Media Policy

Methodist Health System Marketing/Public Relations staff members are eager to assist you with the scheduling of interviews and photography with physicians, specialists and patients for stories on which you may be working. Assistance for members of the media is available 24/7 via our on-call system.

Assistance for members of the media is available 24/7 via our on-call system. We can also serve as a resource for information not requiring an interview, such as statistical data and condition reports.

Because many of the Methodist Health System leadership team also provides patient care, it may take some time to find a source who is available for interviews.  Please provide as much advance notice as possible to arrange story interviews.  

Policy Overview

• All requests from the news media for interviews and information, as well as requests to videotape in a Methodist Health System building or on Health System property, must be made through the Public Relations Office of the Methodist Health System Marketing Department.  Media must also be accompanied by a member of the Marketing Department or a Security Officer when on location.
• The primary contact for media requests is the Methodist Health System Public Relations Manager. In the Public Relations Manager’s absence and after regular working hours, a member of the Methodist Health System Marketing Department will be designated to assist the media with requests.
• Video, photographs and interviews may be conducted with patients only after the featured patient and/or a family member has signed the Health System’s consent form.
• Media is requested to refer to the Methodist Health System affiliate represented by staff or location at some point in the story or broadcast (i.e. Methodist Hospital, Methodist Hospital Foundation, Jennie Edmundson Hospital, Jennie Edmundson Hospital Foundation, Methodist Women’s Hospital, Methodist Physicians Clinic, Nebraska Methodist College – The Josie Harper Campus, or Shared Service Systems).

Who To Call

Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Public Relations Manager
(402) 354-6813
(In the event the PR Manager is out of the office, directions on how to contact the on-call representative will be left on this voicemail. Please listen carefully to these directions)

Evenings, Weekends & Holidays
On-Call Representative
(402) 650-1034

Condition Report Information

Condition report inquiries must include a name and meet HIPAA regulations regarding the release of patient information. Methodist personnel WILL NOT inquire about a condition report without a patient name, so please do not ask.

It is also helpful to include the age, gender and approximate time the patient was transported to the hospital.  Information regarding patients transported to the hospital via private vehicle will only be provided with the written consent of the patient.

Condition Report Request Procedures (during normal working hours)

Call Methodist Health System public relations at (402) 354-6813.  The voicemail message is kept up to date.  If the voicemail message indicates that the Public Relations Manager is in the office, please leave a message with as much detail as possible.  Your request will be processed as soon as the Public Relations Manager is available.

If the voicemail message indicates that the Public Relations Manager is not available, follow the directions on the voicemail.

Condition Report Request Procedures (evenings, weekends and holidays)

Call the on-call media representative cell phone at (402) 650-1034.
 

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act)

Methodist Health System and its employees working in a media relations capacity follow the strict guidelines set forth by HIPAA related to the release of patient information. For more detailed information on HIPAA, read the Methodist Health System HIPAA Guide. HIPAA Guide