copies of reports from your Medical Record to your primary care doctor or other provider once you leave the hospital or treatment center. We may give copies of parts of your Medical Record to your specialists. Or we may need to give them to a treatment center to which you are being transferred.

We may use information about you to call you or send you a reminder letter or phone call:

• About an appointment.
   
• To set up a regular check-up. 
   
• To give you information about other kinds of treatments. 
   
• To tell you about health products and services we can give you.
   
• We will use your health information for payment

For example: A bill may be sent to you or your health insurance plan. The information on the bill will include your personal facts (such as your name and address). It will also have medical information so the payers can see what they are paying for. 

We will use your health information to improve our services.

We may use your health information to see that all our patients get quality care. We want to see if our staff gives the care they should. We often want to see if we need to offer more services to people, or to see if the treatments we give are working. We may also use your health information as a way to train our medical staff. 

Business associates may see some of your health information.

We have companies that work for us. Examples of these are companies that do billing, type medical reports, copy records and do patient surveys. Some of them may need to see parts of your Medical Record in order to do their work. Every company that works with us and sees parts of your Medical Record must sign a privacy contract with us. 

Other Ways Your Health Information May Be Used or Shared Without Your Consent. 

• When required by state or federal law.
   
• To any public health officials who work to prevent or control disease.
   
• To government officials who check out charges of abuse, neglect and domestic violence.
   
• To government officials who monitor and license healthcare providers and facilities.
   
• When needed for a court hearing.
   

• To law enforcement officials so they can: 

  • Report on wounds or injuries caused by a crime or accident.
     
  • Find fugitives, suspects and missing persons.
     
  • Identify a witness, victim, missing person or suspect.
     
• To coroners or funeral directors to identify a deceased person or other legal duty.
   
• To persons who fulfill have consented to check on organs that can be donated.
   
• For research approved by a Privacy Board (IRB) of a healthcare institution.  Each Privacy Board has a duty to protect the privacy of your health information.
   
  • When needed to prevent a threat to health or safety.
     
  • When needed for special lawful government work including by the military.
     
  • As required by law for workers compensation programs.

Rules about release of your health information

Federal Privacy Rules state that we must release your health information for two reasons:

• You ask for it. and 
   
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (or its contractors) asks for it for it for legal reasons or to review some special problem.

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QUICK FACTS & Frequently Asked Questions

North Texas Community Hospital is a not-for-profit full-service hospital dedicated to Wise County and the surrounding region. North Texas Community Hospital was established by community leaders and Physicians in order to offer a local provider of acute care services to meet the current and future health care needs of this growing community.

North Texas Community Hospital is a two-story building with approximately 99,000 sq. ft. located at 1905 doctors' hospital drive, less than one mile from the central downtown business district in Bridgeport, Texas. Adjoining our facility is a Medical Office Building with approximately 36,000 sq. ft. that will accommodate physician suites, physical therapy and additional hospital beds. We are pleased to provide you with some frequently asked questions about North Texas Community Hospital and its facilities and services.

1. When do I go to the Emergency Department? The Emergency Department at North Texas Community Hospital is equipped to handle life-threatening injuries 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are not sure whether to choose your physician’s office, err on the side of caution and head to the Emergency Department.
    
2. How many doctors are affiliated with North Texas Community Hospital? There are 55 doctors affiliated with North Texas Community Hospital.
    
3. What types of services and programs are offered for pregnant women? We have programs for pregnant women, including childbirth classes, maternity tours and more.
    
4. How is North Texas Community Hospital supported? Where can I make a gift? As a private, not-for-profit organization, North Texas Community Hospital relies on insurance companies, government payers (Medicare, Medicaid) and private donations to provide our services to the community. As a tax-exempt charity, we must provide emergency care to everyone, regardless of ability pay.
    
   Make a Donation

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VOLUNTEERING

North Texas Community Hospital has an auxiliary program designed to increase and enhance volunteer involvement at North Texas Community Hospital. We want to provide volunteers opportunities that can fit in with today’s busy, modern lifestyles while also maintaining a primary focus on the needs of our patients.

We make it easy for volunteers to get started quickly. All that’s required is filling out a simple application form – and making a commitment to help our patients benefit from their stay at North Texas Community Hospital. Our commitment is to ensure that each volunteer is well-matched and well-recognized, regardless of whether they volunteer once a week or once a year.

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GIVING / OPEN HEART FOUNDATION

Opportunities For Giving
To Be Announced	Our opportunities for giving section will be updated in the near future.  Please check back soon!

Annual Giving - Every donation is part of our Annual Giving Program and supports capital equipment, technology, programs and services, and operating expenses at North Texas Community Hospital. It includes unrestricted annual gifts, major gifts, honor and memorial gifts, special occasion giving and participation in special events that benefit fundraising initiatives.

Making a contribution has never been easier!

1. Make a Gift Online
    
2. Make a Gift by Mail or Fax
    
3. Major Gifts:  Donors may request their gift to support any area of the hospital through the following:

• Hospital Foundation – Membership is open to individuals who make gifts of $1 or more.
   
• Unrestricted Gift – Gifts are used to support the areas of greatest need at the discretion of North Texas Community Hospital. 
   
• Special Purpose Named Fund – The donor and/or family can choose, with the guidance of the Foundation, a special purpose for the fund to support or enhance programs on an annual basis as long as there are available funds; funding begins at the $ level.
   
• Special named Fund – The donor and family may create a fund in accordance with their interests and wishes that is named in honor or memory of an individual. These funds begin at , can include an accumulation of contributions received through a tribute or on-time gift, and are generally held within a current Special Purpose Named Fund.
   
• Permanent Named Endowment Fund – The donor and/or family may create a fund in accordance with their interests and wishes; funding begins at the $ level. The principal is preserved and the interest is used for general purposes in an area designated by the donor.
   
• Plaques and Gift Naming – In recognition, memory or honor of a family, friend, physician or staff member, personalized wall plaques are created and displayed in various areas including laboratories, on equipment, in patient rooms and other sites. Naming opportunities are also available for a variety of sites at North Texas Community Hospital.
   
• Appreciated Securities / Life Insurance / Real Estate – A gift of securities, life insurance or real estate is an excellent way to make a major gift, and the donor is provided with a charitable income tax deduction and other tax advantages.
   
• Planned Giving - Planned gifts or "deferred gifts" include donations made through a will such as a charitable bequest. They may also be in the form of a trust arrangement or a gift annuity. These planned gifts support the mission of North Texas Community Hospital Foundation and at the same time provide an income to you or someone you designate as a beneficiary of the trust or gift annuity. Gifts of life insurance and real estate are also considered planned gifts.
   
  The office at North Texas Community Hospital Foundation provides useful information to our donors and friends for estate planning needs. 
   
  For more information on Planned Giving, please contact the Foundation Office at 940-683- .
   
• Corporate Giving – North Texas Community Hospital enjoys support from the corporate community, including generous contributions on an annual basis, and from corporations who support the Foundation's mission through event sponsorship opportunities.

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