Prepare for a planned hospital admission
Prepare for a planned hospital admission
A planned hospital admission may be for surgery, a procedure, testing, direct inpatient treatment, or another scheduled stay at Alchemilla Hospital, Brookhaven Hospital, or another Silent Hill Health facility. Preparing ahead can make check-in smoother, reduce delays, and help the care team keep you safe.
This article explains what to bring, how to confirm your arrival details, what to expect during check-in, how to handle medication and fasting instructions, and how to prepare for discharge before you arrive. For general visit preparation, you can also review What to bring to your appointment.
Important: If you develop severe, sudden, or unsafe symptoms before your planned admission, do not wait for the scheduled visit. Call 911, go to Alchemilla Hospital’s emergency department, or review when to go to the emergency department instead of using the portal.
Executive summary
- Confirm your report time, hospital entrance, check-in location, and admission type in the patient portal before the day of admission.
- Complete any pre-admission tasks, forms, uploads, questionnaires, or consent steps before arrival. If you need help with forms, see Complete pre-visit forms and upload documents.
- Bring photo ID, insurance information, an up-to-date medication list, and any advance directive or legal documents you want the hospital to review.
- Follow all pre-admission instructions exactly, especially eating and drinking restrictions, medication holds, showering, and required testing.
- Leave valuables, weapons, restricted substances, and unapproved items at home. Bring only essential personal items and approved medical devices.
- Arrange transportation, caregiver support, and likely discharge needs before you arrive, especially if you expect same-day surgery or limited mobility after discharge.
Complete this pre-admission checklist
Use this checklist before a planned admission, surgery, or procedure. If your care team gives you instructions that differ from this article, follow the care team’s instructions.
- Sign in to your Silent Hill Health patient portal and open Upcoming Visits, Hospital Visits & Admissions, or your scheduled procedure details.
- Confirm the date, report time, facility, entrance, check-in location, and whether the visit is same-day surgery, observation, or planned inpatient admission.
- Review all portal messages, admission tasks, and pre-admission forms. Complete eCheck-in, consent, questionnaires, or document uploads before arrival when available.
- Update your medication list, allergies, emergency contact, and preferred support person in the portal if those fields are available.
- Write down your medication instructions, including what to take, what to hold, and when to stop eating or drinking.
- Gather your photo ID, insurance card, advance directive, glasses, hearing aids, dentures, mobility aids, and any approved medical device such as a CPAP, inhaler, or brace.
- Arrange parking, transportation, and a responsible adult if you may not be allowed to drive after your visit.
- Call the hospital or ordering clinic if you do not see admission details, do not understand your medication or fasting instructions, or become sick before admission.
If your planned stay is connected to Alchemilla outpatient care, review Prepare for an Alchemilla Hospital outpatient visit. If it is connected to Brookhaven care, review Prepare for a Brookhaven behavioral health visit.
What to bring and what not to bring
Bring only what you need for safe care, check-in, communication, and discharge. Planned stays at Silent Hill Health facilities may include registration review, belongings screening, and unit-specific storage rules.
| Category | Bring | Do not bring |
|---|---|---|
| Identity and coverage | Photo ID, insurance card, admission paperwork, referral, authorization, or portal confirmation if requested | Expired or incomplete paperwork if updated versions are available |
| Medications and devices | Written medication list, inhaler, CPAP or BiPAP, hearing aids, glasses, dentures, prosthetics, mobility aids, and allowed chargers | Routine prescription bottles unless your care team specifically told you to bring them |
| Clothing and comfort | Loose clothing, flat shoes, robe or slippers if appropriate, and small toiletry items for overnight stays | Large luggage, bulky items, strong fragrances, or anything your unit cannot store safely |
| Money and valuables | A small amount of cash only if necessary | Jewelry, large sums of cash, expensive electronics, or irreplaceable personal items |
| Restricted or unsafe items | Only items your care team has approved | Weapons, alcohol, illicit substances, unapproved food, tobacco or vaping products where prohibited, and items restricted by unit safety policy |
Important: Brookhaven Hospital and other safety-sensitive units may limit belongings more strictly than general medical units. Confirm packing rules before arrival.
