Please contact the OHSU media line at 503-494-8231 or email community.relations@tuality.org.
Hillsboro Medical Center complies with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Oregon Code of Cooperation regarding media interaction and patient care activities. This code balances the patient’s right to privacy and well being with the public’s right to receive information.
These are the definitions used to describe a patient’s condition:
(“Stable” is not a condition.)
Good — Vital signs are stable and within normal limits. Patient is conscious and there are no complications.
Fair — Vital signs are stable and within normal limits. Patient is conscious and alert although may be uncomfortable or in pain and may have minor complications.
Serious — Vital signs may be unstable or outside normal limits. Patient is acutely ill or injured and may have other complications.
Critical — Vital signs are unstable or outside normal limits. Patient has major complications. ICU patients are generally considered critical until ready to move off the unit.
Undetermined — Patient is in the process of being evaluated by a physician and care team, most often in the Emergency Department.
Treated-and-released — The patient has been treated as an Emergency Department patient but was not admitted as an inpatient. This also applies when an emergency patient has been treated and stabilized, and then transferred to another hospital for further treatment.
Deceased — Death can be disclosed after next-of-kin are notified or reasonable efforts have been made to do so. The hospital will not release information to the media about the date or time of death, or the cause of death.
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