Patient Information

Pre-Admit Clinic

The Pre-Admission clinic is located on the main floor of the hospital in the admitting department. It is open from 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and the contact number is (519) 376-2121 extension 2247.

Patient assessments are completed by a Registered Nurse.

The Clinic prepares you for surgery by providing:

- Individual and group patient teaching
- Completion of pre-operative paperwork
- Co-ordination of pre-operative tests (Lab., X-Ray, ECG etc.)
- If ordered by your surgeon you will be assessed by an anesthesiologist; or be scheduled for a physical examination by an internist in the clinic.
- An opportunity to be connected with Homecare (CCAC) or Discharge Planning for organizing post-op care
- Physiotherapy appointments will be arranged and completed as ordered by the surgeon

On the day of the pre-admission appointment you must bring the following items:

- Your health insurance card and any other insurance coverage cards provided by plans or work.
- All your current medications in their original containers (this includes all prescription medications, inhalers, the name and amount of insulin and over the counter medications, vitamins and herbal remedies.
- A completed pre-admission questionnaire, which you should receive from the surgeon’s office-if you have not received this please contact your surgeon’s office and request to have this mailed to you.
The hospital visitor policy allows one friend or family member to accompany you to your appointment in the Pre-Admission clinic. If you are dependent on a wheelchair it is helpful to have someone accompany you to assist you. If you are unable to speak English please arrange to have an interpreter accompany you.

Your appointment could last one hour to seven hours.

Patients coming for total hip or total knee replacements are often in the clinic for the entire day if they are required to see a nurse, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, internist or anesthesiologist.

The surgeon’s office will direct you on the scheduling of your appointment.

What to bring

Bring the following items with you for your hospital stay. If you arrived on an emergency basis, have a family member bring these basic items for you:

- Your Health Card
- Medications you are currently taking (prescription and non-prescription)
- Eyeglasses
- Dentures and denture supplies
- Toiletries (hair brush, comb, razors, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, lotion, shampoo)
- Non-skid slippers
- Pyjamas, housecoat
- Crutches, walkers, canes or other walking aids
- Personal blankets or pillow
- Small amount of cash for personal needs
- Reading material or craft materials such as knitting (if you wish)
All personal items, including children's toys, should be labeled. The hospital is not responsible for lost or stolen articles.

Please do not bring items of sentimental value, expensive jewelry, large sums of money, cheques, credit cards, cellular phones, or plug-in appliances.

Patients for Maternity should check with Women and Child Health to determine needs for maternity care and required items for newborns.

TV / Phone Services

TV Rental
Dial 2034 to arrange for connection. Patients are visited each afternoon between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Rates:
Daily: $8.00

Patient Telephones
Patient telephones are provided in most patient rooms free of charge. Patients on Units 4-4 and 4-6 have access to pay phones on the nursing units. Patients in ICU and CCU can arrange for portable phones to be brought into their rooms.

Public Phones
Public phones are available for use throughout the facility in these locations:

Level 1 - cafeteria near vending machines
Level 2 - two in the Emergency waiting area
- two down the hall from Amulatory Care
- two near the Finance Department
Level 3 - Surgical Waiting Area
Unit 8-1 - just before entering unit 8-1

Discharge Information

Discharge Time is 11:00 a.m. It is important that you make arrangements to have someone come for you at discharge time, as we must prepare the room for a new patient. When you are ready to leave the hospital, your doctor will issue a discharge order. We suggest that a family member or friend accompany you home after a hospital stay. When you prepare to leave hospital, check to make sure that you have all of your belongings as well as aftercare instructions, prescriptions and return appointments as needed.

If you have any questions or concerns about your medications, diet, activity or return appointments, ask a member of the health-care team before you leave.

If we can assist you with your discharge planning needs, please ask any member of your health-care team to contact the Social Worker/Discharge Planner assigned to your unit.

Visitor Information

GBHS welcomes visitors and support persons to provide comfort and assistance to our patients in hospital and during their outpatient examinations and treatment.

Please note that the number of visitors is limited to two at one time for inpatients. One support person may accompany patients in emergency or patients having outpatient treatments or tests.

Children 12 years of age and under must be supervised at all times by an adult.

Visiting Hours

General visiting hours are 2-8 p.m. Please check with the specialty care units such as rehab, maternal child and mental health services for their visiting hours.

There are visiting policies for patients on compassionate grounds. Please check with the nursing stations for details.

Parking

Parking rates at the Owen Sound Hospital were increased in May of 2005.

We appreciate that the impact on some of our patients and visitors is significant. At the same time, these funds allow us to preserve patient programs and health care jobs in our commmunities. The new rate is very similar to rates in many community hospitals and far less than parking rates in teaching hospitals. The parking fee has not increased since 2001.

A visitor's lot is located at the front of the hospital. The flat rate is $5.00. Tickets are available on entry to the lot with patients and visitors paying at the gate on exit by inserting the ticket at the gate. An exit ticket is also available from a 'pay on foot' machine just inside the front lobby which can also be inserted on exit and is timed to allow people to reach their vehicles within a reasonable timeframe. The system takes bills or coins at the 'pay on foot' machine and coins only at the gates.

New daily, weekly and monthly reduced rate passes are available in the business office in Owen Sound, Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Passes are used at the gate to exit and not at the 'pay on foot' machine in the lobby. In addition, parking is free in the main visitor lot for the first 30 minutes to allow for short visits to the hospital.

There is an emergency parking lot just outside the Emergency department on the west side of the hospital. Parking rates are $5.50. Patients and visitors can pay at the gate with cash or at the 'pay on foot' station in the front lobby.

There are designated accessibility parking spaces in the main visitor lot along the north end and 15 minute accessibility spaces at the main front entrance. There are additional designated spaces for the 8 Units outside the Rehab and Long Term Care areas and for Emergency in the Emergency Lot.

Food Services

We welcome patients and visitors to our cafeteria located on Level 1. We are also pleased to offer Tim Hortons through our service located in the cafeteria.
Cafeteria Hours of Operation: 11a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Monday-Friday
Tim Hortons Hours of Operation: 6:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. 7 days a week.

Vending machines are located near the cafeteria and are available 24 hours per day, providing light meals, snacks and beverages. Beverage vending machines are also located in the Emergency waiting area and at the entrance to the Rehabilitation building.

Banking

The bank machine is located in the front lobby. A service charge is applied to each transaction but a portion of the revenue is returned to the hospital.