BEFORE YOUR ARRIVAL AND CHECKING IN

Admitting Procedures
The Admitting Office is open from 6:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., seven days-a-week, and is conveniently located on the lobby level, next to the Emergency Room.

Your physician will arrange the date of your admission, and all information collected at the time of admission will be kept in the strictest confidence. Please check with your physician to receive any special instructions about your admission. You should bring any written orders or papers from your doctor and your insurance information with you to the hospital.

The Admitting Office offers a pre-registration process from several days to several months in advance. Please contact them for further information.

We offer both private and semi-private rooms, however, room assignments are made according to room availability and your medical and nursing needs. Your best interests are always our concern and we strive to make your stay as comfortable as possible.

Medications
Please do not bring medicines from home unless authorized by your physician, as all medications will be issued through the hospital Pharmacy. If you were an emergency admission and have medications with you, please give them to a family member to take home.

Valuables
While you are a patient at St. Anthony Community Hospital, we ask that you leave any large sums of money, jewelry or other valuables at home. Otherwise, ask your nurse to have them placed in the hospital safe, for which you will receive a receipt. The hospital cannot be responsible for valuable items left at your bedside.

You may pick up your valuables from the cashier located next to the Admitting Office on the main floor between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

FOR YOUR COMFORT & CONVENIENCE

Spiritual Comfort
The chapel, located in the administrative wing, is always open for patients, friends and family and is in the administrative wing. If you are a patient and would like to visit the chapel, please ask the nursing staff. All are welcome.

Cafeteria
Our cafeteria welcomes visitors to dine and relax. It is on the main floor next to the lobby and the elevators and is open seven days a week during the following hours: 

Vending machines in the cafeteria are available 24 hours-a-day for your convenience.

Mail & Flowers
Mail and flowers will be brought to your room daily. Flowers are not permitted in the ICU / CCU.

After discharge, your mail will be forwarded to your home address unless you notify the information desk of a different forwarding address. You may call the information desk, extension 5231, between 10:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. daily.

Gift Shop
In our Gift Shop, in the main lobby directly behind the switchboard, you and your visitors may purchase gifts, reading material, snacks, flowers, cards and toiletries. Volunteers cannot always bring the gift cart around, so if you need an article, you may call extension 5204 and someone will deliver it to you.

Library
St. Anthony's volunteers offer patients a variety of reading materials, including current magazines, hard and soft cover books and large print publications. If you would like the library cart to come to your room, please contact the Volunteer Information Desk, extension 5231.

Newspapers
You may order the Times Herald Record through our Volunteer Services, extension 5231. The weekly newspapers, The Warwick Advertiser, the Warwick Valley Dispatch and the Greenwood Lake West Milford News, are delivered every Wednesday and are complimentary for our patients.

Notary Public
A notary public is available between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. weekdays. Call Admitting, extension 5188, for more information.

Telephone
If you are on the Medical/Surgical, Pediatric or Maternity unit, you may have your own telephone. Due to the need for space for important medical equipment you will not have a personal phone in the ICU. Patient telephone service is available.

To make a local call: dial 7 + 1 (wait for dial tone) + 7 digit telephone number.
To make a long distance call (collect or billed to your home number) dial 7 + 1 (wait for dial tone) + 0 + area code + 7 digit number and an outside operator will assist you.
To call hospital operator: Dial "0".

Television
Color television is available through the hospital. Ask your nurse for more information about having your television connected.

The television sets in the hospital were manufactured especially for hospital use. They are equipped with a remote control, an under-pillow speaker and an isolation power transformer that eliminates shock hazards. For your safety, personal TV sets and all other electrical appliances (hair dryers, razors, fans) are prohibited.

MEALTIME

Dietary Meals
The Dietary Department is dedicated to preparing nutritious and tasty meals for you. Your diet, like your medication and treatment, is prescribed by your physician. If you are on a modified diet, certain food items such as seasonings and spices may be restricted.

If you have any problems which make it difficult for you to eat or if you have any nutritional concerns, ask your nurse to call a hospitality hostess.

