CTMC: Wellness network channels

Keeping patients informed about health-related topics is one way Central Texas Medical Center (CTMC) is extends its mission, hospital officials say.
Recently, CTMC began offering patient television channels that can be viewed in hospital rooms during a patient’s stay, and the programming is available on demand via the Internet after they are released from the hospital.
“Offering these channels strengthens the quality and safety of our patients’ environment inside the hospital and beyond,” CTMC Executive Director of PR/Marketing Clay DeStefano said. “With the education provided through the Wellness Network, patients are better able to make informed decisions related to their health care.”
Currently, CTMC offers two channels from the Wellness Network: the Patient Channel and the Newborn Channel.
While in the hospital, patients can flip to channel 9 to access the adult patient education channel, which addresses topics such as hospital infection, patient safety, preventative health measures and medical conditions such as diabetes, depression, heart disease and more.
The Newborn Channel can be found in-hospital on channels 11 and 12, where it is available in English and Spanish. It delivers essential newborn and parenting information to help prepare new moms in areas including infant and mom care, siblings and family living, work-life balance and more. 
All content on the patient education channels is aligned with standards set by The Joint Commission, which accredits and certifies more than 19,000 health care institutions and organizations in the United States.
With the online feature, patients can access both channels 24-7 in English and Spanish by logging in with a hospital specific password.
The networks are compatible with all personal computing devices including smartphones, laptops and tablets, and viewers are able search for programs alphabetically or by category.
The technology also allows the nursing staff to promote and prescribe programs to patients before, during and after hospitalization.
After viewing a program, the user has the option to print a program specific viewing certificate.
For information about CTMC, and to access a calendar of healthy living classes, visit www.ctmc.org.