Arrival time and check-in
Your specific report time controls. Planned procedures usually require extra time before treatment for registration, identity checks, nursing review, anesthesia or provider review, and any last-minute testing.
Before you leave home:
- Confirm the facility, parking area, entrance, and check-in desk in the portal or admission message.
- Leave extra time for traffic, fog, road closures, parking, or finding the correct building.
- Keep your support person reachable by phone.
- If you use medical transportation, confirm both drop-off and return arrangements.
- Bring only the items the unit can safely store.
What may happen when you arrive:
- Registration staff may confirm your name, date of birth, procedure or admission reason, address, and insurance information.
- You may receive a wristband or other patient identification.
- Nursing staff may ask when you last ate, drank, or took medications.
- You may be asked to change into a gown or secure personal items.
- For surgical admissions, you may go to a pre-op area for vitals, an IV, specimen collection, and team review.
- For direct inpatient admissions, room placement may follow registration and bed review rather than happening before you arrive.
If your planned admission changes into an emergency evaluation because symptoms worsen before or during arrival, staff may redirect you through Alchemilla emergency care. For that process, see Check in for emergency care at Alchemilla Hospital.
Medications and pre-admission instructions
Follow your surgeon, procedural team, prescriber, or anesthesia team’s instructions exactly. Do not assume your usual home medication routine is safe on the day of admission.
| Instruction type | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| NPO or fasting instructions | You may need to stop eating and drinking for a period of time before anesthesia or sedation. Some patients may be allowed clear liquids for part of that window, but only if instructed. |
| Medication holds | You may be told to stop or change certain medicines before admission, such as blood thinners, diabetes medicines, weight-loss injections, herbal supplements, or anti-inflammatory medicines. |
| Morning medications | Some medicines may still need to be taken with a small sip of water. Others must be held. Follow the written instructions you were given. |
| Pre-admission testing or preparation | You may need lab work, an ECG, imaging, urinalysis, symptom screening, antiseptic showering, bowel prep, or another pre-op task before you arrive. If testing still needs to be scheduled, see Schedule lab work, imaging, or diagnostic testing. |
Use an up-to-date written medication list that includes the medicine name, dose, how often you take it, why you take it, and when you last took it. Unless your team specifically tells you otherwise, bring the list rather than the bottles.
Do not stop medications on your own. If you take anticoagulants, insulin, diabetes medicines, seizure medicines, steroids, transplant medicines, or heart medicines and your instructions are unclear, call the hospital or prescriber before admission.
Documents and important information
Bring or confirm the documents and information the hospital may need at admission:
- Photo ID for identity verification
- Insurance card or coverage details
- Medication list, allergy list, and pharmacy contact information
- Advance directive, living will, health care proxy, or power of attorney for health care, if you have one
- Emergency contact and support person information
- Any admission letters, scheduling instructions, authorization details, or pre-admission testing paperwork
If outside records are needed before your planned stay, staff may ask you to upload documents through the portal or submit a release form. If your planned admission depends on a specialist review, see Schedule a specialist referral appointment for the types of records that may be requested before scheduling.
Caregivers, visitors, and support persons
Before admission, decide who should receive updates, help with discharge, bring belongings home, or support you during check-in. If you want someone involved in care discussions, make sure staff know who that person is.
Good information to have ready:
- Support person’s full name and phone number
- Whether that person is your emergency contact or legal representative
- Whether they are picking you up after same-day surgery
- Whether they will help manage medications, mobility, meals, or home care after discharge
- Whether they need communication access or accommodations of their own
Visitor access varies by unit, procedure, and infection-control needs. Same-day surgery areas may allow a support person to stay in the waiting area and sometimes in pre-op or recovery depending on space and clinical needs. Planned inpatient units may have different visiting hours and overnight stay rules.
