Getting Settled

Your admission to the hospital involves speaking with a staff member about your personal information. Upon your arrival, if you were not able to meet with your representative, you may be visited in your room to acquire this information. The obtaining of accurate registration information will allow for quick and accurate processing of your hospital claim or allow us to refer your case to a financial counselor if you do not have medical insurance.

What to Bring for Admission:

• Simple toiletries, storage cases for dentures, contact lenses, eyeglasses, and hearing aids.
• Cane, crutches, or walker, as needed.
• Telephone calling card if you will be making long distance calls (toll calls cannot be charged to your hospital bill).
• A list of medications you are taking. You are encouraged to leave medications at home unless your physician has directed you to bring them. If you have outpatient prescription coverage, bring the insurance information with you.

For identification purposes, it is preferred that you label all items you bring with you.

As a patient, you have certain rights and responsibilities, which are detailed in the information packet given to you at admission. If you have a concern or unmet need, voicing your concern directly to your physician, nurse or the nurse manager, in most cases, resolves the issue quickly and effectively. If you feel your issue requires more attention or is not resolved to your satisfaction, please contact the Office of Patient Relations at extension 6311 (or (717) 531-6311 from outside the Medical Center). A patient representative is available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If calling after hours, please leave a message and a representative will get back to you as soon as possible.

If you prefer to contact someone that is not employed by the Medical Center to discuss concerns or questions you may have, please contact:

The Pennsylvania Department of Health Acute and Ambulatory Care Services
P.O. Box 90
Harrisburg, PA 17108-0090
800-254-5164

Or

Office of Quality Monitoring Joint Commission
One Renaissance Boulevard
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
800-994-6610
Fax: 630-792-5636
E-mail: complaint@jcaho.org

Patients with Medicare may contact:

Quality Insights of Pennsylvania
Attn: Review Services
2601 Market Place Street, Suite 320
Harrisburg, PA 17110

We are committed to the protection of your privacy. It is our expectation that members of our workforce will only use your medical information to provide treatment, care, and to satisfy billing requirements. We ask that you share medical information with your family and friends as you believe to be appropriate. However, we are permitted, as necessary, to speak with individuals involved in your care.

Confidential Admission
You may request that we “Do Not List” you as a patient in our directory. If you make such a request, callers and visitors will be told that you are not a patient. Mail, gifts, and flowers will be returned to the sender.

Request for Privacy
If you are in a non-private room, visitors may be asked to step out of the room if you or another patient requests privacy to discuss medical issues with a caregiver.

Electronic Mail
The Internet is not secure. Do not use electronic mail (e-mail) to send or request sensitive information. We cannot guarantee the confidentiality of any messages transmitted over the Internet. Some caregivers prefer not to communicate with patients via e-mail; therefore, please check with your caregiver before attempting to do so. Do not use e-mail to report sudden or significant changes in your health to your care provider.

Privacy Notice
Our privacy notice is posted in public locations throughout the hospital and can be found on our Web site.  You may also request a privacy notice from your caregiver or by contacting the Privacy Office at extension 2081 (or 717-531-2081 from outside the Medical Center).

For health and safety reasons, smoking is prohibited on the Medical Center campus. Smoking is a major health risk and the Medical Center offers a variety of smoking cessation opportunities, including counseling and a smoking cessation support group, to help patients quit the habit. For more information, call 800-243-1455.

Click here to view the smoking policy.

We encourage you to leave all valuables at home or have a family member take them home for you. The Medical Center does not assume responsibility for any lost belongings. If you have cash or valuables, the Medical Center has a safe available. Contact your nurse for details on securing valuables.

To provide consistency across health care facilities, the Medical Center implemented a series of standardized color-coded wristbands to signify a patient's medical status or condition.  Color-coded wristbands provide visual cues about a patient's clinical status or medical condition.

Patients will be asked to remove any charity or colored bracelets (for example, Livestrong® or any cancer awareness bracelets) while being treated at the Medical Center so they are not confused with the color-coded safety wristbands.  The chart below presents the meaning of each wristband.

These bands are in addition to our facility's identification, blood bank, and security wristbands.  For your safety, please do not remove any bands applied by hospital personnel.

For more information about this initiative, please go to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority Web site or speak with your care provider.