Media Relations

The University of Maryland Medical System, its hospitals, physicians, employees and patients often attract the interest of local, national and international media.

The Media Relations team in UMMS Office of Communications - Public Affairs is responsible for all interactions with the news media, managing requests from outlets ranging from small town newspapers and bloggers to national magazines, websites and TV networks.  We help reporters, producers and editors find experts on particular topics, set up interviews and provide video, pictures and other materials.

We also proactively work to showcase the amazing work done at our hospitals and the exciting things going on throughout the Medical System. We work with clinical teams and patients to capture patient success stories, as well as pitch stories to the media about research results and other developments at our hospitals.

All media inquiries and any inquiry you believe may end up in the media should be referred to the Media Relations team, 410-328-8919. A member of our team is also on call 24/7 and can be reached by sending an e-mail to media@umm.edu.

Hospital Policies and Our Procedures, At a Glance:

• A member of the media relations team must accompany the media whenever they are on our premises and approve media visits prior to their arrival. If you see a TV camera or photographer in the hospital, a member of the media team should be with them or their approved escort.
• The media team works to ensure media visits create minimal disruption to patient care and hospital business. We do our best to make sure ppropriate hospital staff knows when we will be escorting the media in a particular area. Our top priority is the care and privacy of our patients.
• We obtain written HIPPA consent for patients who will be interviewed and/or photographed.
• The Media Relations team acts as the official spokespeople to the media. Per hospital policy, only members of the Communications & Public Affairs team and those individuals whom they authorize may provide information or speak to the media.
  
  Other:
• We provide media training and counsel.
• We arrange news conferences.
• We shoot video and photographs to share with media.

If the media contacts you:

Refer inquiries to the Media Relations team, 410-328-8919 or media@umm.edu (e-mail monitored 24/7). Per hospital policy, employees should not contact media or answer media questions on behalf of the organization.

Did you know?

• We handle inquiries about patient conditions. When you hear on the news that an accident victim is in "serious condition" at one of our hospitals, that information likely came from one of us, and there's a detailed protocol about what we can and cannot say.
• We have an on-site studio with 24/7 satellite capabilities for live or taped interviews with our experts on breaking medical/science news and timely health features. The studio is located on the first floor of the Bressler building near UMMC.
• At UMMC, we produce a video called "Telling the UMMC Story" featuring recent news coverage and patient letters. You can see it on the UMMC Insider (Intranet)
• We co-produce an interview segment called "Your Health" with Maryland Public Television's "Direct Connection" show. You can see UMMS physicians and other experts twice each month live on Monday nights at 7:30pm. We also put the interviews on our websites and send them out to local cable access stations. View the videos.