Screening, infection control, and accessibility
Hospitals may screen patients and visitors for symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, or recent infectious exposure. If you arrive with active symptoms, you may be asked to wear a mask, follow isolation instructions, or speak with the care team before a non-urgent admission proceeds.
| Need | What to request before arrival |
|---|---|
| Interpreter or language assistance | Tell the hospital if you need spoken-language interpretation, translated documents, or other communication help. |
| Hearing, vision, or communication support | Request ASL interpretation, captioning, large print, assistive listening, or another communication aid. |
| Mobility support | Ask about wheelchair assistance, transfer help, accessible parking, or arrival support from the entrance to the unit. |
| Disability-related support person | Let the hospital know if you need someone physically present as an accommodation or for safe communication. |
Same-day surgery and inpatient timing
Not every hospital visit becomes an inpatient stay. Your planned admission may be one of several types, and the timing and discharge expectations are different for each one.
| Visit type | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Same-day surgery or outpatient procedure | You arrive early, recover after the procedure, and usually go home the same day if it is safe. You may need a responsible adult to take you home. |
| Observation | You may stay longer for monitoring, tests, or recovery while the care team decides whether discharge or admission is safer. |
| Inpatient admission | A doctor writes an admission order and you are admitted for hospital care, usually with one or more overnight stays, monitoring, treatment, and discharge planning. |
If you are admitted after emergency care instead of a planned check-in, your timeline may look different. Review What to do after receiving emergency care in Silent Hill for post-emergency discharge and follow-up steps.
Prepare for discharge before you arrive
Discharge planning often starts before admission, not after. Thinking ahead can reduce last-minute delays when you are ready to leave.
Prepare for questions about:
- Who is driving you home or receiving discharge instructions
- Where you will recover after discharge
- Whether you will need help with stairs, meals, bathing, or medications
- Whether you may need home health, rehab, skilled nursing, oxygen, wound care, or medical equipment
- Which pharmacy should receive discharge prescriptions
If you expect mobility limitations, complicated wound care, or trouble getting home safely, tell the hospital before admission if possible. Hospital follow-up alerts may come from a department you do not immediately recognize, so it may help to review Understand hospital follow-up appointment notifications.
When to contact the hospital
Contact the hospital, surgical clinic, or admission team before your visit if any of the following apply:
- You still do not have a report time, entrance, or check-in location
- Your admission does not appear in the patient portal
- You do not understand your fasting, bowel prep, showering, or medication instructions
- You developed a fever, cough, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, or another new illness
- You may be pregnant, have sleep apnea, or need help using a CPAP, inhaler, oxygen, or mobility device
- You need an interpreter, ASL support, communication assistance, or a support person as an accommodation
- You no longer have transportation or caregiver support for discharge
- You think the admission type, facility, or unit listed in the portal is wrong
If you are using the portal, review Upcoming Visits, Messages, Pre-Admission Tasks, and Hospital Visits & Admissions before you call. Keep your medical record number, admission date, and procedure name nearby if available.
FAQ
How early should I arrive for a planned admission?
Follow the exact report time in your instructions. Same-day surgery and procedural visits usually require extra time for registration and preparation, but your own timing may be different.
Can I eat or drink before I come in?
Only as instructed by your care team. Some patients must stop eating and drinking after midnight, while others may be allowed certain clear liquids for part of the pre-op window. If you are unsure, call before arrival.
Should I bring my prescription bottles?
Usually no. Most hospital teams prefer a current medication list unless they specifically tell you to bring the bottles. If you do bring medications to the hospital, tell staff right away.
Can my caregiver stay with me?
Visitor access depends on the unit, procedure, available space, and infection-control rules. If your caregiver is also your legal representative, discharge contact, or disability-related support person, tell the hospital before arrival.
What if my admission details do not appear in the portal?
Check Messages and Upcoming Visits first. If the admission, report time, or instructions still do not appear, contact the hospital or ordering clinic before the day of admission. If the missing item is a form or upload task, review Complete pre-visit forms and upload documents.
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