A staff member will escort all visitors to the pre-op and recovery areas. No food or beverages are allowed in the waiting room or pre-op area. Cell phones may only be used in the waiting room.

The Pre-op Area

Two parents or visitors, and one sibling, will be allowed to stay with the patient in the pre-op area.

There are circumstances which may delay a patient’s surgery time; staff will do their best to keep the family updated with any changes.

During Surgery

After the patient has gone into surgery, the family should return to the waiting area and check in with the receptionist. The family is asked to wait at least of 10 minutes after the patient has gone into surgery before leaving the area. During this time, it is possible that the doctors may need to ask additional questions or speak with the parents..

The parent or guardian should obtain a pager from the receptionist if leaving the waiting room area: They will need to return to the waiting area when paged and at least 15 minutes before the time the doctor expected to be done with surgery. The doctor will be coming to talk to the parents about how the patient is doing and will be looking for them in the waiting room.

If the patient requires a prescription for home, parents may wish to go to the Pharmacy while they are waiting. The pharmacy is located on the first floor of the Bolwell building across from the Java Jive coffee bar.

The Recovery Room

After the patient’s procedure is finished he or she will be transferred to the recovery room. In the recovery room, nurses will closely watch the patient, provide pain medicine as needed and provide any necessary postoperative teaching.

The family will be called to the bedside after the child has been admitted into recovery, usually at least 15 minutes after arrival. Most children will be recovered and able to leave the recovery room within 1-1 ½ hours of leaving surgery.

Only two visitors will be allowed into the recovery room. No children under the age of 12 are allowed to visit in the recovery room.

Discharge Area

  • In this area the patient is prepared for discharge from the hospital.
  • Each patient is allowed two visitors in the discharge area.
  • Nurses will review the home going instructions and prescriptions with the patient and family at this time.