St. Mark's Medical Center

Volunteers

About Us

St. Mark’s Medical Center Volunteers, also known as the Purple Angels, has been supporting our hospital since 1957.  The Volunteer Organization is a member of the Texas Association of HealthCare Volunteers, a not-for-profit organization committed to supporting the hospital with its service, fundraisers that fund scholarships, equipment and needs of St. Mark’s Medical Center.

Volunteers welcome patients/visitors and may work directly with patients by serving beverages/snacks, delivering mail/newspapers, providing directions, escorting, and assisting patients in wheelchairs. Purple Angels also assist during health fairs, make baby caps, do light clerical duties, gift shop sales, mailings and informational packet assemblies, Emergency Room greeting/stocking/preparing rooms for the next patient, and numerous other duties.

Fundraisers are held throughout the year consisting of book fairs, jewelry shows, bake sales, and we’re implementing new ways to raise funds.  Annually, a Camp Med program is organized for young adults interested in the medical field and, semi-annually, scholarships are awarded to individuals pursuing a medical education.

Membership is open to all with an interest in community health, patient care, and hospital service.  For more information, visit St. Mark’s Medical Center Guest Relations located at the Information Desk, call the Volunteer Services Office, Neta Parker, 979.242.2207 or email n.parker@smmctx.org.

Join / Contact Us

We invite you to join men and women from all walks of life including retirees, homemakers, business professionals, and others – like you – who want to share their time and talent for the benefit of our hospital, patients, and community.

We offer many opportunities to volunteer and will make every effort to place you in an area where your abilities and creative talents shine.

For more information, visit St. Mark’s Medical Center Guest Relations located at the Information Desk, call the Volunteer Services Office, 979.242.2207 or n.parker@smmctx.org.

Camp Med

St. Mark’s Medical Center hosts an exciting, weeklong camp each summer designed to introduce high school students to careers in healthcare.  During Camp Med, students meet and interact with many different healthcare professionals.  All areas of the hospital are explored and many hands-on activities are included in the camp experience.

Enrollment is open to students entering their sophomore, junior, or senior year of high school.  Graduating seniors are also welcome to attend.  For additional information on Camp Med, or for an application, please contact:  Debby Schovajsa at debbyschovajsa@gmail.com, Helen Hays at hhays61@gmail.com, or Mary Smith, m.smith@smmctx.org.

Gift Shop

The Volunteers’ gift shop is known to many as “The Purple Angel Gift Shop.” Our merchandise is carefully selected at major gift markets such as those in Dallas and Atlanta. While we concentrate on gifts for our patients and newborn babies, we offer a wide array of gifts for everyone. Jewelry, plush animals, handbags, women’s accessories, infant and baby clothing, seasonal gifts and snacks are just a few of our offerings. The Purple Angel Gift Shop is a non-profit entity with proceeds supporting both the hospital and the Ida Reichardt Scholarship Fund. Our hours are 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. We accept telephone orders for patient gifts and most major credit cards. Our telephone number is 979.242.2203.

Welcome

St. Mark's Medical Center (SMMC) utilizes the most advanced technologies rivaling those of major cities in a comfortable environment close to home. We offer inpatient, outpatient, and emergency services with compassionate care, focusing on respect and care for the whole person.

The main SMMC telephone number is (979) 242-2200.

Donate Today

Individuals, corporations, and other foundations are an essential source of funds in our goal to improve health care for the people in the Fayette and Lee county area.  Your gift can be designated for a specific hospital program, project, service, or other specified area.  Individual donations may also be made in honor or in memory of someone.

Donations can be mailed to:  St. Mark’s Medical Center Foundation, One St. Mark’s Place, La Grange, Texas 78945.  Donors or the person/family specified by the donor will receive a letter of notification from St. Mark’s; the amount of the donation will not be revealed.  All donations made are tax-deductible pursuant to IRS guidelines. 

