Patient Conditions

By law and out of respect for patients and families, privacy is of utmost concern in the hospital. Media presence and contact with staff at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital must be authorized and coordinated by the communications department. This includes requests for interviews with physicians, nurses, all other hospital personnel, patients and their families.

Information on a Patient's Condition
Without consent of a parent or legal guardian, Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital will only release a one-word description of a patient's condition. Below are the definitions of the five conditions approved by the American Hospital Association:

• Good: Vital signs are stable and within normal limits. Patient is conscious and comfortable; indicators are excellent.
• Fair: Vital signs are stable and within normal limits. Patient is conscious but may be uncomfortable; indicators are favorable.
• Serious: Vital signs may be unstable and not within normal limits. Patient is acutely ill; indicators are questionable.
• Critical: Vital signs are unstable and not within normal limits. Patient may not be conscious; indicators are unfavorable.
• Undetermined: Patient is undergoing evaluation.

Please note: Stable is not a condition.

Interview Basics
Do you need to schedule an interview with a patient or member of our medical team? Following are a few steps to follow.

• Advance notice of on-site interviews is necessary so staff can arrange for a room for media interviews, notify the patient care areas involved, and line up the appropriate patients, families and staff for the story.
• All patients must sign a consent form before the media will be allowed to shoot pictures, videotape or film.
• To protect the privacy of all other patients and families, a member of the communications staff must accompany all reporters and photographers on hospital property.

Need to schedule an interview?
Contact Us
Anne Veltema
Public Relations Coordinator
(616) 391-7920
(616) 479-3242 pager
(616) 391-1774 after-hours/weekends (ask for the on-call public relations representative to be paged)