For The Media

The Public Relations & Marketing Department at Sturdy Memorial Hospital welcomes the opportunity to work with journalists on health care topics. Staff members are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to respond quickly and appropriately to media inquiries.

Sturdy complies with federal and state laws and regulations to safeguard our patients' privacy and confidentiality. In order to protect patients' privacy, we provide information in accordance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Please refer to our Notice of Privacy Practices.

To further safeguard patients' privacy, all reporters, with or without cameras, must be accompanied by a member of the Public Relations staff while on Sturdy's property. We may deny any media representative's access to a patient if it is determined that the presence of the photographers or reporters would aggravate the patient's condition, interfere with patient care, or jeopardize the privacy of other patients. Release of information about patient care as well as photographs and videos must be authorized by the patient, or the patient's parent or guardian.

Additionally, no Sturdy employee, medical staff, or volunteer is permitted to respond to media requests about the organization, patients, or staff, without authorization from the Public Relations & Marketing Department.