Scholarship

The Ida Reichardt Memorial Scholarship is named for a highly regarded and much loved nurse who worked at Fayette Memorial Hospital for many years serving in many positions. She was a guiding light for many people who wanted to enter the nursing profession, or who wanted to become more skilled. This scholarship is a memorial to her and to her dedication to students of nursing. This scholarship is funded through St. Mark’s Volunteers and donations from the public.

Scholarship Conditions:

• Must be a resident of Fayette or Lee County, or an employee of St. Mark's Medical Center
• Must be studying nursing for a nursing career
• Have a GPA of 3.0 or better
• Submit application to the scholarship committee by April 1st or November 1st  for the following school term.  Including:
• A copy of your acceptance letter from the Texas institution where you have been accepted.  This may be sent later, if not available at the time of the initial application.
• A copy of your current academic records, unless you have been in the workplace three years (3) or more. An official transcript may be submitted later.

If an Award is granted:

• All requested records must be received by June 30th for the fall term, and by January 30th for the spring term, or the scholarship will not be awarded. (letter of acceptance and official transcript)
• Maintain a 3.0 GPA
• Provide the committee with a copy of each semester’s grades within 30 days following end of term
• Notify committee in writing of any change in major area of study
• If you wish to apply for a scholarship for the next term, complete a Scholarship Renewal Form by the deadline stated above. You must include a transcript or list of “classes in progress”

The St. Mark’s Medical Center Volunteers offer an unspecified number of scholarships to qualified applicants who are studying for a nursing career.  These awards are granted based on, but not limited to, financial need, academic record, attitude and initiative.  All awards will be sent directly to the college or school attended by the recipient.  Decisions of the committee are final.

Downloads

• Ida Reichardt Memorial Scholarship Fund - Scholarship Application
• Ida Reichardt Memorial Scholarship Fund - Scholarship Renewal Application

News

Welcome to the SMMCblog where you will find all the latest news about St. Mark's Medical Center! News about doctors, services, health initiatives, and community outreach will all be here. Check in regularly for the latest updates.

Foundation Board

The St. Mark's Medical Center Foundation is honored to have leaders from around the community serving on its Board of Directors. Learn more about the Foundation board members by clicking on their profiles below.

Foundation

The mission of the St. Mark’s Medical Center Foundation is to ensure that St. Mark’s Medical Center remains one of the most modern rural medical centers in the country. The Foundation has raised over $6 million to help construct St. Mark’s Medical Center and provide it with the most modern equipment available.

The St. Mark’s Medical Center continues to provide “compassionate care for life” to all of its patients by continuing to add qualified physicians and making more services available to the community. However, like all not-for-profit hospitals, St. Mark’s Medical Center relies on donations to assist with rising overhead costs and the purchase of new equipment. Medicare and Medicaid cuts, insurance-managed care changes in allowed reimbursement amounts and patients without health insurance have taken their toll on hospitals, especially rural facilities such as St. Mark’s Medical Center.

Your support of the St. Mark’s Medical Center Foundation will ensure that St. Mark’s Medical Center has the resources it needs to continue to provide top quality healthcare to you and your family.

All donations to the St. Mark’s Medical Center Foundation, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, are fully tax deductible (per IRS guidelines). The Foundation welcomes contributions by cash, check or credit card (Visa and Mastercard currently accepted). However, if you are unable to make a financial contribution at this time, there are a wide range of other opportunities which will allow you to help the Foundation. Please contact the Foundation with any questions or to make your contribution today!

Employment

Downloads:

• Employees Benefits Plan
• Employment Application

Applications may be picked up between the hours of 8am - 6pm, Monday thru Friday, from the Guest Information Desk located in the main lobby of the hospital.

Human Resource Office

Phone: 979-242-2220

Fax:  979-242-2223

St. Mark's Medical Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

FT = Full-time | PT = Part-time | PRN = As Needed

Please note: Only those applicants being considered for a position will be contacted.

Services

St. Mark's Medical Center offers a variety of services, meeting the needs of the rural communities surrounding it while also matching some service offerings of larger metropolitan medical centers—but without the hastle.

