Cabell Huntington Hospital (CHH) understands that when a loved one is having surgery, family members want to stay connected and informed. To allow family members freedom during a loved one’s surgery, CHH is now offering a free service called MyCareText, designed to keep family members in touch with providers throughout the process.

“We understand that family members want to stay informed of their loved one’s progress while they’re in surgery. Family members often are afraid to leave the waiting room because they might miss something,” said Shirley Martin, executive director of surgical services. “This new service will allow anyone with text messaging capabilities to remain in contact with their loved one’s progress wherever they are.”

When a patient arrives in the surgery department, the receptionist will ask if any family members would like to receive updates on their progress via text messaging. A patient can list as many contacts as they feel comfortable with by providing working mobile phone numbers. The program can also be adjusted so that family members who do not speak English can receive messages in their language.

“This system is designed to allow loved ones and caregivers the opportunity to receive updates about the patient’s progress without limiting them to waiting in the hospital,” said Martin. “Each person that the patient lists will receive timely updates that will keep them informed throughout the surgery process.”

Because the system is cloud-based (housed on a website server), there is no portal to connect to or app to download. You only need to provide working mobile phone numbers to receive updates. And if you don’t have a mobile device, pagers are available to alert family members to return to the reception area to receive information.

“We still have pagers that are available to use if someone does not have a mobile device and wants to be alerted when there is information regarding their loved one,” she explained. “These only work within the hospital. So loved ones can leave the surgery area, but must remain in the hospital in order to receive alerts.”

MyCareText is a free service offered by CHH as a way to keep families connected, but according to the type of mobile phone package, text messages may incur a fee. Please check with your service provider about your data plan. Family members may opt out of the messages at any time by simply replying STOP. For more information about MyCareText, speak to the Surgery Department receptionist upon arrival.

Cabell Huntington Hospital is a 303-bed teaching hospital located in Huntington, West Virginia.