Patient Resources
Answers to frequently asked questions regarding your hospital stay.
At St. Tammany Health System, we firmly believe that compassion and comfort are key to healing. To that end, we work diligently to ensure you’ll find our hospital to be as welcoming, friendly and stress-free as possible during your stay.
On this page, you’ll find the answers to frequently asked questions about the hospital. The first section focuses on details about your room, from the TV remote to room service dining. Below that, you’ll find general information about other amenities that can be found elsewhere in the hospital, including our cafeteria, our chapel and other features.
Of course, you can always ask your nurse or other hospital staff member if you have questions not covered here. Additionally, a Patient Experience coordinator is available to assist you and your family with special requests, explain hospital policies and to serve as your liaison with hospital staff. You may contact Patient Experience every weekday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at (985) 898-4669.
Should you or a family member have a concern about the care you are receiving, please share it with us right away. We want the opportunity to address it.
A button to call your nurse is located at your bedside. When you press the button, the nursing station is alerted that you need assistance, and a light will flash above your door. A staff member will respond as soon as possible.
Your room assignment at St. Tammany Health System is based upon your admitting diagnosis and the bed availability on the day of your admission. Private (single-bed) and semi-private (two-bed) rooms are available. The cost is the same.
Hospital beds are electrically operated, and your nurse will show you how to work your bed properly. Your hospital bed is probably higher and narrower than your bed at home. Bedside rails are for your protection, and they may be raised if you are resting, recovering from surgery or taking certain medications.
St. Tammany Health System is proud to provide Room Service Dining for our patients and guests daily between 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. All patients are provided with a menu according to their physician-ordered diet. All meals are prepared to order, with a delivery goal of 45 minutes or less. Patients may place their meal orders by calling extension 4300.
If a patient needs assistance to order a meal, our Room Service Specialists can take meal orders at the patient’s bedside. Family members can place advanced meal orders for patients with a requested meal delivery time, or they can order for the patient from outside the hospital by calling (985) 898-4300.
Visitors may dine in our cafeteria, utilize our vending machines or purchase a Room Service Dining Guest Tray from the patient menu. (Patients should utilize Room Service Dining and not eat in the cafeteria.)
If you have concerns about our service, please call our Room Service dining supervisor at extension 3675. For questions about physician-ordered diets, our registered dietitians are available for diet education. To speak with a dietitian, call extension 4063.
Our housekeeping staff will clean your room daily. Your nursing assistant will check your bed and straighten your sheets each day. To conserve energy and water, bed linens (sheets) are changed Monday, Wednesday and Friday or as needed. If you want your linens changed more frequently, please notify the nursing staff.
All rooms in the hospital are centrally heated and air-conditioned. If your room temperature is not comfortable, please notify the nursing staff.
Please stay in bed after you have been prepared for the night. Strange surroundings and sleeping medications may create a hazard if you get out of bed. For assistance during the night, use your call button.
Every effort will be made to provide an interpreter for patients who do not speak English or who communicate through sign language. Language line services are also available. Each nursing unit and the hospital operators (reached by dialing 0) can provide additional information.
Assistance dogs or licensed, trained therapy dogs may occasionally enter the hospital for therapeutic endeavors. Pets and other animals are not allowed.
Free wireless Internet access is available in all patient rooms and throughout the hospital. To log in:
Open your internet browser.
For more information, contact Patient Experience at ext. 4669.
Telephones are provided in all rooms except those in the critical care units, where they can be made available upon request. Your family and friends can call you directly by dialing the designated number posted in your room. Patients can receive all other calls from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Local calls may be made at any time from the room by dialing 9 and the number. (Calls within a 50-mile radius are considered local.)
Long-distance calls cannot be charged to your room, although they can be charged to a credit card, personal calling card or mobile devices. Collect calls may also be placed.
Amplifier/TDY phones for the hearing impaired are available upon request.
Cellphones should not be used near patient monitoring equipment.
Televisions with in-bed remote controls are provided in each room. Please be considerate of other patients by keeping the volume down and by turning off your set at bedtime. In semi-private rooms, all televisions must be turned off at midnight. St. Tammany Health System is proud to provide you educational, informative videos on the PamLab Educational System. View Channel 100 to learn about the hospital, and ask your nurse for a list of videos available regarding your condition or procedure.
For your convenience, automatic teller machines are available 24 hours a day in the coffee shop on the first floor and in the northwest hallway on the second floor near the 2 East unit.
We welcome visitors to dine in our cafeteria, which is on the first floor of the hospital. It is open seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. We accept cash, credit cards and STHS guest cards. A recording of our daily menu is available by calling the menu line at ext. 4447. Guest cards offer a 10% discount on meals purchased in the cafeteria. The cards can be purchased at the registers in the cafeteria during hours of operation.
The chapel is located off the main lobby on the first floor. Visitors of all faiths are welcome to visit the chapel for prayer and meditation.
Flowers may be delivered to your room. Flowers are not allowed in the ICU and CCU areas.
The St. Tammany Hospital Gift Shoppe, located on the first floor in the hospital lobby, is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The shop features gift items, jewelry, greeting cards, candy, toiletries, plants and more. For more information, call (985) 898-4602. Proceeds help the St. Tammany Hospital Guild fund gifts to the St. Tammany Hospital Foundation and scholarships for hospital colleagues.
Letters and packages for patients are delivered each morning. Letters and parcels that arrive after you have returned home are forwarded to your home. Stamps and stationery may be purchased in our Gift Shoppe. Outgoing mail may be left at the nurses’ station or given to a volunteer. E-Cards may be sent to patients through our Gift Shoppe.
Newspapers may be purchased in the breezeway outside the main entrance.
PJ’s, located on the first floor of the hospital near the lobby, offers an array of premium coffees and teas in addition to pastries, snacks, sandwiches and salads. It is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Vending machines are available 24 hours a day, inside PJ’s Coffee Shop on the first floor, and on each floor of the hospital. Vending is also available in the cafeteria from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Other vending locations include the ICU/CCU waiting room on the fourth floor and on the second-floor hallway near the surgery waiting area.
Additional information for patients and visitors to St. Tammany Health System:
Visitors can be a positive experience for patients, however to ensure a quite environment so patients get appropriate rest, we have developed special guidelines with regard to visitors. Click the button below to find our full visitors policy.
Feeling better? Here’s a before-you-leave checklist for you to go over once your doctor decides you’re ready to leave the hospital.
St. Tammany Health System created its Honor Red, White and Blue program to ensure U.S. military veterans receive the respect and recognition they deserve in return for their service.
St. Tammany Parish Hospital
1202 S. Tyler St.
Covington LA
Ph: 985-898-4000
Patient Information: 985-898-4000
Emergency Room: 985-898-4403
24 hours | 7 days a week