Learn more about the various services & departments at St. Mark's Medical Center by using the navigation to the left.

Doctors

Learn more about the many talented doctors by viewing their profiles below.

Board of Directors

The board of directors is a group of professionals who are committed to the community and the hospital.  They serve 3-year terms and provide excellent leadership and many hours of service each year without compensation. Current board members include:

For Patients & Visitors

• Crossroads Café: There's great food service onsite at St. Mark's Medical Center, just inside the front entrance of the hospital. Hours of operation are posted outside the Café along with daily menus. Visitors may select from hot and cold menus for dine-in or take out.
• Chapel and Healing Garden: St. Mark's Medical Center believes that along with the best of medical care, religious faith plays a role in every patient's life. That's the reason a chapel is open around the clock, offering sanctuary for anyone who cares to visit it. Many of the rooms and hallways in the hospital look out on the carefully designed garden in the center of the facility. With a waterfall and benches placed throughout the area, the healing garden offers a quiet, welcoming respite.
• Tobacco-Free Environment: St. Mark's Medical Center is a tobacco-free environment – both inside and outside. That means no smoking—or dipping—anywhere on the 74-acre site. Like many leading hospitals nationwide, St. Mark's Medical Center is prohibiting the use of tobacco products at its facility in an effort to emphasize wellness among patients and healthcare professionals.
• Vending Machines: Beverage and snack vending machines are available all hours and are located at:
  • Just outside the Crossroads Café
  • Emergency Department
  • Waiting Room near the patient nurse's station (beverages only)
  • Medical Office Building
• Wireless Internet: Patients and their friends and family can use their wireless-enabled devices throughout St. Mark's Medical Center.
• Admissions: Please stop at the Information Desk just inside the front entrance. They will direct you, as necessary for your needs. Our friendly, professional staff will assist you by obtaining information, including your insurance and identification cards, and preparing consent and acknowledgement forms for your signature. Your privacy is protected according to HIPAA standards.
• Nutrition Services: Nutrition is essential to a quick and speedy recovery. Your physician will prescribe a diet to meet your specific health care needs. Our nutrition services staff will prepare your meals based on your preferences through selective menus. All patients with special diets will receive educational materials explaining restrictions that apply. A Registered Dietitian is available for nutritional counseling should you have any questions concerning your prescribed meals.
• Case Management (formerly Social Services): The licensed social worker at St. Mark's Medical Center is a key member of our healthcare team, working with patients and their families to help manage the complexities of a hospital stay and the coordination of care. With years of experience, our social worker is committed to assisting family members, serving as an advocate, and facilitating communication during and after the hospital stay. Services include completion of psychosocial assessments, providing support to help patients and families cope with the emotional stresses of illness and a hospitalization, assistance with discharge planning to ensure continuity of care and providing referrals to community services and resources.
• Payment: Payment is expected at the time of service. We accept major credit cards, checks, money orders and cash. If you are uninsured or ineligible for Medicaid and cannot pay your entire estimated bill, we will work with you to set up monthly payment arrangements.
• Pastoral Care: We recognize the importance of treating the whole patient including spiritual needs and invite your personal clergy to be part of your health care team. Please contact your nurse for assistance.
• Visiting Hours:
  • General Visitation (Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.)
    Two (2) visitors per patient with recommendations to limit visit to 30 minutes
    Children may visit provided they are free of any communicable disease, are quiet and orderly, and will be supervised by a responsible adult.
  • Overnight Visitation:
    An overnight visitor is allowed to stay in a private room with a patient if the patient's condition warrants.
    Patients under the age of 18 must have a parent or adult family member remain overnight in the room.
  • Birthing Center Visitation (Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.)
    Please see Birthing Center staff for additional visitation procedures
  • Surgical Services Visitation
    Family and friends shall remain in the Waiting Room

Location

Address

One St. Mark's Place
La Grange, Texas 78945

Map

Use the links below to find maps to St. Mark's from other online mapping services:

• Yahoo Maps
• Bing Maps
• Mapquest
• Google Maps (provider of above-embedded map)

About Us

St. Mark’s Medical Center isn’t just convenient, it’s a place for advanced medical care that just happens to be close to home.  St. Mark’s has the expertise and resources for you and your family. Working together, our goal is to provide members of the community with “Advanced Hometown Healthcare.”

