The unit secretary notifies the nurse that 4 clients called the nurses station reporting pain

Welcome to G1: Information for Patients and Families

Mission statement

G1 is a Neurosurgical Unit where nurses embrace a holistic, coordinated, patient-centered approach to meeting patients and families needs and expectations, thereby ensuring patient safety and patient and staff satisfaction. The mission of G1 is to be a leader in providing compassionate, individualized, culturally appropriate quality nursing care focusing on the unique needs of our neurosurgical patient population and their families.

G1 patient handout

Download a printable version

Welcome to G1

We are a 27 bed unit serving the needs of the adult neurosurgical patient population. We also care for vascular and pain service patients.

Our team

The unit is supervised by a nurse manager and/or assistant nurse managers. There is a resource nurse on each shift to address any concerns you may have.

Patient Care is provided by the registered nurses, many of which are certified in Neuroscience Nursing, nursing assistants, therapists and other clinical support as needed.

Resident MD's make their daily rounds in the morning between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. and in the afternoons between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Residents round once in the morning on weekends. A resident is available on the floor to answer any questions you may have.

A case manager and/or social worker will assist you in your discharge planning. Case managers assist patients and their families with discharge planning and insurance issues, while the Social Workers focus on providing discharge planning, assistance and referrals with lodging, supportive and adjustment counseling, crisis intervention and utilization management in support of our internal and external clients.

Daily routine

  • Breakfast: 8:30 a.m.–9 a.m.
  • Lunch: 12:30 p.m.–1 p.m.
  • Dinner: 6 p.m.–6:30 p.m.

Daily menus are available for patient preferences.

We also have an organic menu available featuring organic, locally grown, sustainable ingredients.

Linen will be changed in the morning as needed. As part of our efforts to conserve we aim to change the linen only when necessary.

On the unit we have a patient/family kitchen with an ice machine, refrigerator, coffee/tea machine and microwave. Please label all patient items with name and date before placing items in the refrigerator.

Staff shift changes begin at 6:45 a.m., 2:45 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. For families who have patient inquiries, please call after shift change/report as nurses are giving and receiving report during these times. Shift changes/report lasts approx 30 minutes. Patients needs will continue to be addressed by staff during shift changes/report.

Medication pass time 8 a.m.9 a.m.; 8 p.m.9 p.m.

Each nurse during this time will have a red blinking light on their portable computer to indicate that they are passing medication. Please do not interrupt the nurse when this light is on. Our goal is to minimize medication errors and to provide you with safe medication administration.

Visiting hours: General floor
All day, with a request that visitors are not on the unit between 7 a.m.9 a.m. and 7 a.m.9 p.m., if possible.

Only two visitors per patient at any one time. This includes children.

For patients occupying private rooms, one overnight visitor may be allowed, contact the nurse or front desk for availability of sleep beds. Private rooms are assigned based on medical needs. If you are interested in a private room, please have the resource nurse informed.

NCOR - Neuro close observation room. G1 has 2 rooms consisting of 3 beds in each room. A registered nurse and a nursing assistant are assigned 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This unit is specifically for patients in need of close observation either for physiologically unstable or altered mental status patients. Due to the status of these patients, family members must keep conversation to a minimum and strictly observe visiting hours. Flowers are not allowed in our close observation room and will be stored at the nursing station until the patient is transferred to the general care environment of G1.

11 a.m.–2 p.m.; 4 p.m.–8 p.m. Only two visitors per patient at any one time. This includes children.

No visitors may spend the night with those patients roomed in NCOR or semi-private rooms. Visitors do not occupy hospital beds

Phone use

Family and friends may call the patient's room directly from the hours of 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Each room has a phone number posted on the wall opposite the patient's bed. Dial "9" to reach an outside line.

