5901 Monclova Road
Maumee, OH 43537-1899

Located at I-475/US-23 and US-24 (Anthony Wayne Trail). Take Exit 4 onto US-24. Turn left at Monclova Road. The St. Luke's campus is on the left side of the road.  

A reporter or photographer interested in covering stories at St. Luke's Hospital should contact a representative from Corporate Communications. We are happy to assist you by arranging interviews and photo opportunities with medical experts and patients. St. Luke's policy requires that members of the media are escorted at all times while on hospital property. Please call Corporate Communications to arrange this in advance. In addition, patients who will be interviewed or photographed on St. Luke’s Hospital grounds must sign a release form. The forms are available in the Corporate Communications department. Please call us at 419-893-5923 to arrange interviews or visits.

As long as the patient has not requested that information be withheld, the Corporate Communications department will provide media with a one-word general condition about current patients being treated in our hospital. The information will be provided in accordance with federal HIPAA privacy regulations. It will only be released if the inquirer identifies the patient by name. To receive a patient condition report, call 419-893-5930 from 6 am - 8:30 pm, seven days a week. After hours, call the St. Luke’s switchboard at 419-893-5911.

Patient conditions may be released consistent with the limitations imposed by the HIPAA privacy standards. If an inquiry is made using the patient’s name and the patient is listed in the patient directory, a one-word general condition will be provided. Here are definitions for those conditions

• Undetermined: Patient is currently being evaluated
• 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. Patients may be unconscious. Indicators are unfavorable.
• Treated and Released: The patient received treatment but was not admitted.
• Deceased/Coroner’s Cases: The death of a patient, while considered a matter of public record under law, is considered protected health information under HIPAA. Thus, the condition of death may be released for expired patients who have not opted out of the directory. Information about the cause of death must come from the patient’s physician, and its release must be approved by a legal representative of the deceased. When a death is investigated by the county coroner, questions about the cause of death should be addressed to that public office.

The federal Health and Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) mandates regulations that govern privacy, security and administration simplification standards for health care information.

Among other things, the HIPAA privacy regulations restrict the information that health care providers may include in a patient directory and release to the public, including news media. Patients have the option of further restricting release of directory information. Unless the patient objects, directory information about a particular patient can be shared with any person who asks for the patient by name. The following information may be placed in the patient directory:

• The patient’s name
• The patient’s location in the hospital
• The patient’s condition

While the HIPAA privacy regulations restrict the information health care providers may release, patients are free to release their own personal information or consent to interviews providing it does not interfere with their medical treatment. However, patients who will be interviewed or photographed on St. Luke’s Hospital grounds must sign a release form. The forms are available in the Corporate Communications department. In addition, members of the media must be escorted at all times while on hospital property.

Reporters and editors may call Corporate Communications at 419-893-5923, Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. After hours and on weekends, call the St. Luke’s switchboard at 419-893-5911. You can also e-mail team members individually:

• Kathleen Connell, APR, Corporate Communications Director
  e-mail: kathy.connell@stlukeshospital.com
• Doreen Cutway, Communications Coordinator
  e-mail: doreen.cutway@stlukeshospital.com
• Jean Gillen, Communications Coordinator
  e-mail: jean.gillen@stlukeshospital.com