Patient and Visitors Guide
Download a PDF version of our Patient and Visitors Guide, which has comprehensive information about our Medical Center, its facilities and offerings, along with information about patient privacy laws, living wills and powers of attorney.
Patient and Visitors Guide in English
Patient and Visitors Guide in Spanish
Patient & Family FAQs
What should I bring with me to the hospital?
To ensure that the admission process goes smoothly, please bring the following:
- Photo Identification such as driver’s license, state-issued ID card, passport
- Insurance information, including cards, pre-certification documentation and other documentation required by your insurer
- Copy of advanced directive or living will
- Complete list of medications that you are currently taking, both prescription and over the counter
- Any reports your physician gave you to bring to the hospital
- A robe, slippers and sleepwear
- Preferred toiletries such as toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, soap, lotion
- Cell phone, books, magazines, portable music system – don’t forget your chargers!
- Personal items such as eyeglasses, dentures, hearing aids
Please let us know if you wear assistive items and we will help secure them. Upon admission, ask for a denture container if you need one. Please keep such items in your bedside table drawer to avoid damage or loss. Do not wrap personal belongings in tissue or leave them on your bed, food tray or near the trash can. If an item is lost or missing, please notify a member of your Care Team immediately.
What should I NOT bring to the hospital?
Please leave valuables such as cash, credit cards, jewelry, wedding rings at home. Self Regional Healthcare cannot accept responsibility for lost or damaged personal items kept in your room. If you do bring a valuable item, it should be deposited in the hospital safe. Please let your Care Team know if you have items that need to be stored.
How do I get belongings to a patient who has been admitted to the hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic?
- Belongings can be brought to Entrance A between the hours of 8 am and 5 pm
- Security will collect and document the items received and place in a patient belonging bag
- Belongings will be delivered to the patient
- Please note money, credit cards, medications, tobacco products/accessories, jewelry will NOT be accepted
Patient/Family Communication Tips
At Self Regional, family members are considered part of the care team. The benefits of family presence for patients include reduced anxiety, improved outcomes, reduced length of stay, better discharge planning and fewer readmissions. Unfortunately, the current COVID-19 crisis has led to restricted visitation. Therefore, it is important that now more than ever we be creative in how we partner with families in the care of their loved ones.
What is the most effective way to manage communication with family?
- To allow our clinical staff to stay focused on providing the best possible patient care, we ask that patients/family members select one family member or support person who will be the hospital’s point of contact who will then share information with the rest of the family. In addition to obtaining the selected person’s name and contact number, a code word will be established to ensure patient privacy. The code word must be provided for a family member to receive information if calling in for an update.
- It is suggested that the family compile questions and journal to maximize communication efficiency
How often should the patient’s contact person expect to be updated?
- Communication needs of the patient will be assessed at arrival/admission and reassessed daily to determine whether the patient will manage communication with family or wishes to have staff provide updates to the family point of contact
- Our goal for Emergency Care Center patients who need staff to communicate is to provide updates to the family/support person every 2 hours or when there is a change in condition or key decision in patient’s plan of care, including admission or discharge
- For inpatients who need staff to communicate with family, our goal is to provide updates at least once daily and also when there is a change in condition or patient is being relocated to another unit
How can patient and family stay connected during restricted visitation?
- Use technology to stay connected. Use personal devices or request use of a Self Regional iPad to contact family through phone calls, FaceTime, Duo or other options. iPads are available on each unit.
- Patients are encouraged to include family in important conversations with our Care Team, including during physician rounds
- Play interactive online games with patient to help pass the time
- Include a few pictures with patient’s belongings
- Complete and return the “Get to know me….” sheet to better acquaint staff with the patient (include link to form)
Is Wireless Internet available?
Yes – we are pleased to provide free wireless access to patients and guests.
How do I get connected to the internet?
- Turn on your wireless device
- Select or enter “selfguest” in the ID window
- Open your Internet browser
- The Self Regional Wireless Guest Access screen should appear
- Read the information on the Guest Access screen
- Choose “Accept” to continue
Are Interpreter & Translation Services available?