St. Mark’s is a hospital designed to change the way you think about hospitals. From advanced technologies that rival those of major metropolitan institutions, to a level of service surpassing that of any hospital anywhere, we are making “Advanced Hometown Healthcare” the center of everything we do. Our guiding principles focus on respect and care for the whole person, with our beliefs centered on the Golden Rule as the standard by which we treat every patient.

At St. Mark's Medical Center, we are determined to build an unrivaled reputation for our outstanding service and delivery of care. We offer advanced services and programs including a serene birthing center, specialty clinics, comprehensive public health services and specialized nutrition programs for women, infants and children. Best of all, St. Mark’s brings all of this within reach, so you don’t have to travel to get the care you need. St. Mark’s is a member of the Community Hospital Corporation (CHC) family of hospitals.

About Community Hospital Corporation

CHC is a Texas not-for-profit company whose sole mission is to help not-for-profit hospitals, such as St. Mark’s Medical Center, remain community-operated and governed. CHC owns and manages hospitals throughout the country. Based in Plano, Texas, the organization provides the resources and experience community hospitals need to improve quality outcomes, patient satisfaction and financial performance. For more information about CHC, please visit the website at www.communityhospitalcorp.com.

Registration and Billing

Pre-registration

Once you are scheduled for either an outpatient procedure or an inpatient admission, you will be contacted by a representative from our Admissions Department. The purpose of this call is to verify your demographic and insurance information Some procedures require insurance pre-authorization, which needs to be completed before your scheduled procedure. If pre-registration is not done, our insurance verifiers cannot verify your insurance or pre-authorize, if necessary. If you are scheduled for surgery, you will receive an additional call from a nurse to discuss your procedure prior to your scheduled appointment.

Maternity Pre-registration

All patients are required to pre-register before your expected due date for delivery. You may pick up a pre-registration form from your physician’s office, at the time of a St. Mark’s Medical Center prenatal tour, or at Admissions in the St. Mark's main lobby. Please fill out the form completely and call us at 979.242.2124 if you have any questions.

Most insurance plans require pre-authorization for your admission for the delivery of your baby. Check with your employer’s benefits office or insurance company customer service representative to make sure that you have met their notification requirements.

Save time and get paperwork out of the way. You may download, print and fill out the St. Mark’s Medical Center pre-registration form and mail it to:

St. Mark's Medical Center
ATTN: Registration
One St. Mark's Place
La Grange, Texas 78945

Or, you may fax it to 979-242-2139. Instructions for completing the form can be found here.

Contact

By Phone

Main Number	(979) 242-2200
Administration	(979) 242-2100
Birthing Center	(979) 242-2199
Billing/Insurance	(979) 242-2132
Cardiac Rehabilitation	(979) 242-2151
Case Management (formerly Social Services)	(979) 242-2326
Day Surgery Scheduling	(979) 242-2343
Emergency Services	(979) 242-2333
Foundation	(979) 242-2201
Gift Shop	(979) 242-2203
Health Information Management (formerly Medical Records)	(979) 242-2141
Imaging (includes mammography, ultrasound, x-ray)	(979) 242-2230
Laboratory	(979) 242-2181
Patient Account Services	(979) 242-2129
Patient Advocate	(979) 242-2207
Physical Therapy (Inpatient)	(979) 242-2161
Physical Therapy (Outpatient)	(979) 242-2401
Registration	(979) 242-2125
Surgery	(979) 242-2260
Volunteer Services	(979) 242-2207

By Fax

(979) 242-2139

By Email

General inquiries and feedback can be sent to info@smmctx.org.

By Mail

One St. Mark's Place
La Grange, Texas 78945

Click here for maps and directions to St. Mark's Medical Center.