Questions and Answers for the Media

Q: How do I contact media relations for information about a news release or to request help?

A: Reporters and editors may call the Southwest Healthcare Media Relations office at 951-600-4347. After working hours, please call the House Supervisor at 951- 677-1111, who will put you in touch with a media expert.

You may also email questions and requests to Brian.Connors@uhsinc.com.

Q: How do I arrange to cover a story or to interview a doctor or patient?

A: The  Southwest Healthcare media relations department provides assistance to news reporters, photographers and video crews who wish to arrange phone or in-person interviews with physicians, scientists, staff and patients. You will find that our assistance, whether arranging a simple phone conversation or an elaborate video shoot, makes the interaction smoother for all involved. We also can request physicians to assist you in meeting a story deadline. In order to protect patient confidentiality, our assistance and presence with a hospital representative is mandatory for any visits by members of the media to Southwest Healthcare Inland Valley Hospital and Southwest Healthcare Rancho Springs Hospital.

Patients who will be interviewed on video or photographed within a Southwest Healthcare facility must sign a HIPAA media release form, available from our Marketing Department. Please call us at 951-600-4347 to arrange interviews, visits or patient interactions. Please remember that we always consider the patient’s health, privacy and protection and the hospital’s protection of staff and patients when reviewing requests.

Q: How can I obtain a condition report on a patient?

A: Due to patient confidentiality requirements, the Southwest Healthcare media team is available to provide the media with a one-word condition report on current patients involved in accidents, fires, and other news events, and only when instructed by the patient or their family. Additional information on those patients and any information on other patients is released only as permitted by patients and their families and when deemed appropriate by the Medical Centers’ administration.