On the first day of your stay, the Dietary Department will select a menu for you. During the remainder of your stay, you may choose your meals from a menu. Each morning the hotess will distribute a menu with selections for the following day. Please try to complete your menu by 11:00 a.m. and a hostess will pick it up. If you need help completing your menu, our Dietary Department will be happy to help you. Special requests will be honored to the best of our ability within your dietary restrictions. Please ask visitors not to bring food to you without your doctor's permission or until your charge nurse is notified.

Sometimes x-ray, laboratory tests and treatments require that your meals be delayed or missed. If timing permits, you will be served your meal after your tests are completed. Please understand that substituting food items on late trays may be necessary.

Your breakfast will be served between 8:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., lunch will be served between 12:00 p.m. and 12:30 p.m., and dinner will be served between 5:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

The Dietary Department will provide liquid diets without selective menus. If your diet changes, your choices will be followed according to the change. Otherwise, a selection will be made for you.

Snacks
Between-meal snacks are available on eachpatient care unit and may be requested at any time. Snack items include sandwiches, fruit, juice, milk and ice cream. You will be served snacks as long as they comply with the diet prescribed by your physician. If you are a diabetic, snacks are included with your meal plan. Please ask your nurse or dietary representative about a snack.

Guest Trays
Visitors may purchase meals or snacks in the cafeteria and bring them to your room if you would like to eat a meal together.

VISITOR HOURS
We know how important visitors can be for a speedy recovery. Please note the following hours:

Medical/Surgical Nursing Units (First Floor):
12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Pediatrics:
12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Parents 24 hours-a-day)

Kennedy Birthing Center:
12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Fathers of Newborns may visit 24 hours a day. Children visitors, with the exception of siblings must be at least 12 years
of age.

Intensive Care:
11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; 3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.; 7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. In emergencies or special circumstances, changes to the visiting rules and times may be made at the discretion of the nursing supervisor or your doctor.
 

GOING HOME

Utilization Review
Due to St. Anthony Community Hospital's participation in the Medicare and private insurance programs, there are nurses who are in touch with your physician to review your hospitalization. Soon after your admission and periodically throughout your stay, we review your hospitalization to insure that your physician's plans for your care are being carried out and that hospitalization continues to be appropriate.

If there is a question whether you need to be hospitalized either after you are admitted or at a later review of your case, your doctor is contacted for more information or to aid us in planning for your discharge.

There are many post-hospital options available to you and we will make sure that the option you choose is appropriate for your condition.

We will notify you if there is a question about whether Medicare or Medicaid will reimburse your hospital stay, and you will have time to decide your future care.

Occasionally we review your care before you are admitted, and if there is a question about your eligibility for coverage by a third party payor we will discuss it then.

Discharge Planning
When you are admitted, our Case Management Department along with your physician will start planning your discharge so your needs can be met. When you are ready to go, your nurse will contact a patient transporter to escort you to the main entrance. On the way, you will stop at the cashier to make sure we have all the information necessary to properly handle your bill. For your safety, you will be escorted in a wheelchair. Because many other patients may also be leaving at the same time, you may have a short wait for the transporter. You will be escorted as quickly as possible.

Every patient in a hospital must receive a written discharge plan that describes, in detail, the arrangements for the health care treatments the patient may need after discharge. If you have not received these instructions, please contact your nurse before leaving.

Medical Records
St. Anthony Community Hospital will honor your request for anonymity except in cases of public record which we are required by law to report. Your medical record is confidential and is not released without your written consent unless required by law.

Your medical records are available to you through our Medical Records Department, extension 5193.

ABOUT YOUR BILL

Insurance Coverage
The Admitting Office will need to know what type of hospital insurance coverage you have. This may be Blue Cross, Medicare, Medicaid, an HMO or commercial insurance (Travelers, Prudential, etc.). Please bring your referral forms if your insurance carrier requires them.

Your Hospital Bill

For more information on hospital billing, please contact the Business Office, extension 5878, and request the packet "Understanding Your Hospital Bill."

If you have no hospitalization insurance, you and your family will be contacted before you leave the hospital to arrange for the payment of your bill.

If we estimate that a third party payor will completely cover your bill, you will receive a copy of your bill only upon your request.

If you are admitted through the Emergency Room, or if any of your tests required a contracted service, you will receive more than one bill. The hospital bill will include charges for equipment use, supplies and technical personnel or nursing staff. The contracted service or the Emergency Room physician will issue the additional bills.