Media Contacts
Assistance to Media
The Office of Public Affairs provides 24-hour assistance to members of the media on stories relating to Banner – University Medicine and the entire University of Arizona Health Sciences Center. Please call (520) 276-8160 for assistance and we will do our best to help you. If you need to reach Public Affairs after business hours, please call the hospital switchboard at (520) 694-0111 and an operator will page the Public Affairs staffer on call.
If you are seeking a simple condition report on a patient after hours, please call the switchboard at (520) 694-0111 and ask for the clinical supervisor, also known as the “Clin Supe.”
Patient Privacy
Banner – University Medicine is committed to maintaining our patients’ right to privacy. Under federal privacy regulations, we may disclose the patient’s name, location in the hospital and a one-word condition report to any person who asks about the patient by name and if the patient does not object. If you do not have the patient’s name, we cannot provide a condition report. We cannot disclose any further information about patients without their written authorization.
Occasionally, some patients request that their hospitalization remain completely confidential, and we will respect their wishes. In these cases we are unable to confirm, or deny, that the patient is at one of our hospitals.
Interviewing or Photographing Patients
Please contact Public Affairs before coming to Banner – University Medical Center or contacting our patients, physicians or employees for a story.
Patient Conditions
By law, we are permitted to give only a one-word description of a patient’s condition unless we have the patient’s written authorization. Here are the five commonly used patient conditions outlined by the American Hospital Association:
- Undetermined: Patient awaiting physician assessment.
- Good: Vital signs are stable and within normal limits, patient is conscious and comfortable. Indicators are excellent.
- Fair: Vital signs may be 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 be unconscious. Indicators are unfavorable.
Media Parking
If you are at Banner – University Medical Center on assignment, we will waive the parking fee if you park in the visitor’s garage – just ask a Public Affairs staff member to sign your parking ticket.
Please follow the instructions of hospital Security or Public Affairs staff about parking in a disaster situation. Media vehicles must not obstruct the hospital's entryways, roads or parking lots near the Emergency Department or Trauma Center.
Click here for a map of Banner – University Medical Center Tucson Campus
Click here for a map of Banner – University Medical Center South Campus