Hourly nursing rounds

The Nursing staff will round every hour to check if assistance is needed. Please do not hesitate to let us know if you need pain medication, repositioning or use of bathroom facilities. If assistance is needed before rounds, do not hesitate to use your call light at your bedside indicating your specific needs. This will allow us to respond to your request as quickly as possible. If someone does not respond within 5 minutes, please turn your call light on again.

Community and Patient Relations/Guest Services

Patient representation ensures the protection of patient rights and is designed to help patients and families regain the sense of control that is often lost in the complexity of a large hospital. Patient representatives provide advocacy, resource referral and assistance with advance directives for health care. 650-723-7167

Stanford's 232 Program

The care response program allows inpatients and their family members to call a dedicated hotline number (232) from the patient's bedside phone or a non administrative clinical unit telephone if there is a noticeable change in the patient and if the healthcare team is not present, or the team is not responding in an adequate amount of time to the patient's or family member's concern. For more information, there is a brochure in patient's admission packets or you can ask your nurse.

Infection control guidelines

Please wash your hands or use hand sanitizer before you eat and after using the bathroom. Expect our staff to clean their hands before patient care. Remind them if they forget. Cover your sneeze or cough with tissue or upper arm. Tell visitors not to come in if they are sick.

Fall prevention

Please assist staff in reminding your loved ones to use call lights when needing assistance in getting up. Staff will assess patient's fall risk upon admission and identify risk patients with yellow-extra grip socks and wrist bands. Our goal is to keep our patients safe during their hospital stay.

Family communications by telephone

To comply with HIPPA regulations for security of health information it is advised that one or two persons act as the spokesperson for the family of patient. This may be a family member or close personal friend. Selection of a password is recommended to be used when calling to obtain protected health information by phone. This password can be used on any unit and during entire hospital stay.

The staff will verify with the patient that communication is permitted and appropriate with selected persons involved in care. We suggest something easy to remember for password selection (i.e. Pet’s name, vacation location.) Spokesperson will be asked to verify the password, month and date of birth before releasing any protected health information to a family member.

TV/Internet access

There is a skylight TV with on demand movies in all rooms.

Wireless internet access and keyboards are available. The staff will assist you with setup.

Food

Market Square Cafeteria is located on the first floor of the medical center and is open 7 a.m.–midnight.

Mrs. Fields/Starbucks, located at the back of the cafeteria, is open 7 a.m.–midnight, Monday through Friday.

Parking

Parking is free for the first 45 minutes.

Daily parking permits are available at parking garage.

Weekly parking permits are available from hospital security on the ground floor. For more information call 650-723-7222 or call Parking Services at 650-498-6290.

Free Shuttle services are available 7 days a week. You can also pick up a schedule at the unit front desk or at the hospital information desk at the front entrance.

For schedule or information on available lines call 650-723-9362 or online at
http://transportation.stanford.edu/marguerite/MargueriteSched.shtml.

Local accommodations

The unit secretary can print you a copy of local listings or you can access it online at: http://www.stanford.edu/dept/rde/chs/general/hotel.html.

Discharge

Our goal is patient discharge at 11 a.m.–noon. If you need to leave earlier than this time, please notify the nurse the night before so that arrangements can be made ahead of time.

Useful patient information

Please do not hesitate to contact nurses for needs which may include the following:

Interpreter services:

Chaplain/spiritual services: 650-723-5101
Massage services: 650-498-3333

Unit phone number: 650-723-7136

G1 Management Staff:

Julie Tisnado: MSN RN CNRN Patient Care Manager.

Joy Ryan: BSN RN CNRN Assistant Patient Care Manager, 7 a.m.–3 p.m. shift

Cynthia Basa: BSN RN CNRN Assistant Patient Care Manager, 3 p.m.–11 p.m. shift

Victor Tamayo: BSN RN CNRN Assistant Patient Care Manager, 11 p.m.–7 a.m. shift

The staff of G1 is committed to providing you with excellent service to make your hospital stay as pleasant as possible. please let us know if there is anything we can do to assist you during your stay.

Thank you from the G1 staff.