Yes – for guests with limited English proficiency, live interpreter and phone translator services are available 24 hours a day. Deaf or hearing-impaired assistance is provided free of charge through a video-relay system and/or TDD phones.
What do I need to do to prepare for discharge?
We encourage you to talk with your care team as early as possible about how you can get ready to leave the hospital and include a family member in these discussions. You will receive specific discharge instructions, but it is helpful to discuss the topics listed below.
- Your medicines, what they are for and how to take them properly
- Serious signs and symptoms to look for once you get home, what to do if you see them and who to call if you have concerns
- What to expect during your recovery
- Instructions for care related to your surgery or treatment
- What you should and should not eat and drink
- Additional therapy, home care, support or equipment that may be necessary at home
- Follow-up appointments
- How doctors and staff will share information with your primary care doctors and specialists
Can I get the prescriptions I need to take home filled and delivered to my room before I leave?
Yes – there is no need to make an extra stop on the way home! Self Regional Healthcare’s Outpatient Pharmacy is a convenient way for our patients to order and refill prescriptions. If you are being discharged from the hospital, we can deliver to your room. We have competitive prices and accept most insurance plans. Please call (864) 725-4169 for more information.
Can I send you my advanced directive or living will?
Patients who have a MyChart account may simply upload their advanced directive or living will to their MyChart account at mychart.selfregional.org. Also, you may contact the Self Regional Spiritual Care Department at 725-4158 or SpiritualCare@selfregional.org, and we can assist existing hospital or SMG patients.
Discharge Planning
Leaving the hospital
As important as it is to know what to expect when a patient enters Self Regional Medical Center, it is just as essential to know what happens when he or she is ready to leave. This is a guide to the discharge planning process for caregivers. A caregiver is a person who helps someone who is ill, disabled or elderly, and can be a relative or friend.
Discharge planning
Discharge planning is a process, not a single event. Medicare defines discharge planning as “a process used to decide what a patient needs for a smooth move from one level of care to another.” As a result of that process, the discharge plan may be to send the patient to his or her own home or someone else’s, a rehabilitation facility, nursing home or some other place outside the hospital. Discharge from the hospital does not mean that the patient is fully recovered. It means that a physician has determined that the patient’s condition is stable and he or she does not need hospital-level care. Discharge planning is a short-term plan to get a patient out of the hospital. It is not a blueprint for the future. If you think the patient you are caring for is in need of discharge planning, let the nurse know.
Making the transition
Only a physician can authorize a hospital discharge. If the patient is unable to return home alone or if he or she needs assistance at home, the discharge planner will assist you. It could be as simple as a home health referral to a more complex need of nursing home placement.
Levels of care available
Home health
Once a physician has determined that the patient needs home health and writes a physician’s order, the discharge planner will provide to the patient or family choices for home health. Once a choice is made, the referral will be given to the selected agency. Home health can provide physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, skilled nursing services, and other services. Most insurance companies pay for home health.
Assisted living
There are several assisted livings facilities in our community. Assisted living facilities provide 24-hour care in a home-like setting. The discharge planner can provide you pamphlets from the local facilities and/or contact the facility to schedule a meeting. Facility charges are the responsibility of the patient or the patient’s family or caregivers.
Skilled nursing facility care
This is a level of care that requires the daily involvement of skilled nursing or rehabilitation. Medicare Part A pays for this care for up to 100 days in a nursing facility. Days 1-20 are covered at 100 percent. After that, the patient is responsible for approximately $124 per day for days 21-100. Then, the patient will either be responsible for the full charges or must apply for Medicaid coverage. If at anytime during these 100 days you no longer need skilled care, but you still cannot return home, your Medicare Part A will stop paying and you will be billed for the remainder of your stay unless you have Medicaid. Medicare requires that discharge planners identify placement facilities within 50 miles of the hospital, so a placement may not be made at the closest facility or at the one preferred by the patient or family.
Contact us
For information on Self Regional’s discharge planning, please call 864-725-4680